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Saturday 26 January, 2008
.GAMELOG ENTRY 2.
.Gameplay.
The longer the game goes, the more mind-numbing it gets. I also started getting a little impatient as the second half of the game session continued. It always takes a while for players to complete their turn. First, they must roll the dice and decide their path. Next, if they run into a special space, they have to decide on a path of action. If they want to buy items, it takes even more time. It might have been the fact that I had already been playing the game for a long period of time, but the time it takes to get from the first player to the last seems to take forever.
Twists and turns in the game keep it a bit interesting, however. Players are able to steal coins and stars from others, giving each player a reason to continue (revenge!). This, however, makes the outcome a bit random. In the first game that I played, I ended with the least amount of stars, but won the game because I was awarded one for having the most coins and another for winning the most mini-games. It is only possible to stay ahead in the game if you anticipate it. Overall, I think Mario Party is only good for short rounds. Long games easily get repetitive. My hallmates and I stopped in the middle of our second game because of that fact.
.Design.
The characters, world, and music of Mario Party were upbeat, bright, and cheerful, leading to an overall enjoyable game experience. Mario Party is great to play with other people, as I said in my previous game log. It does a great job in fostering friendly competition among players. In the game, instead of simply earning stars, players can steal them from each other. Players can also set up traps on the board, or change the location of the star to make it more difficult for others to get to it. The game is never stagnant, and there is never only one goal to accomplish, keeping it interesting for everyone.
A few frustrating things about Mario Party were some of the mini games and the wait. Some mini games simply involved button mashing, which did little to keep the game appealing, especially when you have been playing the game for a long time. Other games involved vigorous use of the analog stick. After playing them for a while, my hands needed a break. Other than that, the mini games were always entertaining. After unlocking them, players can go to the library and select any of them to play at any time. This is handy if you want to simply play games against your friends without immersing yourself in another hour long game of Mario Party.
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