It?s best to think of Mario Party 6 as a computer-based board game. You sort-of-roll a dice, you move a number of spaces, and then you land on a square which could trigger an action, give you coins or take some away. Then, at the end of each round, the four players--and you can mix in human and computer-controlled opponents--join up for a mini-game to play for more coins.

These mini-games can see everybody playing for themselves, or jumping into even or unevenly matched teams. There are dozens upon dozens to work through, each with simple rules yet they still manage to bring out most people?s competitive edge. A new initiative for this sixth game is a bundled microphone that makes some of the games voice controlled. It?s not a world-altering addition, more a neat evolution of an already enjoyable concept.

And that last sentence ably sums up Mario Party 6. It?s great fun, especially with friends around, and there are enough game boards, mini-games and diverse in-game characters to make the game entire last for some time. There is an enjoyable single-player story mode too, which adds to the fun.

The only issue we have is the microphone. Don't get me wrong, we LOVE the idea of the microphone, and the games are great when they work. However, it is quite clear this microphone was programmed with an american accent for the english-speaking market. Before, there was no way to cheat in a Mario Party game, or no way for something to go wrong that would spoil the outcome of the game. Now there is both. The microphone is sometimes VERY bad at recognising what you say (especially directions or numbers). Even if you speak very clearly and slowly it still mucks up.