Introduction
Some time ago EA released MySims Party. The first MySims games, MySims and MySims Kingdom, were adventure/puzzle games with lots of creativity. Now they're moving off in a different direction: a party game that's all about having fun with friends. It's time for MySimsNetwork to take a good look at this new party game, for the Wii.
The MySims Touch
MySims Party is not at all like the other MySims games. This one is all about mini-games, though with a little MySims touch. Rather than just being able to play the games one by one, in any order you like, there's a story mode. You start off with creating your MySim in the usual way: click on the right spot to cycle through the hair, glasses, mouth, skintone and other options. It feels slow as each time you cycle an option, you have to wait about a second for the game to load. You can still get the job done and create the sim you like, though it'll take a little while.
There's also a backstory that's quite a bit like MySims itself, this time called Dream Festival Mode: the town is deserted, now you need to make sure that through the festivals Sims return and have fun in all the festivals. As you progress, you unlock buildings (homes) and monuments that you can place around the town. There's little customization to do, as each item can only be placed at specific locations. You also get to build your own home in MySims style, though you can only modify the exterior looks of it. The interior is fixed. Your house is what serves as a portal where you customize your Sim, other than that the house is pretty much useless. That makes it a nice little gimmick, but nothing more than that.
The important part of town is the town center, where MC Emi takes you to the festival of your choice. The bus takes you to the actual festival locations (screens in between the games). Each festival is hosted by another MySim. The first one you'll meet is Buddy, host for the Opening Festival. In total there are 12 festivals to go through, with somewhere in between 3 and 20 minigames to play. Each festival has a certain theme. For example, the Music Festival has all music related mini-games in it. Each mini-game is also themed towards a MySims character. You play each festival with a team of a few sims (starting with 2, up to 4 towards the end), which you can form using a combination of self-made Sims or original MySims characters. Most of the latter are unlocked as you complete festivals successfully. You can create the team as you wish - your own Sim doesn't even need to be in it.
Colorful Statistics
Unique in MySims Party are that Sims have statistic points. You have Strength (red), Stamina (purple), Speed (green) and Luck (yellow). You get to assign 9 points to your Sim when you create it, though for each stat you have to give at least one point - which leaves 5 points to your choice. Each game is focused on one or more of these stats. If your Sim has a high score in the important stats, you may have a slight edge on winning the game. In the end your own skill remains the most important, but it does add a little bit of strategy to the game.
Your skills won't always help though. For example, in one of DJ Candy's games, "Go! Go! Dancing!" you have to swing the Wiimote at specific times. The game often doesn't register a move though, making it quite tricky to get it right. This is the case is more games. The controls are often so inaccurate that it can become frustrating - which seems to be the opposite of what the game should be doing.
Each game you play will deplete the focused stats of the active Sim a little bit, which is especially important in Festivals - even moreso when the festival is 20 games long. You can replenish these stats through the surprise event. You pick one of eleven cards, and with some luck your stats are restored, or you get an item (fruit) which you can use to boost the stat of the same color for one event whenever you like. It may also happen that you just get a single stat point, or even lose points. The neutral bit is when you draw a blank card, which obviously does nothing.
Fifty-in-One
In total the game carries 50 mini-games. Before each game you play, you get an info screen with some instructions and how to hold and use the Wiimote for the specific game. The games are very accessible and easy to get acquainted with. There's also plenty of variation, though there is some repetition with just slightly different themes. The games don't tend to require much thought - just press buttons at the right time, pick the right topping for a pizza, find the right set of clothes before anyone else does... One game that requires a little bit of strategy is Blue Blox, in which you have to move blocks in holes in the floor. All in all the games aren't too challenging.
When playing single games you'll sometimes also get to pick the length of the game. Sometimes this is time based, and you just set how long the game should last. At other times, it's score based, and you determine the target score to reach before a winner is declared. In various cases the options to extend a game need to be unlocked in Festival mode first.
Other Stuff
Online gameplay is fairly limited. The game keep tracks of local, national and worldwide scores which you can compare, but that's where it pretty much ends. You can't compete online, but only in the same room on the same console. Each player will need a Wiimote and optionally a Nunchuck for some of the games - other controllers are not supported.
The graphics and sound are what you may expect from a MySims game: colorful, cartoony and fun. They match the style of the game very well, though the instructions on how to use the controller, shown in a little video, are sometimes a little bit unclear. Some of the tunes get a bit repetative when you hear them over and over again. It's all not too stunning, but not bad either.
Conclusions
MySims Party is not a bad game at all. It doesn't stand out of the crowd though, and there simply are better party games on the market. The controls are a bit flaky at times. The game is obviously targeted at young players who can just play some nice short games for a little while - a festival of 20 games may just take a little too long. With friends the game is quite fun, but the single player mode gets boring quickly. Much more than in previous MySims games, the customization part is merely a gimmick, with the exception of the stats.
If you're looking for a good party game for the Wii, look further. If you're looking for a decent party game and like MySims, then the game is not bad at all. Just make sure you get your friends to play along.
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