Mario Party 5

Fan of virtual boardgames? Vote for the Mario Party...

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In terms of digits, I think by the time you've matched the Rocky sequels whatever formula you're following will pretty much be set in stone. Furthermore, short of a revolution, people will find themselves divided into two camps either for or against. For the record I did not care for the previous Mario Party, which was my first introduction to the series and also its first incarnation on the GameCube. Mario Party 5 is no exception to this. Credit where credit is due though, and Hudsonsoft has made appreciable improvements in light of some of the criticisms of the franchise.

The game play remains unchanged consisting of a board game that provides the impetus for a stack of mini-games. The mini-games are the real draw and rightfully so. This time around a further 70 have been included that range from bad to good. The bad games rely heavily on chance or button bashing but are over quick so as not to become overly tiresome. The better games will have you running around trying to butt stomp each other, or racing in little boats and other quirky nonsense. These are also very quick so as not to become too involving. It's the innate approachability of these mini-games that makes them so appealing and if you have four players there are few titles that offer such a level playing field amongst friends.

Though you can access these mini-games through the board game portion of the title it is best to bypass it and use one of the well put together free play options. This is because the board games are frankly tedious. Unfortunately to unlock the games you must endure the board game portion. For a game where the variety is its spice of life this requirement adds nothing and I think detracts from the overall appeal. The board games are certainly colourful but once again proceedings are painfully slow. Hudsonsoft have made efforts to speed things up. In the single player story mode, and I use the word story in the loosest possible sense, the baby bowsers all take their turn at the same time. The item shop has been replaced with a free gumball machine that's a little quicker and I sensed that many of the board animations were briefer. But they are still there though and you still can't skip them. Even the menu system still contains an annoying delay. Watching the same animation repeatedly, even when speeded up, very quickly grates the nerves.

Put simply Mario Party 5 is nowhere near as good as either of the Super Monkey Ball games for single or multiplayer. It's not even in the same league. Though the visuals and sound are crisp there is nothing present that is very exciting. Nintendo's usual suspects are of course present - the novelty of which is wearing thin. Given the frequency of their appearances these days one has to wonder if Nintendo now simply copies and pastes the characters across. This sequel may satiate the thirst of the fan base but it is unlikely to attract any new followers. I'm still waiting for them to introduce black jack and hookers, in fact forget the black jack. Ah maybe they should screw the whole thing. What else is there to say, at least it's better than Rocky V?

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By Richard Clifford