Mario Party 2
Reviewed by Danielle L.
Mario and friends are back! And this time, they're playing dirty! Well,
not quite, but this game is quite different from the original. There are
new mini-games, new boards, and Bowser is badder than ever Is this
game a Super Star? Let's find out!
Graphics: 9 out of 10
Very flawless animation during the mini-games, Bowser looks perfect,
and the gameboards are captured in great detail. The colors are bright
and very nice. The only problem is that every once in awhile you see
some fuzzy edges, but nothing major.
Music and Sound: 8 out of 10
Each board has its own distinct tune, and that is a very nice touch.
The music sets the mood for the boards (Ex: Bowser's board has gloomy
dungeon music), and music that is played when your character wins a
mini-game is appropriately triumphant. There are also many character
voice clips. Some are nice, like Luigi's, and some are just plain irritating,
like Peach's. Also, the announcer's voice during mini-games is just plain
grating. You better hope there's never a tie during a mini-game, so you'll
never have to hear a Japanese person who seems to have a barracuda.. or
something... shoved up their nose squeaking out the word "Draw". *shudder*
It might give you nightmares.
Game Challenge: 8 out of 10
A lot of it is luck, which really stinks, but the mini-games also depend
on skill. Its sort of a mix. You might win every mini-game but still get
your butt kicked on the game board. The mini-games are the actual
challenge, and they're just about right. Only a few are really hard, but
with practice, you can get really good at them.
Game Play-Fun: 8 out of 10
The game is pretty fun, especially if you're playing with friends, but it
occasionally gets boring, especially when you're waiting for computer
characters to make their turns.
Frustration
The most frustrating thing is having a star, and someone hires Boo to
steal it from you, but that doesn't happen very often. This is basically
a nice, relaxing game... unless you're playing with a bunch of
ultra-competitive friends.
Replayability: 7 out of 10
You do have to go through and buy all of the mini-games, and play
mini-game tournament thingies, but other than that you'll just play
to go through the boards. It might not keep you entertained for very long
if you always play alone, but if you have friends that play with you, you
will be quite busy.
Game Value: 7 out of 10
You can get it for about 40 dollars, which is a fair price, I guess, for
an N64 game but... I wouldn't pay that much for a boardgame. You might
end up playing it once a month, or never at all once you've unlocked
the secret board and bought all of the mini-games. I think the price
should definitely be a little lower. But, if puzzle/board games are
your thing, it will be worth it to you.
Mini-games: 10 out of 10
These mini-games are great! In the first game, they were based on
luck, but in Mario party 2, its all skill. There are 2 vs 2 games, 3 vs 1
games, and every man for himself games. They're really great. There
are over 50 and they are all unique. The mini-games are what makes
it fun to play this game for the fiftieth time.
Overall: 8 out of 10
All in all, this is a great board game, the best I've played next to
Mario Party 3. It has great music, awesome mini-games, and its a
heck of a lot of fun in multi-player. It has its flaws, but it still
remains a good game. You can probably pick up one of these on Ebay
for a small price, so if you liked the other games in the series, you'll
love this one.