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This week's WiiWare release is a mini-game collection called "Family & Friends Party." As its name implies, it's meant for you to play with your family and friends. But for ten bucks, is this "Party" worth it? We tested it to find out.
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"Family & Friends Party"
Gammick Entertainment
1-8 players, Rated E for Everyone
1,000 Wii Points ($10)
My boyfriend and I chose the "Team Attack" mode, which was two players vs. the CPU (it allowed us to play with one controller). There was also "Triangular Party" for three players (sounds kind of kinky), and "Family & Friends Party" for 4-8 players.
[Note: All screenshots were taken from my HDTV with a digital camera.]
The character selection let us choose a Mii or a pre-made character included in the game. It's clear that the game-made characters would not win any beauty contests. I went with my Mii and my boyfriend picked the guy who looked sort of like Gandhi (or Ben Kingsley, whichever you prefer).
The game randomly chose which mini-games we had to play. We had to complete each type of mini-game in less than 10 turns to win. For each mini game we finished successfully, we were awarded gold coins (more about the usefulness of these later).
The first game we got was telepathy, which asked me and my teammate to try to think of the same thing when given a topic. Like "a brand of luxury car" or "a brand of computer." After it showed the concept, it gave me a countdown, and when it reached one, we were supposed to shout out our answers at the same time. And then the game, using the honor system, asked us if we had succeeded. (For the record, we did succeed and said, "yes." Scout's honor.)
There's also a Charades mini-game, which asked one player to avert their eyes while the other was shown the subject that they're supposed to act out. At the end, the game asked if we succeeded, once again using the honor system in hoping that you don't cheat. The same goes for the drawing portion.
By the way, here is my amazing drawing of a TV. Can you tell I won a drawing contest at my school in the 2nd grade? (I don't mind if you frame it or put it on the fridge.)
There were also other games like spelling, which flashed a word then asked you to spell it backwards; Rock, Paper, Scissors where you play against the CPU and simply hit a corresponding d-pad button to select your choice; and a mini game that was exactly like "Simon," the four-color memory game.
Now back to the gold coins I mentioned earlier. You can use them to buy chances to play the mini-games that you need another shot at. Or if you're stuck on a certain game, and you have enough coins, you can use the currency to buy completion of the mini-game. Buying your way through a mini-game? I get that this is a "casual" game, but if players are unable to complete any of these mini-games on their own, the games are ridiculously hard or the player is wildly incompetent.
We weren't keeping count of the turns, and before we knew it, we got to ten games before we completed each kind of mini-game. FAIL.
Verdict:
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Mini-game collections: Love 'em or hate 'em, they're here to stay, and it's clear that some are made better than others. "Family & Friends Party" isn't only generically named; the mini-games included were some of the least imaginative ones I've ever seen. Charades? Rock, Paper, Scissors? Win, Lose or Draw? Simon? "FF&P" took traditional games we know and did nothing to make them more fun. Whether you're with a large or small group of friends (or family), you're better off playing these the old-fashioned way.
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