<http://schema.org/articleBody>
" Release Date: October 25 Platforms available on: Wii U Developer: Nd Cube/Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Genre: Party Wii Party U is just what Nintendo&amp;#039;s fledging console needs at this time of year. It&amp;#039;s a game that can be played with family and friends during festive get-togethers, and something which showcases the capabilities of the Wii U GamePad. With more than 80 mini-games playable over a huge number of single and multiplayer modes, Wii Party U certainly isn&amp;#039;t short of content, but it does lack a certain depth. Largely requiring nothing more than a Wii Remote and the ability to shake, point, flick and turn, many of the mini-games, despite their number, have been seen in different guises in past compilations. Of course, that&amp;#039;s not to say they&amp;#039;re not fun. Highlights include &amp;#039;Vaulters&amp;#039;, which sees players launch themselves as quickly as possible into the air, &amp;#039;Countdown Crisis&amp;#039;, which is like playing pass the parcel with a bomb, and &amp;#039;Cliff Riders&amp;#039;, which requires a steady hand to make it over a canyon.  There&amp;#039;s a swimming game in which players perform different strokes over three laps, a game of springboard darts and a number of games requiring a keen eye for small details and a good memory. There are very few out-and-out duds in the package, but not enough stand out games either. The asymmetric games, which pit one GamePad user against three Wii Remote players, are much stronger, but their numbers are limited. &amp;#039;Can&amp;#039;t Catch Me&amp;#039;, which is similar to &amp;#039;Luigi&amp;#039;s Ghost Mansion&amp;#039; from Nintendo Land (and just as much fun), is the best of a bunch that includes a booby trap game, penalty shootouts, and various games in which three Wii Remote players are targeted by the GamePad user. Despite their number, many of the regular mini-games have been seen in different guises in past compilations There are also a number of GamePad-only tabletop games, including competitive numbers such as table football, curling and baseball, as well as co-op games in which players saw through trees and raise platforms. With games lasting little more than a minute or two, the thrills are short-lived, but it&amp;#039;s hard not to admire the inventiveness. The most innovative of all the games appear in House Party, which genuinely puts the GamePad to good use and provides multiplayer experiences that you simply can&amp;#039;t find anywhere else.  The hilarious &amp;#039;Lost and Found Square&amp;#039; sees the GamePad user attempt to describe their surroundings to the hunting pack, while &amp;#039;Button Battle&amp;#039; instructs players to touch different parts of the controllers, almost like a Nintendo version of Twister. One game offers a twist on Pictionary, while another sees the group dancing around the GamePad. There&amp;#039;s even a multiple choice game in which users must guess what players are trying to convey in a photograph on the GamePad. It&amp;#039;s as much fun as it sounds, although games can be short-lived and don&amp;#039;t all have the same impact during the second or third playthrough. Regular mini-games, though accessible from the off in free play mode, are randomly packed into various board games and challenge modes, so there&amp;#039;s still plenty to keep individuals and groups entertained for the evening.       Unfortunately, one of our biggest gripes with the game - something which was also true of its predecessor and the Mario Party series - is that far too often winning and losing is down to blind luck. With the game aimed at competitors of all skill levels, it&amp;#039;s completely understandable that Nintendo would want to level the playing field, but it does so in the cheapest way imaginable, with games too often decided with a roll of the dice. Take Highway Rollers, for example. It&amp;#039;s a simple game in which players roll dice to make it to the end of a highway.  Winning mini-games determines the number of dice you roll, with bonus rolls, boosts and setbacks available by winning three-on-one challenges and landing on different squares.  Ultimately, however, winning the game comes down to whether or not you roll 35 or more on your final go, something which completely disregards previous victories. Likewise, some of the mini-games, such as &amp;#039;Sitting Pretty&amp;#039; - Wii Party U&amp;#039;s version of musical chairs - or the photography-based &amp;#039;Flock Shot&amp;#039;, can be difficult to win outright, which means that positions are once again decided by luck. It would be far more thrilling to decide stalemates with a playoff, and board game victories with three-on-one mini-games or other challenges. The visual style is bright and cheerful, menu screens are simple enough for anybody to use and the music is nice and mellow, if a little forgettable Still, Wii Party U isn&amp;#039;t about online rankings and league positions, it&amp;#039;s about cheap thrills and fun, making it much easier to forgive such transgressions. Speaking of online, part of us - the part whose friends don&amp;#039;t have time for nightly gaming sessions - would love it if Wii Party U was online-enabled, something which far too many Nintendo games lack.  It&amp;#039;s true that the game would lose some of its magic when played online, but if the technology is there, why not use it?  Instead, Wii Party U allows users to connect to Miiverse and post game ratings, which is a good community tool for newcomers trying to find the best game, but we would have liked to have seen online challenges, leaderboards and more. Elsewhere, the presentation is typically strong, even if it does look like a Wii game. The visual style is bright and cheerful, menu screens are simple enough for anybody to use and the music is nice and mellow, if a little forgettable.  Like most party games, Wii Party U is a hit-and-miss affair. It features a wide selection of fun, albeit overly familiar mini-games, which are complemented by a decent number of unique and innovative multiplayer experiences. It&amp;#039;s hampered by a few frustrating design choices, and the thrills are largely short-lived, but it&amp;#039;s still a worthy addition to any party over the festive period.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/review/a525741/wii-party-u-review-wii-u-fun-for-all-the-family/>