by Joseph Heinzelman

Created on: October 23, 2009

It is sad these days that when video games are mentioned many people automatically think of some lonely nerd in his basement with a bag of chips and a Mountain Dew. This isn't always the case though, many games that are being made today are designed for parties. Games that allow typically four people, sometimes even more, to play at the same time.

One of the earliest party games is Mario Party, originally for the N64 but since then it has recieved many upgrades and turned into a quite fun game for the Wii, this typically only appeals to kids however, so don't expect it to be a big hit at a teen or adult party.

Slightly more mature then Mario Party is the Wii sports games. These allow up to four people to play a variety of sports games ranging from boxing, to baseball, to golf. It is great fun for all ages and can occupy a group for hours. One of the best things about it is that it requires next to no skill to play. So even those party goers that have never touched a controller in their life should be able to easily pick up this game and quickly learn the ropes.

The next game is actually two games, the legendary Guitar Hero and the newer Rock Band. The two newest Guitar Hero games allow for a full compliment of four people to play at the same time, one on guitar, one on base, one on drums, and one person on the mic. This also holds true for both Rock Band games, who pioneered the band aspect of the music game genre. The newest (as of October 2009) Guitar Hero game, Guitar Hero 5, has a special party play mode that gives it a slight edge over the other music games. In this part play mode anyone can just pick up the instrument and join the current song without needing to start it over, and if they have to leave then they can just turn off their controller and the song will keep playing without them, no need to restart it. This is perfect for the constantly shifting dynamics of a full blown party. The downside of these games however is that they generally take some skill to play, and those that don't know how may feel left out.

Those are the three best choices for party games, don't stop there however. Anything can be turned into party game as long as you have the right company.....

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