"The 7th Mario Party! How will it stack up with the others?"

Mario Party has been a 4-Player game for years, until now, Mario Party 7 introduces 8 Players and a new team battle along with the 4-Team battle for Party Cruise. How well will it stack up with the other Mario Parties?

Graphics - 9/10
The graphics really haven't changed much, they're still the shiny characters they are. I can't have a say in here.

Character Choice - 10/10
I don't really have a problem with the choices for this game, Toadette joined Mario Party as a character that you start with and the inclusion of Dry Bones and Birdo is nice. I'm having a strange feeling that characters that have first appeared in Mario Kart is slowly joining the Mario Party cast but that's just me.

Sound - 8/10
The music and sound here are alright, the King of the River's music tells you to keep moving forward and the music for the boards fits the boards nicely but once you unlock Annoy Mode and you have a L-pushing happy friend and its not their turn, prepare for a world of annoyance.

Gameplay - 8/10
Still the same formula with a little tweaks here and there, Team Battles aren't what they used to be but you have the effect of a mushroom playing in teams and if you use the Super 'Shroom, laugh evilly as you roam across the board with your teammate in an attempt to grab 2 or so Stars on the boards where you have to get Stars for 20 Coins. The boards are more different than they are, Neon Heights pits you in a hunt for the star in one of the chests whilst Windmill-Ville puts you into a Windmill mania as you try to get more stars/windmills than your enemies. This loses 2 points for the increasing difficulty in Solo Cruise.

Re-playability - 7/10
Mario Parties are okay at re-playability, this one keeps you coming back to unlock that last souvenir or beat that one record you got in a mini-game. I don't really have much words for this section.

Overall - 9/10
The game is very good but luck minigames have left the Duel building and raided Battle and 4-Player. 8-Player and its own mini-games can help with re-playabilty and the Mic gets used in 4-Player and 1 vs 3 Mic Mini-games and in a space that you would HATE to bet all your coins on. Overall, it gets a 9.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/15/06