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Saturday 9 February, 2008
Game Entry #2
Gameplay:
Alright, since my previous gamelog entry, I have gotten my roommate, my girlfriend, and my friend to play Mario Party Multiplayer. Since we only have 3 DS's however, we were stuck alternating a DS (person in last place gives up their DS). Anyways, to describe the overall experience, in one word, would be say it was Incredible. What about it was incredible? Well to begin, the atmosphere. When playing Mario Party alone, I was not really into it. Granted it was entertaining, but compared to playing the game with actual people, Multiplayer rules, single player sucks. The atmosphere in the room was electric. We were yelling, groaning, and cursing each-other with excitement. Perhaps this sounds a bit exaggerated, but anyone who has gotten themselves involved in a serious game of monopoly (or any other board-game) knows that the spirit of competition can make even the most banal game riveting.
Apart from a change in competition, there was also a change in the game elements. Among the things that I didn't notice before are the use of items, traps, and "awards" given at the end of the game. The way those things tie into the multiplay aspect is that they allow the players to get ahead or sabotage one another. Also the inclusion of the "awards" makes the game unpredictable because even after the game is over, the person in second or third place can rise to first place if they get enough "awards" at the totaling up of points. Needless to say, the awards are somewhat arbitrary which gives the worst players a sense of hope and the best players a sense of doubt.
Game Design:
Overall I would say the game design was pretty good. The inclusion of lots of mini-games, game extras, and unlock-able content definitely brought value to the game. I would like to make of note of the mini-games in particular. Though the mini-games got redundant, the variety, including the options for the amount of players, made it fun. Also the mini-games made great use of the DS mic and touch screen. Some games required a lot of blowing (candles, wobbling bricks, etc...) as well lots of touching (leaves, pencil, roping, etc...).
The level designs (board designs?) were also well thought out. Each one was themed and had their own twist. The Library Board in particular had a neat concept of teleporting through books. The reason this was necessary is because parts of the puzzle were only accessible through teleporting. Also there is a race to find Stars, and in order to get to a place faster one might try teleporting (though it doesn't always work in your favor). Another thing I found neat about the levels was that a lot of the scenery was functional. That is to say, that almost everything you saw played some role in the progression of the game. Currently I am still discovering new mini-games and strategies to getting better at this game. Overall I would say that this game as High replay value and is recommended to anyone with a DS who likes party games.
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