Review RhinneJ 4/5 · Mar 18, 2015
Mario Party - the provider of fun, the destroyer of friendships, the blisterer of hands.
The Mario Party series is a much beloved set of games and this new entry to the series may well feature in a few people's favourite lists.
Similar to the games outing on 3DS, all players share the same vehicle to make their way around …
Mario Party - the provider of fun, the destroyer of friendships, the blisterer of hands.
The Mario Party series is a much beloved set of games and this new entry to the series may well feature in a few people's favourite lists.
Similar to the games outing on 3DS, all players share the same vehicle to make their way around the board together, rather than everyone split up. It tends to simplify the game a little, but also helps to avoid games lasting too long. No doubt a welcome change in many households.
As with any new Mario Party release there is an assortment of boards to play on, each with its own theme, ranging from the Mushroom Kingdom to an underwater world and finally to Bowser's castle. Each board looks glorious with the HD visuals the Wii U is capable of and you'll be sure to recognise places from other Mario games.
This time around there are two new game modes that have been introduced. The first is a more optional game mode which is only available to amiibo owners. Using amiibo figures, you can unlock amiibo party and use your amiibo figures as tokens to move around a small game board and collect stars. The player who has the most stars at the end is the winner.
Each player (up to a maximum of four) will need their own amiibo. Unfortunately, not all amiibo figures are compatible with Mario Party 10, so you will need to make sure you have some that are. Each compatible amiibo figure also has its own unique game board that you can play on, which is a cool little feature. But, if you don't own all of the compatible amiibo, you can't play on those other boards.
Non-compatible amiibo can be used with MP10 to play a daily scratch card, used to unlock certain goodies and coins, similar to how they can be used with Hyrule Warriors.
The biggest addition to Mario Party 10 is Bowser Party. This is where friendships come to die, but much fun is most certainly had.
Bowser Party is a game mode for up to five players - that's right, not four but five! Four players make their way around the board as a team and the fifth plays as the mighty Bowser, using the gamepad. It's up to Bowser to catch up with the players, steal their hearts (lives) and stop them reaching the star at the end.
Bowser Party is fantastic and introduces a lot of new gameplay elements. For example, the players may reach a fork in the road and each of the two paths is obscured. The Bowser player can draw on the screen and add stamps in an attempt to sabotage the players journey and make them pick the wrong route. The same graffiti tool can be used when players are presented with five chests, some of which contain rewards and others are dangerous.
The new mini-games are pretty simple and all very quick to play, providing a decent amount of fun, but may become a bit repetitive over time. But, Bowser Party will no doubt keep things fresh as the fifth player has to try and make the players fail the mini-games.
MP10 is a great addition to the series and a welcome return to form after the disappointing Mario Party Island Tour on the 3DS.
It's all local multiplayer with no online mode, so to get the most fun out of the game you will need a few people in the house, or get a few friends round. If you're only going to be playing solo, it probably won't last you as long, but it's a must-buy for a group of people.