Mario Party isn't a stellar Single Player experience, but with friends this game is good fun.
Mario Party DS is a huge package. Starting off, the game looks pretty good. But that doesn't count. The game has like every Mario Party game a Party mode where you play on one of the five boards, and though the boards are pretty good designed, they still require to much luck and to little skill.
Then there is the adventure mode, but it's actually just you playing through all the five boards with cheap AI and a boss at the end of each game. It isn't that great, though the bosses are petty fun to beat, but fairly easy as well.
Then there is the minigame section where you can either pick any minigame you want to play or you play other competitions that are based on the minigames. Those are particularly fun modes, especially when playing with friends. Because yes, the Multiplayer mode is the real aspect of the game. Get a few friends together and then even the Party mode can be pretty fun. Also impressive is that you only need one copy for up to four players.
The Single Player mode of the game isn't that strong. The AI is pretty rigid and without any friends there isn't that much entertainment because the game still fixates more on the Multiplayer. Still, though you'll probably won't find that much joy in adventure mode or party mode, the minigame mode can still be good fun alone. Luckily, for those who do find some joy with adventure and party mode, there are alot of unlockable like trophies or other rewards to unlock.
Now to the minigames. Though there are still some minigames that belong to the odd bunch, most of the minigames are pretty fun, and some are particularly fun especially those that take clever use of the touchscreen and microphone.
There are also some extra puzzles in another mode, but those are only simple minigames with a few twists that won't hold your attention for long.
All in all Mario Party DS is still a pretty good offering. Though it isn't worthy a total buy when you know that you won't play this game with other friends, for parties or friend visits this game can be a blast. It would have been nice if there was online Multiplayer for those who don't have anybody to play with, but Mario Party shows its strengths in parties and is overall a pretty good game.
THE GOOD
+ over 70 varied mini games
+ controls are very easy to get used to
+ some exceptionally fun minigames, especially thanks to the touchscreen controls and microphone
+ Tons of modes for Single Player and Multiplayer
+ Multiplayer is awesome and only needs one copy for up to 4 players
THE BAD
- Single Player isn't that strong
- Party mode still requires to much luck and to little skill
-Cheap AI
Review Score: 7/10