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Mario Party 7 (GameCube, 2005)
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Now in its seventh year, Nintendo's Mario Party series has found itself locked in to the sort of annual rhythm usually reserved for sports game. The core formula never changes, but you can always expect a new conceptual gimmick, some minor gameplay tweaks, and a fresh batch of minigames. And this remains the case with Mario Party 7. It's not dramatically different from Mario Party 6 or, frankly, any of the other Mario Party games, but as a cheery collection of simple pick-up-and-play minigames that's well suited for younger and more-casual players, it still works. They should really just start calling it Mario Theme Party. Last year saw Mario and company partying with celestial bodies, but this year things are a little less high concept: Mario needs a vacation, so he grabs all his buddies and takes them on a cruise. Curiously, Mario brings Wario and Waluigi along for the ride...but not Bowser, who is rather incensed at the snubbing. So, naturally, Bowser sets out to ruin the fun for everyone else. That "fun," of course, involves loads and loads of minigames that have been couched in a board-game format. The inclusion of the Nintendo GameCube Mic marked the most significant addition to last year's Mario Party, which returns in Mario Party 7, and remains a fun little novelty. More importantly, Mario Party 7 introduces a dozen or so eight-player minigames. And since there are only four controller ports on the GameCube, players have to work in teams of two, each person holding one side of a controller. These minigames only ever require the use of an analog stick and a shoulder trigger, though the simplicity of the controls belies the challenge of having to cooperate on an almost intimate level with another player. There are 86 minigames in all, and though there are more than a few "mirror" games (where the rules of a particular game have simply been reversed), as well as slightly revamped minigames from past Mario Parties, it's actually kind of surprising how Hudson has managed to maintain a relatively consistent level of quality with its minigames after all these years. The actual depth and complexity of the minigames, however, is a bit broader, though most only require you to use the analog stick, a single button, or a combination of the two. A lot of them are simple action games--drive a race car around a dirt track, navigate an inner tube down a serpentine river, pop balloons with a helicopter, and so on. Others are a bit more cerebral, requiring you to quickly match sets of images or play Simon-style color-matching games. Though there is a mode that lets you cut and paste the board-game stuff so you can go straight to the minigames, the minigames really do benefit from the context. As mentioned earlier, Bowser is rather steamed about all this party business, which figures in to the game with the addition of "Bowser time." In the standard, four-player party format, there's a Bowser-shaped meter that slowly fills up after each full rotation of turns. Once filled, Bowser will do something nasty, such as steal coins, stars, or times--or he'll possibly force you to purchase worthless items from him. It ultimately adds more weight to the already heavy role that luck plays in the game, and as an aside, it makes Bowser seem more petty than actually evil. By:Ryan Davis, GameSpot.comRead full review
Mario Party 7 is basically Mario Party 6 but not as fun. The boards are mostly good with standouts like Pagoda Peak and Neon Heights and one terrible board in bowser's enchanted inferno. They do away with chance time instead making duel game rewards be placed on a spinner. Bowser minigames are to long and to punishing. Solid minigames and good amount of side content make it an enjoyable experience even if it isnt the best in the series.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This is WAY better than Mario Party 2. Each board has a unique set of rules that adds variety to the game instead of the boring "20 coins for a star in a set location" rule over and over again. Even without the microphone feature it's a blast. And the game controls are great and fair, meaning the person with the most skill in mini-games is most likely to win, however the dynamics of each world are so unpredictable that you never know what will happen and anybody can win. And so many characters! The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is because I wish there were more worlds. There's only a handful.
Mario and his friends hop on a boat to travel the world and have fun: via landmark based Mario Party boards. It's definitely fun and worth getting if you haven't played a Mario Party game since it's Nintendo 64 days and are thinking of picking one up, but if you already have a Gamecube version of the game, this one's nothing special. It's cute and it has a lot of minigames (and the mic feature is neat, too!) that range from easy to almost too complex for even me to understand. If you've got a a couple of friends (or kids) and a GameCube sitting around you want to put to use, I'd recommend this game, but I'd try to find on ebay; some stores and sites still cost over and beyond the full price that this item is actually worth.
I picked up the Gamecube with mario party 7 for $99.99 at toys r us. It came with an extra controller. When you figure the controller is $20 new and the game retails for $50, you are getting the console for $30. That's a great deal ! If you have yet to enjoy the gamecube, you will find many classic titles for $20, such as metroid prime 1 and 2, Zelda windwaker, mario golf, animal crossings, just to name a few. You will have to figure that you will need to spend an additional $20 or $30 on a memory card (I recommend the $30, well worth it for the extra space you receive), but it's still a deal. Mario Party 7 is filled with 85 mini games. It's basically a board game, but it's far from boring, especially if you regularly play video games with 2-4 players. It's competitive, it's fun, it's a surefire recipe for excitement. Some of the mini games are easy, some are difficult, but there is a bit of fun for everyone in this classic series. My only complaint is sometimes the bowser sequences take a bit long to play out, and are repetitive, but that's about 2% of the total gameplay. This is the best bang for your buck for any console at the moment.Read full review
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