Lisa's List of Top Party Games

One of the perks of being in the videogame industry is that over the years I have built up a solid collection of games. I am also lucky enough to own all three consoles, which allows me to really enjoy the fruits of my labour.

Of course we all know that playing videogames with a couple of friends is the best way to spend a Saturday night, and over the years we have swatted, strummed and sang into the wee hours of many a Sunday morning.

So I’ve made this list of my Top 10 Party Games (in no particular order) to help you plan your next big shin-dig, and perhaps even bring something new to your gaming shelf. Please feel free to share your favourite party games in the comments section below – remember that sharing is caring, so the more the merrier!

1.) Start The Party: Save the World

This is a really innovative title from Sony that makes use of the PlayStation Move perfectly. You’ll be tasked with saving your friends in various ways: escorting them safely through asteroid fields; catching them before a hungry shark devours them; and even burning would-be blood sucking insects. The wonderful Augmented Reality of Save the World means that you will see yourself on-screen, while the PlayStation Move controller will be transformed into a number of different items, ranging from a net to a fire stick and even a wrench. It’s a four player game, but you can make the rounds short so more players can join in on round two. The first Start The Party game is also really fun, but the interaction of Save the World has been stepped up a little (players can now use the SixAxis to interfere with the active player) giving it the upper hand.

2.) Just Dance 3

If you can convince your friends to join in, dance games are always loads of fun. Push the couches back, move the coffee table, pump up the volume and you’re ready to go! Just Dance has been a popular series since its debut on the Wii a couple of years ago, but fast forward a few years and Just Dance 3 has reached a new level of awesome on the other consoles too. Four player simultaneous dancing, bright neon colours and a banging soundtrack make this one of the best dancing games on the market today, not to mention a sure hit at anybody’s party. Leave your inhibitions (and your cameras) behind and you’ll have fun until the sun comes up, as well as a few aching muscles the next day.

The price you pay for not confiscating all cameras at the door. Oltman, Oliver, Peter and I dancing up a storm!

3.) Buzz: The Ultimate Music Quiz

I have always enjoyed trivia type games, but also have vivid memories of being annoyed by the Trivial Pursuit boardgame that can see you trying to aim for the centre spot with all your pies intact for many hours before you manage to secure your win. Buzz: The Ultimate Music Quiz has taken the annoyance out of trivia titles, and infused it with a few fun ways to test your grey matter in a not so serious kind of way. The series has also evolved over the years, with the host Buzz becoming somewhat less annoying and the mini-games more inventive. There are also a number of different titles out there now, so you can choose to play to your strengths or your friends’ weaknesses, whichever you prefer. Four player action means you can team up, or you can even invest in another set of buzzers for eight players to join in. And with a turkey or a basket of kittens up for grabs, why wouldn’t you want to give this game a go! You can also check out Buzz: Brain of the World for more brain testers.

4.) Rock Band 3

Rock Band was diligently lugged by a friend all the way from the USA to find a happy home in our lounge in Durban. This was the game that occupied 90% of our time for a good few years: we formed a band (Pile-o-Tasty) and set off on a tour across many lands to many venues, with rockers (Lars Ümlaüt leading the charge) getting new outlandish outfits along the way and eventually a better van to transport our stuff to new gigs. New songs were purchased weekly with vouchers acquired from over the sea, and over the next weeks and months we grew in skill and fame. During some of our raucous concerts we broke a drum pedal and even had to get the drummer a fan to cool down before he passed out from heat stroke. But we carried on, you can’t call yourself a real band unless you have completed all of the songs on expert now can you? And that includes the infamous ‘Green Grass and High Tides.’ We were happy when we were able to add a keyboard to the band, and now we even have a professional guitar! Good times folks, give Rock Band 3 a go but be prepared to be addicted.

