Mario Party 5

"Multiplayer Madness all over again!!"

Wow, I was just finishing playing Mario Party 4 when this game came out. The Mario Party have always been known for coming out really quickly after their prequels. Mario Party 5 has to be the best Mario Party yet for many different reasons. This time, Hudson Soft. when a little further and added different modes, 3-D boards and an improved single player experience. Is Mario Party 5 a good game or should you stick with your own copy of Mario Party 4. Want to know, then read the review.

Graphics 6/10

The graphics in this game are a little disappointing. Mario Party 5 graphics haven't changed much since Mario Party 4, they look to alike. The characters are still good looking in design, but still not as good as the one in Super Smash Bros. Melee(Gamecube). In the good side, the environment in some Mini-games are really good looking. Some examples of some nice environment are in mini-games like Hydrostars and Heat Stroke. The water looks really realistic and in Heat Stroke, the sun looks very hot. Another cool thing are the background in some places and menus. Modes like Decathlon have very nice backgrounds. The boards are really good looking this time and the best ting about the boards is that they are finally in 3-D, time to start climbing those ladders. This game has good graphics but too bad they didn't improved the graphics that much.

Sound 5/10

Another feature that never it's good and leaves you disappointed in the Mario Party series is the sound and music. The music in this game is very nice and some of the music is new but they still sound too alike like their prequel counterparts. The sound in the other way is good but not that great. The sound in some mini-games and other stuff is very well done but they aren't revolutionary in any way. The annoying voices are back in this version and they haven't changed a bit. They still have that annoying Daisy voice that gets right into your nerves. Like the graphics, the sound could have been better.

Gameplay 9/10

Gameplay has always been Mario Party strongest point and still doesn't disappoint even after it fifth instalment. The bad thing is that the main game still basically the same with a few new things. If you played the previous installments, you'll be right back at home in this game. The few touches in this game aren't bad either and they are some of the most innovative things that have happen to the Mario Party series yet. The most innovative thing in the game is the cool capsule system that you get to use. The capsule system lets you customize the boards in the way you want adding a lot of cool stuff into the game. just try adding a lot of Bob-omb capsules and you know you're going to get annoying (in a good way, of course). The other new feature they added to this game is the improved Story mode. This time you get to face three different Koopa Kids. The cool thing about that is that the Koopa Kids hit their dice at the same time making the game more fast-pace. The other cool thing about the Story mode is that it have different rules so that makes the experience a bit different. Another cool new mode they added has to be the Super Duel. Super Duel Mode is a place where you customize your own tanks and you used them to face your friends or family. The cool thing is that if your friend has a cool machine, he could just insert his memory into your game and he will be able to use his own machine. Bonus mode is fun especially if you have someone to play with. Volleyball and Hockey are so fun and they are very good distraction but Card Party is as boring as hell. If you're going to play Card Party, I suggest playing Party mode instead. The best feature in Mario Party are the mini-games and this time you get over 70. more than in Mario Party 5. Some of the mini-games are really innovative. Mario Party 5 has the most challenging mini-games yet since they taken a turn for the puzzles. Hotel Goomba, Piece Out and Chomp Romp are really some nice examples of puzzle mini-games. The bad thing is that some of the mini-games requires you to mash a button for ten second or more. Many mini-games like Will Flower and Pump n' Jump requires you to mash a button a lot. If you're not a button masher fan, you will hate those mini-games. Some mini-games are rehashed but they still give you many amounts of fun.

Replay 9/10

If you have friends or family that love playing video games, this game will be fun for you all the time (until Mario Party 6 comes out) . The game is very good and will keep you and your friends entertained at least for a few months.

Overall Score 8/10

This is a must buy even if you owned Mario Party 4 but if you don't have friends, I suggest a rental. One thing is for sure, you're going to get some entertainment value out of this game.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/07/04