Mario Party 4

"Fun for the first few minutes, but the novelty wears off fast."

I got this game along with my Gamecube a couple years ago, and I have to say that it's a game that really does not live up to its potential. I was very disappointed. With three other Mario Party games already out, this idea is one that can't really be used anymore, and Mario Party 4 shows it.

Story: 2/10
MP4 really doesn't even have a story. Basically, a bunch of Nintendo's characters are getting together to celebrate your birthday (and it probably won't be your birthday when you play it, anyway). Other than that, there's no story, and I would've given this a 1/10, but you have to give them another point for at least trying. Besides, the story isn't that important to the game anyway, so it's pretty much ignorable, but the story is still pretty weak and does subtract from the game a little.

Graphics: 8/10
The graphics are actually pretty good. There's no overlap, everything's smooth, yet it lacks detail sometimes. Compared with games like Super Smash Bros. Melee, where the overalls on Mario are actually detailed to look like real denim, this game's characters seem pretty basic, with no real color variation. Their skin is all one color, with no tone, their clothes look more like cheap plastic than fabric, but other than that, it's all right. The board and minigames are actually surprisingly detailed. The one complaint I have is that the boards are actually a bit lacking in variety. The standard board spaces, characters, and mini games stay entirely the same, and most of the board environment is floating below the playing area in subspace. Nintendo really could have done a better job of giving the boards more variety.

Sound: 6/10
Ehhh, what can you say. The character's voices and the monotonous ''blip, blip, blip'' sound of your character walking along the board can get annoying, but not to the point of taking away from the game too much. The music for each board is really nothing special, and really not as good as it could be. It's not so much annoying as just really bland and repetitive.

1-Player: 4/10
The 1-player mode can be summed up in one word: ''meh''. All you really do in Story Mode, which is this game's one player, is play through the same board over and over with different characters until you get all the prizes for them. You get one prize for each board you complete (per character), six boards to complete per character, and there are 8 characters, so in total that's 48. 48 prizes, 48 board rounds you have to play to get them. Now tell me, are you really going to sit down and play 48 rounds of the same boards and minigames just to get some little trophies? Probably not. I know that I got bored with it just after completing Daisy and Yoshi's present rooms. You can also play all the minigames you have unlocked to your heart's content in the mini-game room, but it takes too long to load each of them and you'll probably be sick of all of them by the time you unlock them all anyway. Not to mention, many of the AI characters are incredibly stupid, even when set on high difficulties.

Multiplayer: 3/10
The multiplayer is even worse than the single player. You play against your friends on a board, and it's really the same as single-player, except that you don't even get trophies for completing the multi-player. The games get about as invigorating as a round of monopoly, and you'll probably start getting tired of it before you even finish the first game. This really isn't a game you're going to host a giant neighborhood tournament in your basement for.

Replayability: Nonexistent
You probably won't have enough patience or time to finish this game at all, let alone play it again after you HAVE finished it. This really isn't a game that's going to keep you glued to the TV for hours at a time, trying to get a perfect score in Mario Medley. Once you beat a few of the boards, you won't really be interested by it. I'm all for strategy games, but Mario Party 4 really just doesn't grab your attention.

Rent or Buy?: RENT
Really, just rent this game for a sleep-over with your friends and that's it. You really won't be captivated by it for long, and it's not a great way to spend 20 bucks, trust me. I've had this game for almost a year, and haven't touched it for more than a couple hours.

Overall:
This game is an okay, fun-for-one-day game, but it really isn't one you should slave over a lemonade stand to raise money for. Rent it for a day and test it out if you want, but trust me, you don't need it. The gameplay is less than exciting, the replay value at a minimum. Nintendo really could have done better.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 02/15/04