5.) Kinect Sports: Season 2

Hands-free motion control gaming is at its best in sports games, and Kinect Sports: Season 2 includes some awesome sports that you will enjoy with some mates. Not since Wii Sports have I had so much fun with tennis and not since Wii Fit have I enjoyed such competitive skiing, and that’s only two of the six sports included with Season 2! You can also try out American Football, baseball, darts and golf, either as a team or competitively. The game is very responsive and clearly shows the advancements that have been made with the Kinect technology over the past year. It’s fun, an excellent work-out and will have you either laughing or cringing at the highlight reels! The first Kinect Sports is also a great party game so you can check that out too.

6.) Pictionary with uDraw

I’ve always enjoyed the Pictionary boardgame but unfortunately not many of my friends do, so I was happy when I saw that THQ were bringing Pictionary to the Wii with their new uDraw GameTablet. The tablet works excellently since you just draw on it with a stylus as you would with a pen on paper. The game of Pictionary remains the same in essence, but has been revamped with more fun modes and the choice of shorter rounds, which make it both exciting and easier to encourage those who may dislike the boardgame to join in. You’ll be challenged with drawing your clue in different ways: without lifting your stylus, drawing with a limited amount of ink and even drawing while not looking at the screen – all of which makes for much laughter and sometimes even friendly ridicule!

7.) SingStar

While many gamers will not freely admit to enjoying the SingStar franchise, this gamer has enjoyed many a party with friends belting out the lines to popular tunes from the 80’s, 90’s and other periods that the franchise has seen fit to include in its catalogue. What started as crazy times of getting microphone wires crossed during the Pass the Mic mode has progressed to the modern day era of wireless microphones, and even adding dancing and guitar to the mix. Things have got heated with competition turning fierce in Battle modes, while Duets have sounded out clearly across the valley. SingStar turned out to be a great forerunner to Rock Band, which saw me assuming the role of lead singer in our band Pile-O-Tasty, and remains the definite standard for singing games to this day. Whether ABBA, Queen, or various songs from the 80’s tickle your fancy, there’s something for everyone in this series so give it a go and find out whether you and your friends should audition for the next IDOLS.

You can check out SingStar Vol 3, SingStar Pop Edition, SingStar Guitar, SingStar Dance, SingStar ABBA, SingStar Queen and SingStar Hottest Hits.

8.) Wii Sports

It would be amiss of me to not mention Wii Sports, the game that was at the forerunner of motion control gaming, and one that set the standard for all sports games that followed. All of the sports featured in the game were addictive, with friends competing for longest hit in baseball, highest score in ten-pin bowling and many a bruise being sustained in four player tennis matches, while patience and swing were tested on the golf pitch. We quickly learnt that motion control gaming came at a price – sore muscles – and that Nintendo weren’t playing around when they said wear the Wii Remote’s wrist strap. We were also grateful when the Wii Remote jacket was launched, it did help to tone down the bruising a little!

9.) Wii Play

It’s hard not to include a game that kept most of my friends up to the early hours of the morning. It just so happens that Wii Play is also be one of the best selling retail games ever made, coming bundled with a Wii Remote at a very good price. And while the Shooting Range, Find Mii, Table Tennis, Laser Hockey, Fishing and Pose Me mini-games were all enjoyed when the Wii first launched with Wii Play, it was Tanks that quickly became known as one of the most addictive games ever played. Such a simple game, yet so challenging to reach level 20 on two player mode, and even harder to attempt on singeplayer. The sound of those little trumpets playing the theme music, the sight of those tank’s tyre tracks and the look on faces when a tank went invisible and blew them to smithereens is priceless. Check it out if you have a Wii, it’s still got bang for its buck.

Now you can all have this catchy little tune stuck in your heads too!

10.) LittleBigPlanet

Who would have thought that a little boy made of sack could warm our hearts and provide endless hours of co-operative and/or competitive fun (depending on your friends)? And yet SackBoy did just that in LittleBigPlanet, he gave us limitless opportunities to Play, Create and Share in a world where your imagination could take over, while four player gameplay make this an excellent choice for parties, even for friends who don’t traditionally enjoy videogames. LittleBigPlanet 2 then arrived and expanded this gaming experience even further, and with regular updates and costumes being released on the PlayStation Network, as well as support for the PlayStation Move, this is a solid choice for some party fun.