Wii Party takes the classic casual mini-game formula of the vast majority of the Nintendo Wii's titles, and places them in a realm where the characters are the players and their friends created in Mii form. Essentially, it tries to put the players at the center of the party, instead of culling form Nintendo's catalog of classic characters. But no matter who is playing the games, the results (also much like the vast majority of Nintendo Wii's casual fare) are heavily mixed. And though some points in the collection shine, the duds leave Wii Party good for a few nights worth of entertainment, but little beyond that.

Wii Party is designed for anywhere from 1 to 4 players, though leans much heavier on the multiplayer experience (hence the "Party" name). It boasts more than 80 mini-games, divided into three categories - Party Games, Pair Games and House Party. Party Games are designed for four players, but will replace any missing slots with computer AI. Pair Games are aptly named and strictly focus on two players, while House Party games are designed for two or more people, and sometimes use the room itself as part of the fun.

In the Party Games realm, Board Game Island is the standout feature. In traditional board game style, players roll dice to try to be the first to get from the starting line to the finish. At the start of each round, however, all players compete in a four-way, every-player-for-himself battle to earn a bonus die. The board also contains special spaces - positives and negatives, as well as bonus games. It's a nice take on the Mario Party concept, with less randomness, but also less character.

That mode is rounded out by the following: Globe Trot, which also follows something like a board game format but uses the globe as its board, tasking players with collecting souvenir photos; Swap Meet, a four-way battle in which players try to match shirt colors by swapping characters from a central pile; Spin-Off, a wheel-spinning extravaganza of randomness where players win and lose medals, competing occasionally in mini-games; and Bingo, which varies from the classic game only by the use of Mii faces on the card spaces and the occasional mini-game battle where the winner gets to pick any face. Globe Trot is also interesting fun for a game or two, but the others are forgettable.

Balance Boat gives hope that the Pair Games will offer gamers something special. A boat with three spars of different colors begins balanced. Then the players must work together in mini-games. If they succeed together, they are given characters of the same size in shirts matching the colors of the spars, and must place them in a way that leaves the ship balanced. If they fail the game, the characters will be different sizes, and therefore harder to balance. The goal is to successfully balance 20 without tipping the boat. Though some of the mini-games leave something to be desired, the idea of true teamwork and a team goal make this pair game a fun experience.

But Friend Connection isn't a game so much as a compatibility wizard, and Match-Up takes the simple premise of Memory and makes it a two-player affair, in which players can essentially work off the information gathered by their competition. Both are little more than one-time distractions that don't beg for any replayability.

Animal Tracker, Hide 'n' Hunt, Time Bomb, Word Bomb and Buddy Quiz round out the title's features in the House Party section. These may be the most interesting and endearing of the bunch, if only because they force people in the room to interact with one another in a more direct manner. Animal Tracker, for instance, asks players to lay the Wii Remotes out on a table. An animal is then shown, and the speakers of Remotes emit noises. The first player to grab the one correctly making the matching sound earns a point. Time Bomb, on the other hand, forces players to pass a Wii Remote carefully, while holding certain buttons to prevent it from "exploding."

The games may be no more long-lasting than their traditional counterparts. That is to say they can grow old quickly, too, depending on the crowd. But they are inventive in their gameplay, and utilize the Wii's unique features in fun ways. Like most of Wii Party, the games are entertaining.

But despite a mini-game mode offering the collection out of context, they aren't the type of games many people will go back and play repeatedly. They just wear thin. And while Wii Party offers a temporary diversion, it doesn't have lasting appeal. And it's hard not to think that a dressing up of the title with Nintendo's core roster would have made it at least a little more aesthetically pleasing. As it stands, Wii Party is a collection of so-so mini-games without a strong identity.

Final Score: C