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It's party time in the Mushroom Kingdom once again, but do you want to be invited?
December 14, 2004 | 5:20 PM PSTby: Matthew Green
Mario and his Mushroom Kingdom pals sure do love to party, because the latest installment of Nintendo’s mini-game partyfest, Mario Party 6, brings the famous plumber back for another round of mini-games. Nintendo and Hudson have teamed up again to create dozens of new mini-game challenges that are all centered around a series of game boards, some designed for solo play with the bulk of the material aimed at multiplayer action. A small microphone that plugs into the GameCube’s B memory card slot hopes to add a new dimension to the Mario Party experience as well. The core of the series is the multiplayer Party Mode, but there's also a Solo Mode for single-player fun and several ways to play the mini-games without the hassle of dealing with the game boards.
Features
The Eternal Struggle
Somewhere in the heavens above the Mushroom Kingdom are the sun and the moon, also known respectively as Brighton and Twila. One day these two celestial bodies found themselves consumed with quite an argument: who is more impressive, the sun or the moon? Mario and friends decide to let the power of the stars settle the conflict by partying their way through dozens of mini-games and collecting coins that can be traded in for stars. This plot is all just setup to get to the games, of course, but Brighton and Twila appear as guides through the game's many menus to explain the various mode options. No matter which mode one chooses to play the game will prompt players to pick their onscreen alter egos. The cast of Mushroom Kingdom crazies that have come to party include Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, Yoshi, Boo, Bowser, Koopa Kid, Toad, and Toadette. There's no difference between characters, so players are advised to pick their favorite mascot. After choosing characters the party can begin.
If the plot is just an excuse to get to the game modes, then the game modes are just an excuse to get to the mini-games. Each mini-game begins with an instructional screen that explains which buttons perform what function (most games only use the control stick and the A or B button) and offers a practice round to allow players to familiarize themselves with how that particular mini-game is played. The mini-games of Mario Party 6 are rather straightforward, mostly consisting of jumping from one platform to another, dodging hazards, memorization exercises, or pressing buttons in sequence before time elapses. One game called What Goes Up requires characters to leap on both Koopa Paratroopas and clouds to climb to the top of the sky, while another mini-game takes the opposite requirement and requires characters to fall to the ground as fast as possible while dodging the same Koopas and clouds. Another game known as Odd Card Out presents players with three images, one of which is different than the others and must be identified before time expires. The majority of the mini-games follow this format, sometimes resulting in a brief bit of fun and other times becoming an exercise in repetition. Most of the game feels more like work than pleasure, pushing players on to reach the next mini-game in order to reach the next mini-game so that the whole affair can end. Some mini-games, such as Lab Brats or Dunk Bros., are somewhat more full-featured; Dunk Bros. is actually a little two-on-two basketball game complete with passing and shooting, while Lab Brats involves scurrying through Professor E. Gadd’s giant mazes in search of critters such as Shy Guys, Ukiki the Monkey, and Miyamoto’s Penguin.
Mario Party 6's Solo Mode allows one player to pick both a primary and secondary character, then embark across one of three special game boards, each one ranging in length. After rolling the die the primary character moves across the board, jumping from space to space. Each space is designated as a different type of mini-game, the most common being 1 vs. 3 player matches, 2 vs. 2 player matches, and 4 player matches. In the first and third types of games the primary character faces off against three Koopa Kids, while in 2 vs. 2 the primary and secondary characters battle two Koopa Kids. Mini-games are chosen at random, and if the primary character wins the game then coins are awarded, that mini-game is added to the collection of games that can be played anytime for fun, and the die is rolled again. This sequence continues until the primary character either reaches the last space on the board or s/he passes the last space and falls off the board entirely, in which case all winnings are forfeited. From time to time Bowser will crash the party and steal all collected mini-games should Mario and friends fail his challenge, too. While it takes only a few minutes to complete a Solo Mode game board, the idea is for players to play through the same boards again and again in order to unlock new mini-games to be played on-demand elsewhere in the game.
Party Mode is the multiplayer component of Mario Party 6 and is really where the focus of the game lies. Despite the presence of Solo Mode, this game is designed with friends in mind. Here players each choose a single character, then embark across larger game boards than Solo Mode has to offer. These boards change as day turns to night and back again during gameplay, with the changing time of day determining which paths players follow and the current exchange rate between stars and coins. Players also compete against each other in Party Mode instead of playing against the CPU-controlled Koopa Kids, although the Koopas will fill in for missing human players should there be less than four players in a game. Part of this competition includes collecting and using special item orbs that effect the game board, such as the Spiny Orb that steals ten coins from whomever lands on it or the Klepto Orb that sends the unlucky soul who lands on it back to the Start space on the board.
