5 Spots Party
A WiiWare spot-the-difference party game with mixed reviews.
5 Spots Party, a WiiWare title from Spanish developer Cosmonaut Games, is a spin-off of the PC casual games 5 Spots and 5 Spots II by KatGames. It launched in Europe on July 10, 2009, and in North America ten days later.
The game adapts the classic spot-the-difference concept for the Wii Remote. Players compare two nearly identical pictures and use the pointer to find discrepancies within a time limit. Two cursors are available: one for precise zooming and another for selecting areas. Up to four players can compete in Party Mode, where the goal is to identify the most differences. Other modes include "Find The Monkey," which tasks players with locating a hidden monkey illustration that varies in style, and "Super Fun Classic," a timed challenge to find five differences per image. "Leisure" mode removes the time limit, letting players work through five photos at their own pace. The game advertises 333 pictures, each potentially containing up to ten mistakes.
Critical reception was mixed, earning a 56/100 score on Metacritic from four reviews. Nintendo Life’s Sean Aaron praised the controls and challenging photos, calling it a decent budget title, but found the party mode lackluster and the audio forgettable. He also questioned the claimed 333-image count. IGN’s Lucas M. Thomas criticized the overly subtle differences, noting that using wild cards to reveal a spot often felt cheap. He concluded the game was best suited for children’s activity books and magazines.
- Developer
- Cosmonaut Games
- Publisher
- Not specified
- Platform
- WiiWare
- Release Europe
- July 10, 2009
- Release North America
- July 20, 2009
- Genre
- Party video game, spot the difference
- Metacritic Score
- 56/100
Lore & Background
5 Spots Party is a video game version of spot the difference, where players are given two near-identical pictures and must uncover differences under a time limit using the Wii Remote pointer. The player controls two cursors: one for precision zooming and another for selecting part of an image. The game supports up to four players in Party Mode, where the aim is to spot the most differences among players. Other modes include 'Find The Monkey', which involves finding a picture of a monkey hidden in a photo, with monkeys varying in art style and appearance; 'Super Fun Classic', which entails finding five differences in similar-looking pictures within a specific time; and 'Leisure', which has no time limit and tasks the player with progressing through five photos as quickly as possible. The game claims to feature 333 pictures, with a possible ten mistakes in each picture. After a mode ends, the player's score is entered on a scoreboard accessible from the main menu.
Reader's Guide
5 Spots Party received mixed reviews from critics upon release. On Metacritic, it holds a score of 56 out of 100 based on four reviews, indicating 'mixed or average reviews'. Writing for Nintendo Life, Sean Aaron praised the game overall, noting that the concept is not terribly compelling but that a clever control mechanism, timer, and challenging photos made for a decent budget WiiWare title. However, he criticized the party mode as 'lacklustre' and found the sound effects and music 'forgettable bordering on annoying'. Aaron also doubted the game's claim of 333 images, suggesting creative math might be involved. Writing for IGN, Lucas M. Thomas criticized the subtlety of the visual differences, saying many are incredibly subtle and add frustration, and that using wild cards to reveal missing spots often feels cheated when the difference is barely two pixels. He concluded that the activity is best kept in magazines and coloring books for kids. The game's significance lies in its attempt to bring a classic puzzle format to the WiiWare platform with multiplayer and varied modes, though its execution received mixed responses.
Did You Know?
- The game claims to feature 333 pictures, with a possible ten mistakes in each picture.
- One game mode, 'Find The Monkey', involves finding a picture of a monkey hidden in a photo, with monkeys varying in art style and appearance.
- The player controls two cursors: one for precision zooming and another for selecting part of an image.
- On Metacritic, the game holds a score of 56 out of 100 based on four reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is 5 Spots Party?
It is a WiiWare party game built around the classic spot-the-difference mechanic, developed by Spanish studio Cosmonaut Games. The title acts as a multiplayer spin-off of the earlier PC casual games 5 Spots and 5 Spots II by KatGames.
How does gameplay work in 5 Spots Party?
Players compare two nearly identical pictures and use the Wii Remote pointer to locate discrepancies before a timer expires. The game provides two cursor options: one for zooming into fine details and another for selecting broader areas.
How many people can play 5 Spots Party together?
Up to four players can compete in Party Mode, where each person races to identify the most differences. The format is designed as a social, competitive experience for a group.
When was 5 Spots Party released and on what platform?
The game launched in Europe on July 10, 2009, with a North American release following on July 20, 2009. It was distributed exclusively through the WiiWare digital storefront for the Nintendo Wii.
What is 5 Spots Party's connection to the original 5 Spots series?
It is a direct adaptation of the PC titles 5 Spots and 5 Spots II, which were originally created by KatGames. Cosmonaut Games reworked the core concept for the Wii Remote's pointer controls and added a four-player competitive party element not present in the single-player originals.
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