Nights
03-21-2004, 12:42 AM
Gamecube: Mario Party 5
The Mario Party franchise has always been about multiplayer mayhem. This version is bursting with great mini-games, good graphics, and lasting appeal…making this the version to own!
Presentation:
Like all Mario games, the presentation is very light hearted and colorful. The game starts out with an wonderful introduction screen that is nicely decently animated. The game previews before you start or horrid and actually look worse then the game. The introductions are shown through a crystal ball that makes the graphics appear fuzzy and less crisp. Mario Party 5’s menu system is very boring with a semi-confusing structure and no personality. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem but considering the amount of options you have to go through to do anything makes it far to noticebale. Every time you play a game you have to go through the menus system. If the developer would have put some effort into the menu system (i.e. giving it personality and making it pleasing from a visual standpoint) then it would help prevent the menue systemt from feeling like a chore. Hudson did put effort into presenting the mini-games. Some of the mini-games even have clever introductions. (6)
Graphics:
Characters models look great, are well detailed, and decently animated. I still think that facial expressions would really benefit the series. The backgrounds in Mario Party 4 are totally 3d, so characters look like the fit in to their surroundings. Still backgrounds lack detail and could use better textures. Mini-games are the visual highlight showing nice special effects and/or sporting numerous objects at one time. Mario Party 5 has the best graphics in any party game I have played. Add HDTV support (even without) and you have a game pleasing on the eyes. (8)
Sound: Dolby Pro-Logic II support shows. The title still could use more voices! Toad’s voice has to go. What happened to the cute voice of Mario Kart? Still as a whole the game is happy, fun, and pleasant to hear. That is while your not talking trash about the peson playing as Peach! (7)
Gameplay: Mario Party 5’s Gameplay is so varied, I felt that it was best to break it into segments.
All of your favorite mini-games have returned in some form or another (i.e. the order of what you do might be changed or what you do is presented differently). A best of the Mario Party series would have been great; Hudson did add some all new games that are a blast! For those of you who are new to the Mario Party series: Mini-games arrange from what person can press button(s) quicker, knowing your controller, timing, puzzles, running through mazes, and even boat racing.
In story mode, you will compete against bowers children through (story driven) dueling environments. Hudson realized single player mode in previous versions was lacking, in order to remedy you will be greeted to as man mini-games as possible. The transitions after you roll the dice have been speed up as well. In Mario Party 5 all computerized players move at the same time, creating a much quicker transitions. If you or an opponent passes the other on the board a duel will then form between those characters. Dueling games are 1 on 1 mini-game battle. The Loser of the duel will forfeit the amount of coins announced before the match. Vs. Spaces cause different types of mini-games. If 3 bowsers are in the game you’ll play a 1 on 3 mini-game. If there are two bowsers left you will then play 2 on 2 mini-game where you and a friendly character, will joins forces to duke it out with the bowsers. 1 bowser will become another 1 on 1 duel type mini-game. The looser(s) then has to pay 5 coins the each opponent(s). When your coins go down to 0 you loose.
Secondly, there is party mode. For the most part this remains unchanged from the previous entries. The person with the most stars at the end of the game wins. If theirs is a tie the person with the most coins out of them will be declared the winner. Gone are the item shops, which are replaced by random capsules. You then can either use the capsules for a certain amount of coins or select a space for the item to be at, which is suppose to provide strategy.
Third are mini-game modes. These are fun alternatives to playing the main game. The options are mini-game circuit, mini-game decathlon, mini-game wars, mini-game tournament, free play, and mini-game battle. Mini-game circuit is cart racing version of Mario Party. You play mini-games and the winner gets to roll a dice to move forward on the track. You also have mushrooms you can use to help you out if you win. Mini-game decathlon is where you compete and the other players will compete for the highest total points between all mini-games played. Mini-game wars are my favorite! After you play a mini-game you select a tile which then turns to your characters color. This plays like Othello where the winner of the mini-game gets a turn. This is actually a very fun mode that requires some strategy and is quite a blast. Mini-game tournament is where everyone plays a 1 on 1 many game and the looser(s) are out. Free play is your standard play as many mini-games as you can handle, where as mini-game battle is who can beat a certain amount of many games first.
There are many bonuses in Mario Party 5. Mario Ice Hockey is a fun version of the sport. It’s very fun 2 on 2 format where the golly is controlled by the computer. Mario Volleyball which is a slightly improved version over Mario Party 4 has added a bomb ball option, where you have so many times you can hits the ball, until it blows up. This is actually a fun touch to the Mario Volleyball universe. Super Duel Mode is basically a Mario tank fighter. You buy customized parts for your tank and then battle it out with other tanks. (9)
Fun-Factor:
If you have friends playing with you, then this game’s a blast. I can’t tell you how many times my girlfriend wants to play this game. Unfortunately she is not a gamer; however it does serve as how fun this game is playing for even non-gamers. It’s one of those few games that both causal and hardcore gamers enjoy playing together, which gives it extra bonus points in my book! (9)
Lasting Appeal:
There are a ton of things to due in Mario Party 5. The mini-games are the best ever for the series, making it more enjoyable then the previous entries The game pacing has improved dramatically creating a more enjoyable experience. Many hours have been lost during the writing of this review. Friends come over and we play a game for hours. As long as you have friends and multiple controllers then you’ll have a blast. (8)
Overall I give Mario Party 5 an 8.2. It’s a hard game to recommend to people who owned the original but didn’t play it much. The game feels more like an expansion with many extras rather then a new game. However if you: owned the original and really enjoyed it or even are a fan of multiplayer games then I would recommend adding this title to your library.
