Mario Party 2

"Let's keep this party going..."

Just by starting this game, you immediately see how superior it is to Mario Party 1. This time, instead of fighting over who the Super Star is, they are arguing over who should name the land they discovered. To decided who should call it, everyone agrees that whoever defeats King Bowser shall name it. But apparently over the time lapse between some games, Bowser gets another Koopaling. This one is simply "Baby Bowser". Watch out for him!

Like the first game, you can select from Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Wario or Donkey Kong to be your player. You select how many turns will be played and whether or not you want bonuses at the end. Then you select a board you want to go to, and that's where the fun all begins.

At the beginning of the game, the Koopa Troop tells you about Bowser's plot for the map you're on and how to avoid him. There is a new "Bank Space" in this game (which subtracts 5 coins from your total each time you pass it) and if, in the last 5 turns, two players land on the same sqaure, a duel will begin and will be played for a certain amount of coins. Also, some boards are booby-trapped and are dangerous, so sometimes, it's best to watch out for those "?" spaces.

Toad is now hidden somewhere on the board and will charge 20 coins for a star. Like last time, whoever has the most stars at the end wins. If someone reaches Toad and gets a star, Baby Bowser will take Toad's place and cause trouble for the next person who walks by. Not only that, but now Boo has gotten greedier. Boo now charges coins to steal coins.

In this game, you can also carry items. Items such as a mushroom will allow you to roll more than one dice block and add the two numbers together, therefore determining how many spaces you can walk that turn, a skeleton key that will open some doors, a boo bell to call boo to where you are, a magic lamp that will take you to the star, and many more. The catch is: you can only hold one item. So, if you're going to strategize on how to use an item, be sure to think carefully. To get an item, you have to stop at some shops along the way and buy the item, which is usually worth it.

There are lots of new minigames, including honeycomb havoc, Archer-rival and Bowser's Big Blast. ( a personal favorite) Some games, however, like Hexagon Heat, are pretty much the same mini-games from the original Mario Party with a different name. Others like Platform Peril and Skateboard Scamper ARE the same (except pretty much for location) Still, there are some new and improved mini-games, and it won't hurt to practice some for a little while before really playing it.

If you want to play a mini-game outside a real game, you can, just as long as you can afford it. If you win enough coins in the main game, then you can buy minigames and play them whenever you want, whether they're a free-for all game, a 2 vs. 2 game, or a 1 against 3, you can buy them all. The only ones you can't buy are the battle and duel mini games, which is a shame, because those are some of my favorites.

For a final recommendation, it really livens up the game if you have more people playing than computers. Computers are predictable, and will never form an alliance (it also means they can never betray you, but that's away from the point) Also, unlike us humans, computers can't plan ahead, which really doesn't make themselves worthy adversaries. So, get some people over and get this party really started!

Buy or Rent?
If you just plan on playing this alone and not have another human play it, then I would recommend you rent this game, since it will get boring after a while. If you plan on just mainly playing it with one other person, this game should also just be rented because it will also get boring. If you have three, it would probably be smarter to buy it, and if you have four people, don't even consider renting it. Just go out to the store and buy it!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/04