Mario Party DS (DS)

(Page 1 of 2)

When it comes down to it, Nintendo's Mario is a lot like Disney's Mickey Mouse. Much more than a videogame character, the ubiquitous plumber is a symbol that is recognized around the world, from dive bars to the sometimes hallowed halls of government. Like Mickey, he's cute, beloved and heroic, and most of all, he's an energetic character full of alacrity. Just when you think he's down and defeated -- boom, deus ex machina -- he's got another gear, courtesy of you, the unflagging gamer.

Since there's no Nintendo equivalent of Disney World -- yet -- Mario videogames will have to suffice. While Super Mario Galaxy is the unparalleled space ride of the year, it's the Mario Party series of games that feels like a breathless day at a wondrous amusement park. There's so much to do, so much to see together with others, I feel like I've had a full day's outing with pals after playing for just an hour or two. But can Mario Party, often so full of virtual vigor on the TV screen, survive shrinking down to the Nintendo DS Lite? Can the two backlit, 3-inch screens open up a new world that feels large, immersive and real? And, can the small-screened sensation breathe life back into a series that has had at least 10 iterations over the years, some of which were pretty crappy (why, oh, why did Mario Party Advance for the GameBoy Advance ever see the light of day?).

The answer, generally, is: Hell, yes. The game begins with a crowd loudly and proudly shouting 'Mario Party!' After some cheesy game show theme music that Drew Carey from 'The Price Is Right' would love, you're invited to play one of five modes: Story, Party, Mini-game, Puzzle or Multiplayer. You're also asked to test the microphone, which in my case meant raising my voice about three inches away from the DS to get it to register (that mic was never the hottest thing about the system).

In Story mode, here's the plot: A sparkly crystal falls magically from the sky. Coincidentally, you're lured to Bowser's Castle with promises of a mea culpa for past sins and free eats -- what looks like a feast worthy of the Satyricon. But the dastardly bastard traps you and your friends in a cage, using a sky crystal to shrink you down to miniscule size and then throw you to a far-off land. And it's not a peaceful place, either. You have to stop a toothy, violent piranha plant that wants to eat you whole in the cheerful, hippie-ish caterpillar Wiggler's garden. If you capture the most stars in the garden, you'll take on that brutal, fanged vegetation, which looks like it's straight out of Roger Corman's 'Little Shop of Horrors.'

Amid some seemingly placid flora, you'll play as Yoshi versus Mario and his friends on a colorful game board. Rolling virtual dice to move ahead, you'll be diverted to play any of a mammoth 70+ mini-games -- either one-on-one, one-versus-three, or two-versus-two -- in which the DS pairs you up with one of the characters against whom you're playing on the big board. One specious challenge includes a mini-game in which you have to blow out candles using the microphone. I blew so hard, my eardrum rang triumphantly and ached for some time after (no, I don't smoke cigarettes). But I gotta win, right? So I gotta blow. (It is possible to shut off the games that require blowing into the microphone. But I wanted to say I played and won honestly -- so, I blew and blew.) The one problematic mini-game I found on the boards involved throwing a cherry farther than my competitors. You're supposed to wind up by drawing a circle on the touch-screen as quickly as Sonic in a rush. I found that moving the stylus back and forth worked just as well. But sometimes, the cherry wouldn't be thrown at all: a little rain on my party.