Mario Party 2
Reviewed by Rocky
Mario Party has been a fantastic success ever since it came out.
Millions of people spent weekends playing this game with family
and friends...only because it was pure fun! Nintendo is then
repeating this puzzle game experience with a new addition to
the SAGA ...and it was worth the wait!
Graphics: 3 out of 5
So maybe Nintendo's new title is not something to beautifully look
at, but you'll hardly be paying attention to the characters and
backgrounds while playing. To tell the truth, I don't think the
characters look exactly like they should, really displaying just a
mass of polygons with practically no animation. No outstanding
special effects here, only some cute sparks here and there to
announce an event and everything. Don't get me wrong, though,
the game is wonderfully animated and colored, and all the boards
are cute, but the graphics are not something you'll awe at anyway.
Music and Sound: 3 out of 5
Nothing different even for music and sound. For music, cute melodies
and nice tunes are present, but you probably won't ever stick 'em good
in your head because they're so confusing. The quality is above average, no
great musical scores like in Zelda or Jet Force Gemini, but thinking
about it, it is a different type of game. Although the lack of great
musical scores, somewhat catchy tunes will entertain you briefly
while you play, but the sound will most likely be obliterated after
the first five minutes of play. Really terrible. One thing has to be
said though, the music suits perfectly every board and you won't have
trouble telling the Western or Pirate Board music apart. They sound
effects are also above average quality-wise. Everything sounds
cartoony and fake, but I think that's the way it should be in a Mario game.
Game Challenge: 2 out of 5
The game does not present a real challenge, even though you can choose
various difficulty levels to put your computer controlled adversaries
on. Even the mini-games aren't that hard, but still some are much
harder than others. Some, for example, require you to press a button
repetitively, while others require you to move around and press various
buttons. Nothing really hard, maybe Nintendo wanted to keep the
difficulty level low as to invite newbies to play and enjoy the game
the same way experts do, but I think that this way the longevity
sort of comes short.
Game Play-Fun: 5 out of 5
Now this rating depends on how many people intend to play this game.
The one player mode is actually fun, but most of the time you'll watch
computer controlled opponents that make their moves, and little bit of
action is involved. For the lone wolf, there is also a mini game park
where one can practice various mini games with computer foes. Not
all that thrilling. When you invite a couple of friends over though, the
fun won't stop that easily. There is the true heart of this game, the
multi player experience. A real party game! This game goes from zero
to hero in less than seconds if 4 people play at the same time. All
sorts of mini games and challenges await, and you'll have a blast
watching your friends fail or watching your team win. Then, you can
just place the number of turns on a board to max, and you'll be playing
for a long, long time...there's no stop to the fun!
Frustration
This game did not frustrate me in any way. Playing it, even if my
adversaries were way ahead of me, I've never felt like throwing the
cartridge out the window. One reason why this happens is because
of the lack of action in the 1 player mode. You don't feel sucked into
the action, so basically it's like you were a computer controlled guy
yourself.In multi player mode, the game gets too fun to allow frustration in.
Replayability: 5 out of 5
You could replay this game over and over and over again! The one player
mode is fun, but once you've completed all the boards and mini games,
you'll get tired of it. The multi player mode is what makes it all happen!
Plug in three more controllers and you'll play 24 hours straight! Note
that this game is intended to be played in multiplayer. Really, who
wants to see a CPU playing 75% of the time?
Game Value: 3 out of 5
It depends. If you already own the first game, it's not wise to spend
your money on this, because the two games are practically identical.
The difference consists only in the number of mini games and
characters. If you don't own the first Mario Party, and you possess
a modest number of friends, then the game is fully worth its price.
If you don't like the genre, it's just good to give it a rental.
Overall: 8 out of 10
A great sequel, maybe a little bit too similar to the original, but
great anyway! Gets a little boring in 1 player mode, but multi player
is the best ever! (am I repeating myself?) You'll be spending loads of
time on this game...