Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
  mario party 5 review October 31, 2004
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Mario party 5 is the second gamecube istalment of nintendo's multiplayer smash. Being number 5, it could be thought that the game will feel old. Not true.The major change with this instalment is the rehashed single player mode. The single player has always been mario partys down fall. With a single map lasting over an hour, failure was extreemly annoying, this has been altered so that now a typical story mode map lasts around 15 mins. For some this may be disserpointing, but a standard map can still be played with 3 cpu comtroled rivals, so its not like your missing anything is it? Multiplayer is were the game really shines. the same old collect the stars routine is still the order of the day, but the borads have been changed to make it far easier to get a star, which makes the comotion far more close, as in the previous (and possibly weakest) instalment, the typicaly 20 turn game would end with around 3 stars bought overall. now there is norm aly at least 3 per player, as smaller boreds make high scoring easy. There have been several changes in the game, the most bizzar is that DK is no longer selecatable. Though he does appare and have a special space which leads to events, it seems odd that a different nintendo caracter was not used. But with DK leaving, baby bowser, toad and strangly Boo are now controlable, which gives players more choice, though none of these are as popular as DK. The second major diffrence is that items shops are no longer used. Instead, a capsual machine deals you a rondom item that you can either place on the bored to be used on who ever lands on it, or pay to use it on your self. This can seem frustrating at first, parcicularly when you have a large amount of coins and want to be able to buy a short cut to the star, but after a while, it becomes clear that it makes the game more competative. No longer do the rich rule the game. The mini games are always the most important aspect of mario party, and 5 has a good deal of corkers, wether your racing up a beanstalk, trying to make your ice cream the biggest or seeing how close you dare let a chomp get to you, its always good fun. the mini games are mostly very good, there are a few small exceptions, but for the most part, the games are simple but fun, and you will soon find a favorite. The biggest improvment from 4 to 5 is the boards. In 4, these were all rather dull with bland set peices and little going on. 5 returns them to there glory, with colourful back grounds, and well thought out events. The boards now all seem to have a good helping of the nintendo charm and magic that the company is famous for. In conclushion, mario party 5 is a great party game, though on your own it feels a little dull at times, its a great social experience, with alliences and back stabbing worth of a reality TV show. If only the costumes from mario party 2 remained.
 Simply not good enough July 20, 2004
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
I have played all the Mario Party series' and this is by far the weakest gameplay wise. Mario party 4 was IMO the best just coz it was more enjoyable than the other 3. Mini games in it were great and it wasnt easy to win.This game however, story mode i managed to complete in 2 hours since you use a mini board chasing 3 mini bowsers challenging them to duels to take their coins. Once they all reach 0 coins, you win that level. SIMPLE AND TOO EASY...EVEN ON HARD MODE. Multi-Player wise, still not hard...by the end of a game in MP4 you could consider yourself lucky to get 3 stars before bonus mode. In this game, you can pick up 4 stars and still lose. The shops have gone and are replaced with an AWFUL capsule idea whereby these capsules are places on the playing field, when you land on one..you invoke its power ie Koopa Bank takes 5 coins, or Tweester moves the star location etc. Mini games are mince aswell. There is the odd good one, but others are down to luck and im being honest. I can take it if the game beats me fair and square on ability...but when you are given the choice of 12 circles and under 1 of them is your star, THAT ANNOYS ME!!!! or the worst one....infront of you are 3 ropes, pull 1. if you win, you dont get squashed....simple as that....if you call it simple. I dont like it, but ive played mario party 4 to death....so until 6 comes out i can only complain!
Mario Party 5 February 20, 2004
5 out of 11 found this review helpful
Mario Party was originally released on the N64 and was the cause of many blisters with its painful rotate the analogue stick mini games. Then 2 followed which improved on this and then 3 which was the last N64 game. Mario Party 4 was released on the cube and is probably the most rubbish of them all, but now, there's 5...Graphics Nothing to big and fancy, they do their job by looking clear and distinctive. Sound Nintendo tunes that fit the boards perfectly, although, I was kind of stumped at why it has DPL2 supported when its not really used to its potential. Gameplay The heart of this game, a riot in 4 player mode which have you all shouting at the TV, a bit weak in 1 player, but good non the less. Replay value Good for a rainy day or when your looking for a rest from other games. A few unlockables, but not much really. Overall A decent game if you haven't played MP before, otherwise its more of the same.
Mario - non stop Party animal January 13, 2004
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
Having played the first game in the series, (Mario Party), i was extremely dissapointed with the prequel to Mario Party 5, (Mario Party 4). It seemed rushed, it could have easily been made for the N64 and the range of mini-games was limited.This completely put me off the idea of Mario Party 5, however Nintendo have really developed the franchise so that it doesn't completely revolve around the 'Party Mode' board game action.
One frustrating thing with the prior games was the fact that single player mode, was exactly like playing with three other mates, but with all the fun extracted. Mario Party 5 has a completely re-vamped and shortened (for the better) story mode, which has you competing with three mini-bowsers in a race to deplete each others coin stash. The gameplay flows a lot better for the most part and you'll play tons of duel matches on each single player board game. Mario Party 5 has also done itself justice by including extra 'Bonus Mode' games. They are truly superb games including a short Card game, a Volleyball game and best of all, an Ice Hockey game, which plays similar to the EA Sports NHL franchise, just with a bit of Nintendo magic added. To top it all, they've also added different board game styles, such as a race track, where the first kart to pass the finish line is the winner. Also, the main Game Boards are actually 3D in style and shape, rather than the flat nature of the game-boards in all previous Mario Party Games. Overall, Mario Party 5 is a worthy purchase. Again, having friends to play with is still an important factor, but theres no doubt that this game has taken Mario's Parties to the next step.
 The Best Game Out? December 13, 2003
7 out of 14 found this review helpful
Mario Party 4 was great. It had fun minigames,cool boards and overall, it was Mario!
But the graphics weren't as good as i had hoped. Ever noticed on dungeon duos that the balloon goes into the wall? Ohwell...
Bu MP5 has more, harder minigames that don't give you blisters like MP1/2/3, and have superb graphic. To top it all, you can now play as the following:
MARIO, LUIGI, WARIO, WALUIGI, DK, PEACH, DAISY, TOAD, BOWSER JR and BOO!
I can't wait till xmas, so i have to play it at woolworths till then!
CMON XMAS!
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