Mario Party 8's Single Player is nothing but a poor offering, but at least the Multiplayer makes up for a little fun.
If you buy Mario Party 8, than make sure you have somebody to play with. You need to have at least one other friend playing the game with you in order to not put this game away right after you've bought it. The game offers 3 gaming modes, star rally, party mode and mini game mode. Party mode and mini game mode is pretty obvious, just like in the other Mario Party games Party mode is about playing on one of the 6 party boards, while mini game mode has you selecting between any mini game you want to play. Problems come to existence right here already, as you are only able to play those mini games you've already played in the Party mode.
Star Rally is the main mode for Single Player. It has you playing through all 6 party boards in a row, every one against one other AI opponent. The joke, there are no mini games to play between every round on the party boards. It's only luck based and if you don't win, you have to play that board on which you've lost from the beginning on again. For some reason Hudson actually thought that would be somehow a fun thing to do, but it's definitely not. It's just lame, but you are forced to play this (2 times!!) in order to unlock the 2 secret characters of the game, and to unlock the last party board.
Playing party mode alone is almost as boring as star rally. It's once again about who collects the most stars. The party boards are quite nicely designed, and some of the boards have some neat twists to them, but they are still too luck based. After every round there is a minigame fortunately, but playing on these party boards with the AI is just no fun. Mini game mode is the only mode you'd might get some fun out when playing alone, but even that will have you saying good bye after a few laps, since the AI is pretty poor. You can choose between multiple difficulty settings for the AI, but these are very unbalanced. It's a shame actually, as the majority of the minigames prove to be rather fun. Some of them for example use the Wii remote in an amusing way, while others are just intuitively fun in their design. The Minigame mode also has some extra games that only concentrate on the minigames, which mean they are less luck based and actually pretty fun.
This is where the Multiplayer does come to play and saves the game from a catastrophe. Minigames get much more competitive with a few friends, and even the party boards can prove to be fun for a while with some friends. You'll be able to appreciate some of the cool, neat twists these party boards actually have when playing with friends. I'd actually go so far to say that I do have a favorite of these party boards, which is no doubt King Boo's castle. Still, not surprisingly does the overly luck based party board gameplay bring this experience down. The Multiplayer makes the game worth a rental, but not a buy. You will play this game for a few times with friends but then ultimately put this game by side.
The game does have some extras, like extra minigames that you can also play with your Mii, and there's also a bazaar where you can buy different collectibles with game cards that you collect after every mini game or party board. It's really nothing special, though.
I should also not forget the presentational side of the game. The music is simple Mario music, nothing great but nothing bad as well. The graphics on the other hand are pretty terrible. They really look like rather weak gamecube graphics, with stiff animations and simple looks all around.
All in all Mario Party 8 is a rather weak offering. It's still too luck based, and the Star Rally is just plain lame. Do not ever buy this game for the Single Player experience. If you've got friends to play with on the other side, than sure, rent it at least, but only rent, except if you have a huge family of which everyone is addicted to party games.
THE GOOD
+ the majority of mini games are quite fun
+ party boards have some nice, unique design choices
+ multiplayer makes the game competitive, even the party boards
THE BAD
- party boards are still too luck based
- Star Rally has nothing going for it
- awful gamecube like graphics
- AI is pretty poor
- Single Player just isn't worth it
Review Score: 6/10