The Mario Party franchise has always been about multiplayer mayhem. This version is bursting with great mini-games, good graphics, and lasting appeal…making this the version to own!
Presentation:
Like all Mario games, the presentation is very light hearted and colorful. The game starts out with an wonderful introduction screen that is nicely decently animated. The game previews before you start or horrid and actually look worse then the game. The introductions are shown through a crystal ball that makes the graphics appear fuzzy and less crisp. Mario Party 5’s menu system is very boring with a semi-confusing structure and no personality. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem but considering the amount of options you have to go through to do anything makes it far to noticebale. Every time you play a game you have to go through the menus system. If the developer would have put some effort into the menu system (i.e. giving it personality and making it pleasing from a visual standpoint) then it would help prevent the menue systemt from feeling like a chore. Hudson did put effort into presenting the mini-games. Some of the mini-games even have clever introductions. (6)
Graphics:
Characters models look great, are well detailed, and decently animated. I still think that facial expressions would really benefit the series. The backgrounds in Mario Party 4 are totally 3d, so characters look like the fit in to their surroundings. Still backgrounds lack detail and could use better textures. Mini-games are the visual highlight showing nice special effects and/or sporting numerous objects at one time. Mario Party 5 has the best graphics in any party game I have played. Add HDTV support (even without) and you have a game pleasing on the eyes. (8)
Sound: Dolby Pro-Logic II support shows. The title still could use more voices! Toad’s voice has to go. What happened to the cute voice of Mario Kart? Still as a whole the game is happy, fun, and pleasant to hear. That is while your not talking trash about the peson playing as Peach! (7)
Gameplay: Mario Party 5’s Gameplay is so varied, I felt that it was best to break it into segments.
All of your favorite mini-games have returned in some form or another (i.e. the order of what you do might be changed or what you do is presented differently). A best of the Mario Party series would have been great; Hudson did add some all new games that are a blast! For those of you who are new to the Mario Party series: Mini-games arrange from what person can press button(s) quicker, knowing your controller, timing, puzzles, running through mazes, and even boat racing.
In story mode, you will compete against bowers children through (story driven) dueling environments. Hudson realized single player mode in previous versions was lacking, in order to remedy you will be greeted to as man mini-games as possible. The transitions after you roll the dice have been speed up as well. In Mario Party 5 all computerized players move at the same time, creating a much quicker transitions. If you or an opponent passes the other on the board a duel will then form between those characters. Dueling games are 1 on 1 mini-game battle. The Loser of the duel will forfeit the amount of coins announced before the match. Vs. Spaces cause different types of mini-games. If 3 bowsers are in the game you’ll play a 1 on 3 mini-game. If there are two bowsers left you will then play 2 on 2 mini-game where you and a friendly character, will joins forces to duke it out with the bowsers. 1 bowser will become another 1 on 1 duel type mini-game. The looser(s) then has to pay 5 coins the each opponent(s). When your coins go down to 0 you loose.
Secondly, there is party mode. For the most part this remains unchanged from the previous entries. The person with the most stars at the end of the game wins. If theirs is a tie the person with the most coins out of them will be declared the winner. Gone are the item shops, which are replaced by random capsules. You then can either use the capsules for a certain amount of coins or select a space for the item to be at, which is suppose to provide strategy.
Third are mini-game modes. These are fun alternatives to playing the main game. The options are mini-game circuit, mini-game decathlon, mini-game wars, mini-game tournament, free play, and mini-game battle. Mini-game circuit is cart racing version of Mario Party. You play mini-games and the winner gets to roll a dice to move forward on the track. You also have mushrooms you can use to help you out if you win. Mini-game decathlon is where you compete and the other players will compete for the highest total points between all mini-games played. Mini-game wars are my favorite! After you play a mini-game you select a tile which then turns to your characters color. This plays like Othello where the winner of the mini-game gets a turn. This is actually a very fun mode that requires some strategy and is quite a blast. Mini-game tournament is where everyone plays a 1 on 1 many game and the looser(s) are out. Free play is your standard play as many mini-games as you can handle, where as mini-game battle is who can beat a certain amount of many games first.
There are many bonuses in Mario Party 5. Mario Ice Hockey is a fun version of the sport. It’s very fun 2 on 2 format where the golly is controlled by the computer. Mario Volleyball which is a slightly improved version over Mario Party 4 has added a bomb ball option, where you have so many times you can hits the ball, until it blows up. This is actually a fun touch to the Mario Volleyball universe. Super Duel Mode is basically a Mario tank fighter. You buy customized parts for your tank and then battle it out with other tanks. (9)
Fun-Factor:
If you have friends playing with you, then this game’s a blast. I can’t tell you how many times my girlfriend wants to play this game. Unfortunately she is not a gamer; however it does serve as how fun this game is playing for even non-gamers. It’s one of those few games that both causal and hardcore gamers enjoy playing together, which gives it extra bonus points in my book! (9)
Lasting Appeal:
There are a ton of things to due in Mario Party 5. The mini-games are the best ever for the series, making it more enjoyable then the previous entries The game pacing has improved dramatically creating a more enjoyable experience. Many hours have been lost during the writing of this review. Friends come over and we play a game for hours. As long as you have friends and multiple controllers then you’ll have a blast. (8)
Overall I give Mario Party 5 an 8.2. It’s a hard game to recommend to people who owned the original but didn’t play it much. The game feels more like an expansion with many extras rather then a new game. However if you: owned the original and really enjoyed it or even are a fan of multiplayer games then I would recommend adding this title to your library.