The magic is gone.
I decided to give Mario Party DS a try though. Sadly, it didn't work out all too great.
Seriously, the game lasted a couple hours before I was done the main part of the game. The gameplay really doesn't take it's time to work up some charm, like the past games. Instead, it goes by so fast that you're done before you know it.
There are some quirks that give it a little replay value, however. Just running through the game once isn't nearly enough to net you every minigame and achievement that the game has to offer. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to motivate me to go back and replay every game board multiple times.
The minigames themselves weren't too bad, but they have also already jumped the shark. If you were to look back at the original Mario Party and compare minigames, the newer ones are unnecessarily flamboyant. All flash and no substance, as one might say. Again, the simplicity that made Mario Party fun is gone.