Released on March 30th in the Uk, Mario Party 8 will utilise all the functions of the innovative Wii-mote and Nunchuck. Nintendo have now announced a few new details:

* Play with motion control: Players row their way through a river race, punch a statue to pieces, steer race cars, mopeds and go-karts and handle a balancing pole while walking a tightrope.

* Play using the Pointer: Shoot at Boos in a haunted house, rag and drop toppings in a cake-decorating competition, select the correct answers in game show challenges.

* Play using the Wii Remote's buttons: Players jump and pummel their way through a football brawl, hop and run across a field of spinning platforms.

* Mario Party 8 also includes dozens of new minigames, six new party boards and many new game modes. In a series first, players can transform their characters into many forms, such as player-smashing boulders and coin-sucking vampires. Mario Party 8 also includes "extra-large" minigames like Star Carnival Bowling and Table Menace. One to four players can play Mario Party 8, each with a Wii Remote.

Mario Party 8 brings the view down lower, putting players "on the board" rather than high above the board as in previous Mario Party titles.