Hasbro Family Game Night Volume 2 (Wii) - Review by Chris

Introduction

With video games, and the Wii specifically, now firmly being acceptable as a way of entertaining company or friends when they're round, with people now choosing games over just about everything else, more and more games are being designed so as to appeal to that specific need. EA's first Hasbro Family Game Night was well received enough by consumers and fulfilled that need very well and now a sequel has turned up to further improve on the initial formula by providing new content for you to enjoy.

Gameplay

Volume 2 of the Hasbro Family Game Night sets out to provide 5 new games for your enjoyment. Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell the box art designer that Connect 4 made an appearance in the previous game. As a result, you're only receiving 4 new games to tuck into alongside Connect 4 and two new modes of play; the Family Game Show and High Score Mania. The games on offer this time are Bop it!, Operation, Jenga, Pictureka, and of course Connect 4. Each of these is implemented with the classic play type as the main form of gameplay, although the likes of Operation have made some changes to better suit the transition to the video game media, but they all have alternative gameplay modes to liven up the format should you get a little tired of the classic one or if you want to put in more players into sometimes strictly 2 player games. For example, Connect 4 has a remixed mode whereby instead of the standard 2 player game on a single board, a double backed board is introduced along with an extra two players and so you have to place counters in both the front and back boards in the hope of getting or preventing others from getting a line of 4. The majority of these alternative play modes are certainly welcome additions that change up the gameplay for the better but the aforementioned one for Connect 4 is overly difficult as you cannot turn the board round to get a proper look at the counters on the back even though the counters in the foreground are see through.

All of the games and their alternative modes are available to play in both single player and multiplayer and this is where the real fun comes out. But there are other modes offered giving more variety that will definitely push the multiplayer envelope. The Family Game Show mode allows for everyone to get involved and here you'll spin a challenge wheel which contains specific challenges within each of the 5 games that have to be completed to pass and with each successful completion, the players earn golden potato pieces and the winner is the person who completes their potato first. It's great fun when everyone gets into it providing some extensive and competitive play that definitely entertains. There's also of course the High Score Mania where you play 10 consecutive rounds of challenges in the hope of earning score multipliers to post the highest score amongst the group. This is short than the Family Game Show but the short, condensed gameplay is every bit as entertaining and enjoyable as the longer mode. The trophies return this time to provide some extra longevity to the game if you're playing in single player or multiplayer with some of them being decidedly difficult to unlock and a new customisation mode for Mr. Potato-head means that are always new pieces of attire to unlock. All in all, the end result is a game where the gameplay feels much more fine tuned and works better than in the previous game.

Controls

Volume 2 continues the Wii-mote only nature of the control setup seen in the prior game, allowing for easy and accessible play for all, and the small issues that were apparent last time seem to have been resolved here. You'll be using the Wii-mote's IR pointer in menus and in game for selecting items and the game's tracking of the controller's movement is much more fluid and natural, with lag only appearing when the frame rate takes a slight hit but that is of course more to do with the game's engine and not the controls. The gesture recognition has also been improved with your twists and flicks of the Wii-mote now more accurate and being detected perfectly every time. It is perhaps a little sensitive but after a short period of time you'll become used to it and there will be no problems at all.

Graphics

The graphics engine hasn't seen much of an improvement over the previous title but that game looked good enough and so too does this. Everything looks sharp and well designed, with textures being of a reasonably high standard and the 3D work being solidly done. The games all look great, each looking like the real thing but also managing to put its own twist on it making them distinct in their own right. The customisable apartment from the previous game has been replaced with a standard, modernist one which looks great and although it's no longer customisable, it feels better as a result as it was a feature that wasn't wholly needed. Mr. Potato-head returns once again to present the game's action and once again, he is animated well and really looks the part. There are plenty of customisable options for him as well this time round so you can mix and match pieces to create your own unique Potato-head character. The game unfortunately does suffer from some slight frame rate issues but these are infrequent and, in most cases, don't hamper the gameplay at all.

Sound

Sound wasn't a huge part of the previous game and to some extent, this remains the same here. The background music in the apartment has taken a step up though and becomes more memorable and enjoyable, by providing you with some mellow, funky tunes to ease you into the atmosphere of the game. This extends over the board games where it helps create a pleasant enough atmosphere but at the same time allows a competitive spirit to rear its head while never intruding on the gameplay. The sound effects have also taken a slight step up as well and are now of a standard similar to the music.

Final comments

The first game had its ups and downs but ultimately didn't feel as complete an experience as it should. Hasbro Family Game Night Volume 2, however, has fixed that issue and provides some well designed and thought out gameplay which will entertain for the long run in both the single and multiplayer play. Couple this with some improved controls, better sound and a good presentation and the end result is a game that is one of the better party games available on the console.

Pro: Extensive gameplay options catering for all, improved sound and controls, graphics look good
Con: Some reoccurring frame rate issues, some alternative gameplay modes don't work as well as they should
Final score: 7.8

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