Nintendo specializes in party games and they continue this trend with their latest entry Wii Party U. The game borrows many elements from the Mario Party series. The mini games in Wii Party U are fast paced just like the mini games in Mario Party.
Wii Party U has a mode called Highway Rollers and it reminds me of the main mode in Pac-man Fever. The goal of Highway Rollers is to reach the end first. Each player gets to roll a number of dice based on their mini game performance. For example if a gamer is in first place they get to roll ten dice; if their in second place they get to roll seven dice. There are also random spaces that can send players forwards or backwards. I think that Highway Rollers is more luck based than skill based and this really hurts my overall perception of the game. It is unfair because someone can lose every single mini game and still win the overall game.
I really like the diversity of mini games in Wii Party U. I have played Highway Rollers four times and each time I play I discover new games. One of my favorite mini games is called River Rollin. In this mini game each player gets to race on top of a barrel while avoiding giant logs. The touch based games are unfair and the person controlling the tablet usually wins these games.
Wii Party U is a nice update to the original Wii Party. However I wish that the game was more skill based. It is a great game to play with family or friends, but it is not a great single player experience. Wii Party U has memorization mini games, action mini games and decision making mini games. I enjoyed playing this game with other people and I give this game a 7 out of 10.
-MT
Mattina Technology 