Game Party Champions

''Game Party Champions'' is the fifth videogame in the Game Party series, and was a launch title for the Wii U console in North America and the PAL region. It is the successor to '' Game Party: In Motion''.

Gameplay

Game Party Champions has eight minigames to choose from: Ping Pong, Skill Ball, Water Gun, Mini Golf, Air Hockey, Hoop Shoot, Football, and Baseball. These eight minigames are used as the basis for all three modes of gameplay.

The first mode is the Story Mode, in which a single player initially chooses a male or female avatar (though this choice has no impact on the gameplay), then progresses through several locations (Arcade, Amusement Park, and Stadium) to defeat other players in minigames, which is represented by either a computer opponent or a preset score, depending on the minigame. Each minigame has five opponents of increasing difficulty, and successfully defeating an opponent unlocks the next one for that minigame. Upon defeating the final opponent for a minigame (also known as the Champion of the game), that minigame is marked complete. Completing all minigames in an area allows the player to progress to the next area. The second mode is Free Play Mode, which allows a single player to play all the minigames without restrictions.

The final mode of gameplay, as well as the only multiplayer mode, is the Party Mode. In this mode, up to four players compete in a board game to see who can make it to the end first. On their turn, a player spins a spinner to see how many spaces they move, then plays a single-player minigame based on what space they landed on. If the player successfully completes the minigame, they stay where they are, while if they fail the minigame, they return to the space they were on previously.

Reception

Game Party Champions received extremely negative reviews. It holds a score of 24% on Metacritic. Official Nintendo Magazine called it "as welcome as an ingrown toenail and twice as ugly". Ken Barnes of Nintendo Life gave the game a 1/10, saying "Game Party Champions is – to put it nicely – a bad game. We’re not even venturing into “so bad that it’s good” territory, either. We’re way past that. On the shelves on Wii U launch day, you could pick up any other title for just a few pounds more than the asking price of this. Alternatively, you could have not bothered buying any games, and still had more fun than if you’d walked out of the store with Game Party Champions. This is so bad that your great-great-grandchildren will want to change their surname when they find out that you once played it. Avoid.".

References

2012 video games
Nintendo Network games
Party video games
Video games developed in the United States
Warner Bros. video games
Wii U games
Wii U eShop games
Wii U-only games
Video games with gender-selectable protagonists

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