Mario Party DS

fun for all on January 11, 2008

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.

party mode with friends is fun to play.