Mario Party DS (DS)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 8.0 (4.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Frank Provo
• Reviewed on: 11/21/2007
• Released on: 11/19/2007
• Originally published on GameSpot: Mario Party DS (DS) Review

To say that Mario Party DS is just a collection of competitive minigames is like saying the Louvre is just a warehouse of paintings. These quick tests of skill aren't the usual sort of generic button-mashers you'd normally find in games of this type. Nintendo and Hudson have come up with a spectacular set of "pick up and play" challenges for this handheld installment of the ongoing franchise. They've also crammed it full of play modes and have lavished it with the sort of cheerful polish you've come to expect from Nintendo-branded games. Best of all, the developers have made it so that you need only a single cartridge to get a party going with as many as four people.

For years, the Mario Party franchise has been well-known for its minigames that anyone can pick up and play right off the bat. The Nintendo DS rendition offers the same types of games and general ease of use, only in a portable package. There are more than 70 different quick tests of skill to pick from, broken down into categories that let you battle one-on-one, in free-for-alls, in two-on-two teams, or in lopsided three-against-one situations. Some of the games use the buttons, some require that you tap or scribble on the touch screen, and a few even have you blowing or shouting into the microphone. Instructions and demonstrations are shown onscreen for every game, but they're usually not necessary since the controls typically require that you perform a few simple actions at the right time or scribble the stylus as fast as you can. More importantly, the games themselves are hilariously clever. Dodging thwomps to see who can be the last one standing, throwing food onto a conveyer belt to try to hinder your opponents that are running on it, turning the crank on a music box to lure goombas toward you like a video game version of Hungry Hungry Hippos?these are just a few of the crazy tasks you'll perform.

Typically, a collection like this made for the Nintendo DS will give you 20 or 30 minigames. This one has more than 70. Remarkably, despite that lofty number, there aren't many duds. Sure, there are a couple of silly games of chance involving pressing a single button to reel in a cheep cheep or to land on a cup floating in a sea of muck. However, the majority are more engaging, such as when you have to try to take pictures of your opponents in a 3D maze or draw a crossbow line back to shoot at moving targets. The team-oriented games usually require teamwork. In one, you and your partner are carrying a loaded tray and must alternate button presses to spin the pair up a stack of books. In another, you each control one side of a racecar and have to work together to move ahead and steer around obstacles. Some of the minigames are truncated versions of popular Nintendo games. There's one that has you racing through a platform level reminiscent of Super Mario Bros. Another has you riding Jet Skis through a wet 3D course that's similar to a stage from Wave Race.

All throughout, the presentation reflects the cheerful attitude you'd normally expect a game starring Mario to have. The menus, results screens, and story mode dialogue scenes juxtapose hand-drawn artwork with the expressive 2D character sprites of Mario, Luigi, and the rest of the gang. The rich stereophonic music will make you want to keep the volume turned up, and so will the goofy character voices, assuming you're not against Nintendo characters verbalizing their joy. While a few of the minigames are put together with flat 2D backgrounds and simple character sprites, the majority employ multilayered 2D artwork or detailed 3D settings and characters. And yes, references to past Mario games are everywhere. Goombas, koopas, and shyguys appear in numerous minigames. Boss minigames feature large versions of Piranha Pete, dry bones, and other Bowser henchmen. During the music box minigame, you'll notice that the tune the music box plays as you turn the crank is a melodic rendition of the Super Mario Bros. theme.

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