Mario Party 3 Review

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(More customer reviews)Well, let me start by saying that you won't fully appreciate this game unless you've played the first two. The original Mario Party was insanely difficult and didn't offer you a whole lot of choices other than roll and hope you don't get screwed, since it seemed like Bowser was everywhere. In Mario Party 2, items were introduced and alternate game modes. You only got to carry one item and they were insanely expensive. Then came Mario Party 3. Well, let me say, I've never seen a game evolve so much from one sequel to the next.
You will enjoy this game if you've ever played a real-life board game with friends or family. Most living, breathing beings who enjoy a little friendly competition with an interactive backdrop will enjoy this game. Even if you lose, which you will from time to time, it's still a lot of fun. I've only explored the battle royal mode, which is just a fancy name for the regular multiplayer mode, and haven't had a chance to explore the other modes. This mode alone makes the game worthwhile. Even if you don't have anyone to play against, its still fun as a one-player game. How so? Well, for starters, it takes four players to play battle royal mode. If you're short, you can substitute a computer player, so essentially, this is a 1-4 player game. Two new characters have been added, Daisy and Waluigi (both from Mario Golf), for a total of eight characters to choose from.
The single defining quality of this game is that now you can save your game file.... The creators had foresight enough to leave three spaces for saving games under a file name. If you're in the middle of a game, you can go to the options menu and choose "Don't Save", "Save After This Turn", or "Save After Every Turn". That alone is beautiful, no longer do you have to sit and finish a 50-turn game, which could take over two hours to finish. In addition, you can set the speed of the messages and actual gameplay. That helps if you're in a hurry and want to get a quick game in.
Now here is probably one of the most useful features of the game, that isn't explicitly stated in the instruction manual. Say four of you are playing and somebody has to leave. Simply pause the game, and there is a menu option that lets you switch players back and forth between human and computer. Say that person is only gone for a few turns, then pause and switch them back to human when they return....
Also, we've gone from no items, to one item, to being able to carry up to three items at the same time. In addition, the prices have dropped sharply, unlike the real world. That's because there were only a handful of items in MP2. Now there are about double if not more and a lot more opportunities to acquire them. The items are what really make the game unpredictable. That coupled with Chance Time and Hidden Blocks makes it truly anybody's game. Don't worry if one player is dominant at most of the minigames. There is still the possibility of outsmarting them for the win. Some of the new items are truly evil in nature and others very practical and well-thought out. For example, the Boo Repellent is essential for keeping the kleptomaniac apparition at bay. The Cellular Shopper lets you buy an item at any place on the board, on your turn. In addition, there's item that lets you call Bowser and sick 'em on somebody of your choosing, a lamp that moves the star at random, a mushroom that makes someone you choose move backward for one turn, etc. The list goes on and on. The unpredictability of MP3 as opposed to MP2 makes the game incredibly more fun.
Simply put, if you like board games then you'll love this. It is truly a party. Worth every bit of the ... I paid. Nintendo certainly knows how to improve upon its predecessor titles. Go get it!

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Product Description:
Mario, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and all your favorite characters are back in Mario Party 3. This game features 70 minigames that make you use your N64 controller in ways you never thought imaginable. Like its predecessors, up to four people can participate in five areas in board-game-style play. As you traverse the board, you'll have your chances to compete in the aforementioned minigames. Then it's all about button mashing and analog-stick twisting. The gamepad techniques are easily explained, but some of them are tougher than they look. The single-player story mode is an absolute chore filled with as much watching as playing. You're not supposed to play this game alone, hence the word "party" in the title. Multiplayer modes include party, battle royal, and duel. The first two are the basic free-for-alls found in previous games, while duel mode is an interesting addition that combines elements from Othello and Monopoly with the minigames. The various modes help shorten multiplayer game time, which was a problem in previous versions. Mario Party 3 continues the series' tradition of being the top dog of party games. With its numerous easy-to-learn minigames, it's perfect for when you and your friend are looking for quick, mindless fun. --Raymond M. Padilla

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Mario Party 7 Review

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(More customer reviews)The past few years have really shown that Nintendo has come a real long way with their highly acclaimed video game series for the Gamecube. Yet out of all of them, none of them has ever been as interactive as the Mario Party franchise. Since its debut for the Nintendo 64 back in 1998, it has arguably been a well-recognized institution that has still gotten better with age. The last one, Mario Party 6 was arguably one of the best editions ever, with the interactive voice recognition of the microphone to the mix. Now, the question that is asked is that could Nintendo develop a better Mario Party than before? Here is the answer.

Mario Party 7 for the Nintendo Gamecube, really shows a whole lot of growth from the previous Mario Party games, by placing Mario and company into a imaginative around the world cruise, where each of the games are parodies of exotic locations like Windmillville for Holland, and the Grand Canal is to Venice, Italy. The game also highlights over 80 different mini-games like Take Me Ohm and Bubble Brawl and Tunnel Of Lava, and some of them by using as many as eight different players to the test. The game also has even more unlockables including 2 characters, Birdo and the return of Dry Bones who had a comeback with Mario Superstar Baseball recently, and unique games as well. Mario Party 7 also does do a whole lot more by placing nearly a dozen more games with the microphone to the test with memory and racing games to, as well which comes with the game, which people who've bought the previous Mario Party 6 know isn't a must but for those who didn't get it is.

Yet, with all the improvements, there is one disadvantage to the test, and that is the solo mode. Unlike Mario Party 6 where the solo mode you could play all the different various games,you only have a limited number of games you can play with like the duel mini-games, the Bowser and Donkey Kong games, and the mic-games, which is unfortunate. Also, you have to tackle certain number of challenges which can be confusing to conquer and takes awhile, but it is worth the effort to play.

