"Worth Every Penny"

Introduction
Mario Party DS is the latest edition to the Mario Party series. I am a fan of the Mario Party Series so when I got Mario Party DS I had high expectations. This game was all I expected and more. The DS' touch screen and microphone allow for an interesting style of gameplay.

Story 9/10
Mario and the rest of his friends get an invitation to a party being thrown by Bowser. Thinking he has changed from his evil ways they go to the party. When they get there they find out that he has not changed from his evil ways and he has another evil scheme. He has built a shrink ray and he uses it to shrink them all. Now you have to go through all the stages (Wiggler's Garden, Toadette's Music Room, DK's Stone Statue, Kamek's Library, and Bowser's Pinball Machine) as one of the 8 characters (Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Peach, Daisy, Toad, and Yoshi) and defeat each boss (Petty Piranha, Hammer Bro, Dry Bones, Kamek, and Bowser).

Gameplay 10/10
Like in the previous versions gameplay is the best quality of this game. The thing that puts the gameplay in this game over the top is the ability to use buttons, touch screen, and the microphone. One good example would be the minigame Short Fuse. You have to blow into the microphone to make the fuse shorter but not so short that it makes it explodes. If it explodes while you are still blowing you get eliminated. In the minigame Goomba Wrangler you use the stylus to draw circles around goombas and the one who gets the most goombas wins. Those were two good examples of how the gameplay has changed thanks to the touch screen and microphone.

Graphics 9/10
The DS graphics are not the greatest in the world but they are pretty good in this game. The graphics have to be clear or certain minigames can't be played. Domino Effect is a good example of this. In this minigame you have to jump across books by pushing the corresponding button shown. If the graphics were not clear enough it would be almost impossible to play.

Audio 9/10
There really is no need for great audio as it doesn't do much except for playing catchy background music and the voices of the characters saying “I'm a superstar!”

Replayablity 9/10
You will have to do story mode with each character to get all the badges and items. After that you can just play minigame or party mode by yourself or with friends.

Final Say 9/10
This game is worth all that you paid for or will pay for if you by this game. You should by it but it is not a must have.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/18/08

Game Release: Mario Party DS (US, 11/19/07)