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  • So...what's the point?

  • That's what I asked in 2005, when Mario Party made its handheld debut. It's what I asked

  • in 2007, when the series returned to handhelds with Mario Party DS. Any time Mario's thrown

  • a party on the go, I've always asked the same question. The joy of Mario Party, what's made

  • these games so special for so many years...is playing them with friends.

  • It's that magical combination of pizza, television...and friends.

  • Take away the television and the friends, and...well, what's the point?

  • So fair or not...for me, a game like this starts off with something to prove. Sure,

  • there's multiplayer, but you need multiple consoles and wireless connections...it's not

  • the same immediate and all-encompassing appeal. So it's, inherently, not the same party. Even

  • a great handheld Mario Party...would still have

  • to answer that question, for me.

  • Not only does this one not do that...it's not a great handheld Mario Party.

  • Island Tour brings Mario Party to the 3DS with a simplified take on the long-running

  • series. It's got three modes. You can play a board game, you can play the minigames individually...or

  • you can take on Bowser's Tower, which is like a campaign mode. A really boring campaign

  • mode. Anyway, it's par for the course, otherwise. It's minigames.

  • Fun with friends, utterly pointless on your own.

  • So I mentioned it's simplified. That's because the objectives aren't quite what you might

  • be thinking. In past Mario Party games, you had to collect stars, right? You could earn

  • them in the minigames, or they were scattered around the board. And the player with the

  • most stars won. Well, this time...it's just a race. The player who gets to the end wins.

  • So it's a much more streamlined and simplified take on the Mario Party formula.

  • And that's not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I think it's a nice change of pace.

  • Now, on the other hand...that also means an even greater emphasis on luck. Especially

  • on certain boards. You can win all the minigames, gain the most spaces...and still lose.

  • That was always the case, but this time, even more so.

  • And you know, again, I do like that approach. And it works because the board designs are

  • mostly really well-done. This Bullet Bill board, for example. On every roll, you have

  • to choose whether to push your luck and take a few extra spaces...or sacrifice a few to

  • move to safe cover. And you might need that safe cover, because...if someone rolls a Bullet

  • Bill?

  • You'll wish you had played it safe.

  • And that kinda stuff is what Mario Party is all about. That's multiplayer gold. But for

  • me, that's also where I lose interest in these handheld versions. If you want to get the

  • most out of Mario Party: Island Tour, you need three friends who have a 3DS. And obviously,

  • that limits your prospective opponents big time. What I love about Mario Party is handing

  • controllers to anyone...playing these games with an entire room of people.

  • With Island Tour, you just can't do that. And I realize that's not the game's faultit

  • actually has some great wireless options, including the ability to play the full game

  • without a cartridge. Even that, though...I don't know. It's just not the same experience.

  • And to me, that experience is Mario Party.

  • There's room for more objective criticism, however, when it comes to the minigames. This

  • is kind of where a Mario Party sinks or floats, and sometimes, it's a matter of taste. Some

  • Mario Party games have great minigames, and are therefore great. Others do not. Island

  • Tour falls somewhere in the middle. A lot of it's pretty familiar...the same kind of

  • stuff that's been in Mario Party for years.

  • But then you get some that are actually kind of inventive. Especially the ones that use

  • the features of the 3DS. There's this awesome constellation game, for example, that uses

  • the touch screen really well. There's also some that use the gyroscope, for motion controls.

  • Those tend to be when Island Tour's minigames are at their best, and most memorable.

  • When they actually feel like they were made for the 3DS.

  • If you have a bunch of friends you can play this with, it's kind of an easy decision.

  • In fact, you can actually just buy one game. Like, have everyone pitch in for one group

  • copy. Because of the download option, that's all you need for the multiplayer. And that's

  • awesome. But if you're lacking the sufficient friends with sufficient hardware...don't worry

  • about it.

  • Honestly, you're not really missing much.

  • Mario Party: Island Tour can be fun, but only because it's Mario Party.

  • Not because it's a great Mario Party.

So...what's the point?

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