There have been countless clones of the Mario Party series yet most have been pretty abysmal. Fortunately, Medieval Games from Vir2L Studios has the potential to be an enjoyable party game.

The E3 demo began with pages flipping through a beautifully drawn pop-up book. After this the action started on a board game map that resembled a medieval forest. To move to different spaces on the board I had to roll the dice using a shake of the Wii Remote. Most of the spaces in the demo purposely started mini-games, but a select few gave your character coins. In the final game, these coins will be used to buy different items including some that can harm the other players.

The first mini-game I played was jousting against the developer. It was split screen with each side showing our characters on horses moving towards one another. As we grew closer we had to do our best to aim our lances, through IR, at the other player. The game shook your cursor as you lowered it to make locking onto your opponent difficult. If you successfully got the other player in your crosshairs you would press the A button to select where you would attempt to hit them. Then once you were on-top of the other jouster it was necessary to jab at them with a thrust of the Wii Remote. In the game, it would take a few direct hits to knock the other player onto their butts. While the mini-game was simple, the controls worked well, and it was a lot of fun.

The other mini-game I tried also took place on a horse. I was able to play this mini-game with three other players, the developer, Zach, and I. Basically in this mini-game the characters were racing one another and had to avoid the obstacles laid in front of them. If a player hit an obstacle they were out of the race. If I remember correctly this game used button presses to duck and jump over the upcoming obstacles. The game was addictive and required quick reflexes.

Other mini-games that will be included in Medieval Games are a battle with a dragon that is reminiscent of the fight with Ganon in Ocarina of Time when you used the mirror shield to bounce his magic back at him, a catapult that launches with motion controls, and something with ogres and apples. Just like Mario Party, mini-games can also be played in teams such as one versus three, or two versus two.

The game is aimed at people of all ages. The developer purposely avoided making the game look childish and went for a more Disney look that everyone can love. The game is already fun and the developer promises the final product will be much more polished.