Mini-game Mode allows players to focus on the mini-games themselves and bypass the game board aspect of the game. Players can enjoy any unlocked mini-game at their leisure either piecemeal or in special small challenges such as the Battle Bridge where players must complete a preset number of mini-games to win or Treetop Bingo where the goal is to win mini-games in order to fill in spaces on a large bingo board. More variations of these options are locked away for players to discover as well.
Features
- Party through more than seventy-five new mini-games across new game boards
- Features play modes for one to four players
- Includes the new Nintendo GameCube microphone for voice-activated mini-games
- Includes a number of hidden unlockables including additional game boards and characters
The Eternal Struggle
Somewhere in the heavens above the Mushroom Kingdom are the sun and the moon, also known respectively as Brighton and Twila. One day these two celestial bodies found themselves consumed with quite an argument: who is more impressive, the sun or the moon? Mario and friends decide to let the power of the stars settle the conflict by partying their way through dozens of mini-games and collecting coins that can be traded in for stars. This plot is all just setup to get to the games, of course, but Brighton and Twila appear as guides through the game's many menus to explain the various mode options. No matter which mode one chooses to play the game will prompt players to pick their onscreen alter egos. The cast of Mushroom Kingdom crazies that have come to party include Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, Yoshi, Boo, Bowser, Koopa Kid, Toad, and Toadette. There's no difference between characters, so players are advised to pick their favorite mascot. After choosing characters the party can begin.
If the plot is just an excuse to get to the game modes, then the game modes are just an excuse to get to the mini-games. Each mini-game begins with an instructional screen that explains which buttons perform what function (most games only use the control stick and the A or B button) and offers a practice round to allow players to familiarize themselves with how that particular mini-game is played. The mini-games of Mario Party 6 are rather straightforward, mostly consisting of jumping from one platform to another, dodging hazards, memorization exercises, or pressing buttons in sequence before time elapses. One game called What Goes Up requires characters to leap on both Koopa Paratroopas and clouds to climb to the top of the sky, while another mini-game takes the opposite requirement and requires characters to fall to the ground as fast as possible while dodging the same Koopas and clouds. Another game known as Odd Card Out presents players with three images, one of which is different than the others and must be identified before time expires. The majority of the mini-games follow this format, sometimes resulting in a brief bit of fun and other times becoming an exercise in repetition. Most of the game feels more like work than pleasure, pushing players on to reach the next mini-game in order to reach the next mini-game so that the whole affair can end. Some mini-games, such as Lab Brats or Dunk Bros., are somewhat more full-featured; Dunk Bros. is actually a little two-on-two basketball game complete with passing and shooting, while Lab Brats involves scurrying through Professor E. Gadd’s giant mazes in search of critters such as Shy Guys, Ukiki the Monkey, and Miyamoto’s Penguin.
Mario Party 6's Solo Mode allows one player to pick both a primary and secondary character, then embark across one of three special game boards, each one ranging in length. After rolling the die the primary character moves across the board, jumping from space to space. Each space is designated as a different type of mini-game, the most common being 1 vs. 3 player matches, 2 vs. 2 player matches, and 4 player matches. In the first and third types of games the primary character faces off against three Koopa Kids, while in 2 vs. 2 the primary and secondary characters battle two Koopa Kids. Mini-games are chosen at random, and if the primary character wins the game then coins are awarded, that mini-game is added to the collection of games that can be played anytime for fun, and the die is rolled again. This sequence continues until the primary character either reaches the last space on the board or s/he passes the last space and falls off the board entirely, in which case all winnings are forfeited. From time to time Bowser will crash the party and steal all collected mini-games should Mario and friends fail his challenge, too. While it takes only a few minutes to complete a Solo Mode game board, the idea is for players to play through the same boards again and again in order to unlock new mini-games to be played on-demand elsewhere in the game.
Party Mode is the multiplayer component of Mario Party 6 and is really where the focus of the game lies. Despite the presence of Solo Mode, this game is designed with friends in mind. Here players each choose a single character, then embark across larger game boards than Solo Mode has to offer. These boards change as day turns to night and back again during gameplay, with the changing time of day determining which paths players follow and the current exchange rate between stars and coins. Players also compete against each other in Party Mode instead of playing against the CPU-controlled Koopa Kids, although the Koopas will fill in for missing human players should there be less than four players in a game. Part of this competition includes collecting and using special item orbs that effect the game board, such as the Spiny Orb that steals ten coins from whomever lands on it or the Klepto Orb that sends the unlucky soul who lands on it back to the Start space on the board.
Mini-game Mode allows players to focus on the mini-games themselves and bypass the game board aspect of the game. Players can enjoy any unlocked mini-game at their leisure either piecemeal or in special small challenges such as the Battle Bridge where players must complete a preset number of mini-games to win or Treetop Bingo where the goal is to win mini-games in order to fill in spaces on a large bingo board. More variations of these options are locked away for players to discover as well.
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November 20, 2009
