Chuck E. Cheese’s Party Games (Wii) – Review

A WiiNintendo game review by hattrick.

Game – Chuck E. Cheese’s Party Games
Version – Wii
Obtained – UFO Interactive Games (review copy)

Introduction
I grew up enjoying Chuck E. Cheese. Actually, I grew up enjoying Showbiz Pizza, which eventually turned into Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza. It was not the pizza that kept me coming back. It was not even the show with animatronic animals and monsters. It was the arcade. UFO Interactive Games has attempted to bring the place “where a kid can be a kid” to the living room in their latest game, Chuck E. Cheese’s Party Games for the Wii console. In a collection of 18 games, the goal is to bring the excitement of Chuck E. Cheese home, where you can play anytime. Did they succeed, or is it still better to deal with the mediocre pizza and go to an actual Chuck E. Cheese?

Visuals & Sound
To start with, this game does not even try to push the visuals of the Wii. I am not sure it has to, though. With games like ski ball, hoop shoot, and connect the dots (yeah, you heard that correctly), there is not a need for HD visuals. However, on some games (like the Pizza Maker), some toppings look alike. A little more time and effort could have been given to things like that.

As far as the sound goes, it is a collection of pop-like synthesized tunes that fit each game, but they do get annoying really quick. Each game only has one song, as do the menus. Therefore, if you play the same game more than twice or stay on the menu for a while as you grab a bite to eat, you will probably find yourself turning down the TV. The sound effects work, for the most part, but they do not overcome the music.

Gameplay & Controls
When a title includes the words “Party Games” in it, you would think it would involve at least 2-player controls. However, Chuck E. Cheese’s Party Games are all 1-player. Even the ones that make sense are still only 1-player. This just confuses me.

When you start off, you will choose your avatar. You never really see this avatar the rest of the game, but I guess that is why you are not allowed to customize him or her. From that point, you are greeted by Chuck, he tells you way too much in the form of written text bubbles, and you finally are allowed to play a few games. Every game uses the Wii Remote by itself. Most are controlled holding it traditionally, but some use it held on its side. Because there are 18 mini games, I will do my best to tell you a little about each one, describing the controls along the way.

Before I get into each game that I was able to unlock, it is important to note that you start with only 3 games unlocked. The rest are unlocked by playing the “Lucky Wheel” game (more on this below). Each game gives you tickets, based on your score, and each has a maximum. Most maximum tickets for level one games are set at 5. This makes it pretty difficult to rack up tickets, which are very important in the game. If you want to unlock level 2 games, you must accumulate 500 tickets. In addition, you only have so many tokens. If you run out, you must go make some pizzas (a free matching game) to earn more. This can get very mundane after 2 or 3 times.

Pizza Mania – This is where you earn more tokens. You are given 2 ingredients, and you must find them, point, and click on them. Complete as many pizzas as you can in the time limit. This determines how much you are “paid” in tokens.

Lucky Wheel – A game of chance. Push A to spin the wheel, and push A to make it stop. The only reason to play this “game” is to unlock the rest of the games.

Alley Roller – This is your typical ski ball. Pick your lane, and throw the ball like Wii Sports Bowling. Spin does not have anything to do with it, though. It is only determined by where you line up and how hard you throw.

Galaxy Shooter – This is one of the better games, and it looks a lot like the classic, Galaga. Move with the control pad, and shoot with the 2 button. Avoid the enemies and their shots.

Basket Ball – This is your basic hoop shoot. Flick your Wii Remote to shoot. The controls on this game are all over the place. It did not matter if I never moved my wrist to the left or right. My basketballs were going all over the place.

Air Hockey – In a strange turn of events, Chuck E. Cheese has decided not to use motion control for air hockey. Instead, you use the control pad with the remote turned sideways. This is very glitchy, as my mallet (paddle) tended to jump all over the place. If found the best strategy was just to sit there in front of the goal, while the computer scored on itself.

Smash a Munch – This is basically whack-a-mole, with Chuck E. Cheese characters. Instead of aiming for a specific hole, you will just swing whenever you see a Munch, no matter what hole he pops out of. This makes this game extremely easy.

Cowboy Jasper – Swing your lasso, and flick the remote to catch cows. Similar to Alley Roller, it is all about how hard you flick the remote. Your arm will hurt after playing this one just once or twice.

Connect the Stars – Connect the dots by pointing the Wii Remote and clicking A on the next number. This one is not only incredibly easy, it also did not make me want to play it.

Jasper’s Racing – While turning the remote sideways, you will control your vehicle by turning the remote. Instead of a button for the accelerator, you will twist the remote upward. The B button will clear your windshield after being hit by something. The controls do not feel good at all on this one, and I found myself only getting frustrated.

Photo Hunt – Find the differences between 2 photos. I do not ever remember seeing a game like this in a Chuck E. Cheese or any arcade. The control style is point and click, but you will not be going back to this one often.

Balloon Alphabet – Complete words by clicking the right balloons. Each balloon has a letter in it. While I also have never seen this in any arcade, I did not want to play it more than once.

Mr. Munch’s Target Practice – This is probably one of the better games in the collection, as it always feels good to shoot “light-gun” style with the Wii Remote. Shoot with the B button and reload by shaking it. This one can also be fairly difficult when you get to level 2.

Dancing Queen with Helen – While ABBA probably did not approve of using their song’s name, you will not find anything close to “Dancing Queen” in this rhythm game. Use the 1 and 2 buttons, along with shaking. The music is synthesized beats, the rhythm is off-beat sometimes, and it is always the same song, even in higher levels.

Matching – Your basic card matching game. You start off with 4 cards and work your way up over time. This game was easy to win tickets, which is the only reason I played it more.

Counting 1234 – Yeah, this is exactly what you think it is. A number of characters are displayed, and you must count them. Then you input the number. Next to Air Hockey, this might have been the easiest game (for anyone older than 6 years old).

After you start earning tickets, you will find yourself heading over to cash them in. However, one will notice quickly that the items cost about the same amount as they do in real life. Each item you purchase from the prize table will go in your “room” in the game, and most prizes also have a bonus attached to it. For example, the bag of fortune cookies will also give you 40% more tickets on arcade games. This might sound great, except that it will cost you 1,000 tickets to get those fortune cookies. In fact, most of the worth-while prizes are over 1,000 tickets. You will be playing these games over and over for quite a long time if you want to unlock everything. It took me 2 hours to get 500 tickets to unlock level 2 arcade games.

Concluding Overall Impressions
While this may be tempting to purchase for a young child, do not do it. Instead, take a nice family trip to the real Chuck E. Cheese. There, the games will actually work, you will have more fun, and you get to play the games together.

Final Score – 2 out of 5

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