Nintendo 64

Mario Party

Mario Party is fun, even if you're playing alone. But like any good party, it's definitely better to play with a group of friends--you can cheer 'em on, cap on 'em, or try to jinx 'em. This game's a blast, no matter how you play it.

Mario Party mag dan wel bestemd zijn voor de wat jongere gamers, dat wil nog niet zeggen dat ook het oudere volk er geen plezier mee zou kunnen hebben. Ik heb me in ieder geval bijzonder goed vermaakt met deze eigenlijk wel unieke game.

Mario Party is most fun with four players, but if you only have two or three, the computer can control the other characters. The one-player mode is pretty lame in comparison. My friends enjoyed Mario Party, but some complained that it takes too long to play. Even on the quick setting, a game can easily exceed an hour and a half. If you have the attention span however, Mario Party delivers some terrific multi-player mayhem.

Concluyendo ya el análisis, decir que es un juego recomendable para jugar en familia ya que para eso fue diseñado. Entrando en materia técnica, decir que podía haber dado más de sí en gráficos, aunque cumplen perfectamente. Recomendable para fans de Mario o de Nintendo.

Add to that graphics that are pleasingly colourful and overall none too shabby (although the polygon models do look a tiny bit rough), plus decent enough sounds that consist of amusing voice samples and some nice tunes (including some great mambos and remixes of the SMB cave level music), and you've got the zest of Mario Party. It's a gimmicky kind of affair, and only shows it's true merits on 4-player occasions, but it does really shine in those moments. Some of the better mini-games will have you coming back for a few goes from time to time without being truly compulsively addictive all the same. Mario Party can't really be recommended over a much more satisfying RPG or platform adventure, but it does it's thing well and deserves kudos for it's inventive design. In typical Nintendo fashion, this is a novelty in videogaming history; the world's first non-rubbish video board game.

Mario Party is a great addition to any N64 gamer's library, and while the board game can be slow paced at times, those of you who are impatient can just buy all of the mini games and play them there. Pick up this game if you often have friends over.

Had the overall speed of gameplay been faster (especially when playing against computer players), Mario Party would have scored higher in our final review score. Still, this is probably one of the best "virtual board games" I have ever played and the inclusion of the many mini-games makes this one of the few ones that couldn't have been done better outside of a game console.

On the negative side, some of the minigames aren't very fun to play in the multiplayer mode because of control or perspective problems, or because they're just plain boring - but that's to be expected with the sheer number of games. Meanwhile, the games that are enjoyable to play in multiplayer are nowhere near as good in the single-player mode. Really, it's that multiplayer competitive spark of screaming at and/or cheering for your friends that injects life into these often-simple little games, and without it, they're just simple little games. The single-player mode seems thrown in the way multiplayer modes seem thrown in most other games. Mario Party is intended to be played with a group of friends, and for those people who can really take advantage of that, this game is a must-buy. The less-social gamer might want to rent.

Amère déception pour cet épisode des aventures de Mario qui ne fera pas date. Si vous n'êtes pas un irréductible de Mario qui a sa chambre remplie de poster de Nintendo, vous serez sûrement déçus par Mario Party. Sinon, vous trouverez peut-être à ce jeu quelques qualités (la variété des jeux disponibles)... Quoiqu'il en soit, gardez des sous pour les prochains hits de la N64, celui-ci n'en est pas vraiment un ! :-)

Mario Party is a great idea, but the simplistic nature of gameplay coupled with extremely short mini-games will leave most players feeling unsatisfied. After all the confetti is swept up, a lot of people will be going home unhappy.