Okay well, the first thing i'll say with this is that i havent played this game through to the death, nor have i had a chance to enjoy proper multiplayer goodness from it , so i'll try to bear that in mind during this review. Nor have i played the previous Mario Partys, so i didnt know what to expect from it.

Well if you've played any of the previous Mario Partys you'll be familar naturally with the setup and what to expect. Personally i didnt so it was all knew to me, and my ignorance may shine through during this review. Anyway theres 6 modes of play, the main 2 being the Story (1 player) and Party (Multiplayer) modes.

As i said i havent had a chance with the party one but with the Story Mode it seems the standard setup for a game with Party in the Title. Its your characters birthday, and everyone has got you a birthday present. However, receiving them is not so simple. Each character, Toad, Shy Guy, Koopa, Goomba and Boo have each designed their own board for you to play on, and you have to win each board to get your present. Simple enough concept, perfect for a multiplayer game.

Party Mode is a very similar setup , only without the Story (obviously) behind it, just each board for you to play.

The characters that you have available to play as are - Mario , Luigi , Wario, Princess Peach, Waluigi (who kinda freaks me out) , good ol' DK, Daisy, and YOSHI!

It plays very much like a board game, as you might have figured, and at the end of each turn (you can set the number of turns in the options mode) you play a mini game to gain extra coins (which can in turn be used to buy items, play mini - on board - games , as well as various other things.

The Story mode is quite extensive, as we've come to expect from Nintendo games, for instance with all the various trophies available in Super Smash Brothers Melee, i believe there were 300 in all. Theres 3 difficulty settings, Easy, Normal, Hard, and 2 for which Mini games you can play , Easy and All. Also each of the 8 characters have their own set of presents to win, so there is plenty to keep you busy.

Admittedly with so much to do it can get a little tiring with each board to win with every character to gain all the presents in the presents room. But it does provide reason to keep picking up and playing it even months after you first purchase it.

As well as those two modes, theres also a mini game mode where you can set the number of characters who's playing, and arrange all the Mini games you have accessed so far through the Party and Story modes however you want, giving you extra Multiplayer fun if you just want a quick pick up and play rather than going through a whole board and having that competition as well.

Finally theres the Present room and Extras room. The present room is merely the room you can view and check out all the stuff you have earned through the Story Mode, and see what else you have yet to access. Its more of a Novelty but does give you a nice sense of accomplishment when you seen a complete room.

The Extras Room however is yet another feature where you can either play/practice more games in one player or have more multiplayer fun with Thwomp and Whomp.

Naturally this being Nintendo, mind you its also true of many others, with this game what you see is not entirely what you get, there are various secrets and specials locked away in their as well , but i won't spoil it for you by going into detail about these.

Graphic wise its not blow you away fantastic but its nice to look at and theres no obvious faults like polygons going through one another and the like. All the characters look like you have seen them in the other games, for instance its the same Mario featured from sunshine, the Luigi from Luigis Mansion etc and its what you come to expect.

Sound wise well , its good, but far from perfect. It may be just my opinion but some of the voices and sayings just don't fit right with me and it is starting to bug me. But theres no real problems here and like i said, that might just be me. But on the boards you get all suitable compositions fitting the area and background.

Gameplay is as you would expect, especially if you're familiar with the series with a variety of skills needed for the Mini games as well as stratergy and luck for the boards themselves.

How long will it last tho? Well, its a very fun Multiplayer game, from what i have seen so far, and it will take you a very long time to fully complete everything there is to do in 1 player mode. I wouldnt be surprised if you were still trying to complete it a few months after purchase.

Cons. Well if you're going through all the 1 player modes it can get a little frustrating if theres a game you dont really like, cause you can bet it'll show up. Also as far as the characters play and perform in the mini games, I havent noticed any noticeable difference with each of the various characters, which is also a bit of a disappointment. But that could just be a thing where they just perform differently at full AI , as i havent yet progressed fully onto the Hard difficulty level. Finally, and this may just be me, but i've been trying to do the Luigi and Mario story modes, and because it takes an awful long time sometimes to play all the boards and win through to gain every present, you sometimes find it takes maybe a whole session to do one board. So i was very annoyed when i found with the Mario Brothers that when i'd completed a board, saved it, and came back later, that it claimed there was no Story Mode in progress, and i'd have to do it all over again. If anyone has info on this, it'd be much appreciated.

Overall - a sound game, and what you'll have come to expect from a Nintendo Series. Not perfect, but easy to pick up and play, with the depth to make sure it'll last you a long while. Definately worth the £8.50 i paid for it from Sainsburys ^^. And i think its worth of an 8.6 all in all.