Mario Party 7 [GC]

There are some shout-worthy acts to be had during board navigation, to be sure, especially since chance is oftentimes prevalent. Nearing a star only to get snapped up by an unseen tornado and carried halfway across the board can be both frustrating for you and hilarious for your friends. But by and large, it's Mario Party 7's mini-games that are its main attraction. The title features a handy mini-game mode where you can skip all of the board nonsense altogether if you want, but you'll first need to unlock the minis in board play.

Hudson Soft and Nintendo have added some additions to this year's version. Specifically, 11 of the mini-games feature support for an included microphone. We're not sure why, because playing with the microphone feels forced and unnecessary. And second, the title now supports up to eight players -- two persons alternating between each controller, in other words. The latter improvement is welcomed for serious multiplayer bouts.

Despite these marginal improvements, the title has unfortunately not addressed one of the biggest complaints of previous versions. As a single-player game, Mario Party 7 is an absolute bore. You can speed up text displays and even skip computer-character-controlled mini-games, but there is still no way to quicken the pace of board navigation, and that's inexcusable. It's one thing to wait for a friend to round the spaces. It's another to watch the seconds ticking away into minutes when an AI character is moving. This disappointing omission translates to a slow and usually tedious single-player experience, which is why we can't recommend the title to anybody who plans to play alone.

Oppositely, as a multiplayer game, Mario Party 7 is as enjoyable as its predecessors -- perhaps more so, even, thanks to supporting up to eight gamers. So if you're looking for another solid multiplayer title or alternatively a great drinking conduit, we can't think of many better choices.

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