It has to be said that, without a doubt, the Nintendo 64 is the multi-player machine.

Nintendo built the 64-bit wonder with fun in mind, and what better way to have fun than to have four people play at once. Enter Mario Party: the best reason to have friends.

Well...ah...okay, so the story isn't all that great. Basically, the mascot characters from the Mario series want to know who the Super Star among them is. So they battle it out on game boards and various mini-games.

Graphically, this game isn't too bad. But, then again, it isn't anything to shout about either. I guess what really matters here is your can clearly see what you're supposed to be doing in order to win, sans the special effects. So in that respect, Mario Party is good.

The sound department offers as much as the graphics department does. You'll hear remixes of familiar themes for the music as well as some familiar sounds and voices. Doesn't really do a lot for me, but, doesn't bother me either.

The controls for this game are both good and bad. Good in the simplicity, bad in the fact that some of these games might very well cause serious controller damage after prolonged use. My advice, invest in some cheap controllers just for this game or don't play the games you feel might be damaging.

The design in this game is top-notch, from the boards to the mini-games, everything cries of party fun. In fact, I was surprised at how many mini-games were really fun. I figured only half of them would be any good, but there are only a few that I dread playing.

You'll find quit a few surprised in Mario Party, including new boards to conquer and hidden mini-games. There are also items to buy that help (or hurt) you and you can purchase all the mini-games to play at your leisure. All in all, enough to keep you busy for a long time.

Mario Party is yet another great game in Nintendo's favor. This is a must have for anyone who has three friends and wants to have a great time...in a clean and wholesome way ~_^