Mario Party 2

"Great game! But not as good as the other two!"

OPENING STATEMENT:
Mario Party 2 is a pretty good game, but not as good as the first and third. I like some of the changes it made from the old one which led to better improvements in the third, but it isn't as good as the first. Any ways, on to my FIRST review...

GAMEPLAY:7/10
It's basically the same, you go around a board playing minigames, and collecting items, coins, and stars. You hit a block at the beginning of your turn, move as far as it says and land on a space which is either blue, red, or a green one. The most common are the blue, if you land on a blue you gain three coins automatically. The least common are the red, there are two different kinds of red spaces, there are plain red spaces, which take away three coins, and the Bowser spaces, which take you to Bowser's lair where he makes you play his Bowser roulette, making a special event happen, which usually isn't good. The last kind are green, there are five different kinds of green spaces, there are happening spaces, which are like the name suggests; bank spaces which charge you five coins whenever you pass by, but if you land directly on them they give you all the money they have collected so far; item spaces, which take you to an item minigame; chance spaces, which make you play a chance time game, makes you hit blocks that make you or someone else give coins or stars to someone else; lightning spaces(my favorite!), which send you and your opponents to play a battle minigame. After you've landed on one of these you and your opponents play a minigame. Depending on which color space you landed on you are divided into teams, if you landed on blue you are on the blue team, land on red and you're on the red team, land on green and you are randomly put on either the blue team or red. Then you are either on blue or red, it could be a three vs. one game, a two vs. two game, or the most common, everyone for himself.
On the boards there are also shops and things. At the shops you use coins to buy items. Depending on which level you're on you can pass by places which will do things for you if you give them money, such as Shy Guy's house in Mystery Land which makes you pay five coins if you want him to cast a curse on one of your enemies. I am glad they kept my favorite one of these things in it, actually it's a character, Boo, which is the only one that is on every level, he steals coins for five coins, however many he steals he gives to you, or he can steal a star for fifty coins.
You can also go to mini game land. Where there is a tree who sells you mini games. There is a park with three trees in it which lets you play all the different mini games from the other tree. There is also a mini game stadium where you play a mini game competition. You have a bank that keeps your money safe. You can check out a bottle that shows you all the different records. The last thing there is is the mine cart, where you attempt to beat all the mini games and earn new mini games.
The gameplay is mostly the same as the first, except that there are new kinds of green spaces(all except the happening spaces), some new levels, and a few other things.

GRAPHICS:8/10
The graphics are better than the first and the same as the third. The boards are very detailed, the game spaces are bigger and easier to see, the characters where different clothes depending on who and where they are(even D.K. wheres clothes). They are sharper and more impressive than the first, but I have definently seen better.

MUSIC:7/10
SOUND:9/10
The music isn't bad but it's too childish. The reason it got a 7 instead of a 6 is because it had some cool old Mario tunes in it. But I also like the way it varies in different places.
The sound is better, it's awesome! It's almost perfect, like when you jump the sound is uncanny, when you saw through a log the sound is undoubtable! Well obviously, I like it. The sounds are very well done and deserve credit for being so good.

CONTROL:9/10
There basically isn't any on the board, so this is dedicated to the best part of the game, the MINIGAMES! Control in minigames depends on which game you're playing, in some you just have to press the A button a lot in some you have to steer a big ball into your opponents(my favorite, back from the first it's BUMPER BALLS!)You do all sorts of different button combonations, I don't care! The minigames are awesome! Just go play them and stop reading this review!!! ... pant, pant...

STORY:4/10
This is the dumb part. It's lamer than the first and the third. I almost wanted to get rid of it as soon as I saw it at the beggining,but then I remembered the fun I had with the first.The stoy is that... Mario and friends created a new world called Mario Land, but one person didn't agree with the name, it was Wario! He said it should be called Wario Land because he was the true superstar. Then everyone started to argue about what it should be called. Then Peach told everyone that she had a name that everyone would love, the others thought to themselves, '' Just like a princess to come up with a beautiful idea''. She said, ''It should be called Peach Land.'' ... see, lame... Then everyone falls down, then start to argue again. It was about this time(this is narrated by Toad) that Bowser started to attack Mario Land. A faithful Koopa Troopa saw and went to warn Mario and friends. He yelled, '' Quickly, Bowser is attacking Mario Land'', but he was ignored. Then Toad (who was getting annoyed by their arguing) said, '' Why don't we name it after the ''SUPERSTAR'' who defeats Bowser?'' Everyone agrees and runs off to defeat Bowser. Then Toad says some encouraging mumbo-jumbo. So You again have to be the super star by getting the most stars. After playing for a little while Bowser kidnaps Toad and makes you go to Bowser Land. See, lame.
The first one had a better story. They just were all bored and Toad suggested they find out who the superstar was, or something like that. Then nothing happs in the story untill you get 100 stars, then Bowser staels them and makes you play his new level to get them back. That was the best story it was very simple.
The third story isn't bad, it has something to do with the Millenium star but I won't keep wasting your time.

FUN:8/10
Really fun usually, unless you're playing a stupid level(most of the 6 of them) or it gets boring.

CHALLENGE: VARRIES
It's easy actually but if you play against a computer(which is boring)the level of difficulty depends on which you set it on, or if you're playing a hard friend.

*PROS and *CONS
Pros:
*My first review!
*Good Graghics
*Great sound effcts
*Mini games are awesome
*Buttons in Mini games are easy

Cons:
*Music is childish
*Lame story
*Levels suck a lot

BUY or RENT?:EITHER
It depends, if you have a lot of friends to play with..... BUY IT RIGHT NOW!!! But if you don't, rent it and don't rent it again.

CLOSING STATEMENT:
Great mini games. Not as good as the others, but still pretty good. That's why it got an 8/10. Have a great day... and don't get shot in the back.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/05/02, Updated 03/05/02