Mario Party 6

"What are friends for?"

The Mario Party series has seen many editions, and there isn't much different in the sixth edition. This is the first MP game I've played so I didn't know what to expect. I've come to realize this is the ultimate party game to play with other people. While Halo or Super Smash Bros. may dominate the main population, anyone can start playing Mario Party and win against people who play it constantly.

Although Mario Party is known for it's multi-player aspects, you can play a single player version of the game, although it is much less fun. Doing a solo adventure is really only to obtain new mini-games and gain stars so you can purchase new unlockables such as extra levels or bonus material. Starting a solo adventure; you can choose from three different levels and then you try to collect mini-games before you reach the end of the course. However, if you over shoot the last spot, you lose any mini-games you may have collected. If you happen to have another friend or friends to play with, you can really start to have fun in the party mode. Here you can choose from five different levels and you will compete to get the most stars. There are some other modes; a mini-game mode where you play mini-games and try to get to the end of a bridge or play a game of bingo with it. If you happen to get a mic, you can experience the game in a whole new way.

Starting a normal party game will prompt you to choose your character, the difficulty, what mini-games you will play, and where you want to play. Then, a dice block will appear above each player's head and this will decide what order each character will go. From here on out, all four players will roll, move, and then after all four have moved, a random mini-game will be chosen to play for coins. There are many different things that can occur on each game board, and naturally, each level has its own secrets. But for the most part, there are two main spots you can land; red and blue spots. Blue spots will give you some coins and red will take them away. Other spots include; orb bonuses, duels, shops, unknown spots, (which can either help or greatly not help) and many others.

Like I mentioned before, your main goal is to obtain as many stars as possible by the end of the game. Some levels require you to race around the board and be the first to pass it by. Others require you to purchase it at a specific spot or to land somewhere specific. And just because one player has more stars than you at the end of the game, doesn't mean they've won. There are bonus stars awarded for the mini-game champ and the biggest orb user. Orbs can be very useful in the game, they can give you an extra roll or you can place them where your opponents will land on them to steal some coins or stop them in their tracks.

Although it's extremely addicting at first and a huge hit at a party. You can quickly get bored of the repetitiveness the game has you go through. You're required to sit through the same dialog time after time and the mini-games get boring pretty easily. Not to mention some are honestly impossible to win which makes no sense at all. At first you'll find some of the games to be fun, but the controls they give a lot of the mini-games are really misplaced.

The graphics and sound are nothing special, but you shouldn't judge this game by that, it's really about the fun factor. Visuals are choppy at times as you can easily notice the ugly corners coming off each character and building. It's not that bother though. I would definitely recommend this as a rental for any party or gathering you might have coming up. It's my favorite Mario Party available on the Gamecube so this should be the one you set your sights on.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/02/07, Updated 04/20/09

Game Release: Mario Party 6 (US, 12/06/04)