All in all, Mario Party 7 is a premire title, and is really a must have for anybody who owns a Gamecube. Although this might be the last Mario Party for this system, considering Nintendo's interest in their upcoming revolution system, it truly is worth the effort of this dice.

Graphics: A-

Sound: B+

Games: A

Price: B+

Fun & Enjoyment: A-

Overall: B+

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Product Description:
You can play more than 80 new minigames in the most recent Mario-themed party game, Mario Party 7. Mario and pals needed some time off, but they forgot to invite Bowser on their cruise. You can battle against an angry Bowser or up to seven of your friends on a single GameCube system. Mario Party 7 includes a few new characters and brings back microphone support from Mario Party 6.

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Mario Party 8 Review

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(More customer reviews)Ever since Mario Party debuted on the Nintendo 64, we've been receiving a new game in the series on a yearly basis.The last few Mario Party games have all been tiring.Almost rehashes.However, with the Wii, Mario Party has a chance to be a lot of fun again thanks to the Wii-Remote.Unfortunately, it isn't all its cracked up to be.The Wii-Remote controls work, but they feel like a last minute tack on, and ultimately some of the mini-games just aren't all that fun.Finally, there are other video games chock full of mini-games that make much better use of the Wii-Remote than Mario Party 8.

The formula for Mario Party really hasn't changed at all over the years.You and your friends (or the computer) will roll the die, move around the board at the end of each round of rolls you'll be thrown into a mini-game.

The mini-games are pretty short.Most of them being around 30 seconds long.Some of them are quite fun and make good use of the wii remote, such as the game where you have to shake up a soda can, or wipe off the chomp.However, there are not a lot of these kinds of mini-games.Most other mini-games don't make as big of an impression with the wii-remote, as most of them consist of you holding the wii remote like a basic gamepad and then tilting it left or right.Take for example, the game where you race on water skis.You don't actually do anything outside of tilting the wii remote left and right to jump ramps.It is in moments like these where the wii remote controls just feel tacked on.And unfortunately, this comes up in quite a few mini games.There are also a lot of mini games that simply have you tilting the Wii-Remote forward and backward.Again, the controls feel tacked on in instances like this.

The biggest slap in the face, however, is that there are a myriad of mini-games that don't use the wii-remotes motion sensor controls at all and you'll hold it like a gamepad, and play with it like it's a gamepad using the D-Pad to move your character and all.It's also to no credit that these games aren't really all that fun.

To the game's credit, though, when they do make good use of the wii-remote and its motion sensor controls, they really do a bang up job.Such as the mini-game where everyone shoots at the screen while one person dodges.It's just unfortunate that there aren't a lot of mini-games that do so, and instead make you either play the traditional way or just simply tilt the wii remote.There are some fun games here, but the game is populated by more games that really aren't a lot of fun.

As usual, Mario Party games are no fun by yourself.They need to be played with friends and family.Like previous installments, multi-player can be a lot of fun--provided you get a good mini-game.Some of the games are free-for-all but there are also some games where you'll be by yourself against three players, or working together with one other player.Mostly, though, they're free for alls, and playing with a friend is nice just so that you can see who's better.Multi-player has always been a strong aspect of Mario Party and it's no different in number 8.However, much like previous installments, the game is entirely left up to chance.One moment you're in first place, and after the very next roll you're in last.It's annoying sometimes because you really don't have any control.It's all a game based on luck.This is both a good and bad thing. Good because it makes the outcome unpredictable, and once more anyone can play this without any prior experience.It's bad, however, because for some who like to add a little strategy to their gaming, you just can't do it here.

Perhaps the biggest problem facing Mario Party 8 is that it doesn't really present a whole lot of new stuff that wasn't in Mario Party 7.With the game making use of the Wii-Remote, one would expect the experience to be quite different.Instead it's more of the same thing.Especially because there are other games on the Wii that are filled with mini-games that make far better use of the remote (Rayman Raving Rabbids comes to mind).In Mario Party 8 the wii remote controls either feel tacked on or you don't really use them.It's also hard to get past the fact that the mini-games aren't very inventive because of this.Certainly water-skiing is fun, but when you're just tilting left and right throughout the whole thing?You might as well have just put this on the Gamecube and let me tilt the analog stick left and right.

Graphically, it's no surprise that Mario Party 8 isn't the best looking game out there.Mario Party games usually aren't.At least it runs smoothly.There's no slow down or frame rate issues.It really doesn't look any different than any of the Mario Party games on the Gamecube however, and those who have a widescreen television will be disappointed to know that the game won't take up the whole screen, and instead will give you a boarder.Luckily, graphics don't make the game.Mario Party doesn't look bad, it just looks dated.

Mario Party 8 had so much potential.If they'd done more intuitive things with the Wii Remote, this may have been worth a buy.There are other mini-game collections out there that utilize the wii remote much better than this.There will be plenty of gamers out there that will be able to get past the big flaws and just have fun with it, but if you're one who's been playing Mario Party since the beginning, you can't help but admit a change is in order.Unfortunately Mario Party 8 doesn't do much for you.

Pros:

+When the Wii Controls are good, the games are actually quite fun
+Simplistic gameplay; anyone could pick this up and play it with no problems
+There are over 60 mini-games to play

Cons:

-There are far too many mini-games where the wii controls feel tacked on, and these games are pretty boring to play
-There are far too many mini-games that don't make use of the motion sensor controls at all
-There are not a lot of very inventive mini-games
-In short, the game doesn't do much to stand out above previous Mario Party installments.You'd think with the Wii Remote, Mario Party 8 would be something new to experience, but instead it ends up not being that much of a step higher than Mario Party 7

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