Mario Party 10 is Nintendo's latest iteration of the Mario Party franchise, and it's scheduled to hit stores on March 20. So far, the game gives off the impression of being a party game that is more competitive and rewarding when played with family and friends.
Mario Party 10 is designed to have three core modes, such as Amiibo Party, Bowser Party and Mario Party. It has the familiar gameplay changes first seen in Mario Party 9, where four players can travel together using a shared vehicle headed toward a specific endpoint on the game board. The goal is to collect as many Mini Stars as possible, which earn players points.
To get a more solid understanding of what to expect from the game, here are a few reviews from well-known game reviewing sites.
Nintendolife: "One way in which Mario Party 10 improves quite considerably on its predecessor is in its interface. Everything is much more streamlined: there's a lot less fluff in terms of tutorials and mini-game explanations ... It's been designed with pace in mind: the streamlined menus and tutorials allow you to get to the fun quickly and easily. It's a great starting place if you've never played a game in the series before — if you want a light-hearted game to enjoy with a group of friends, regardless of their skill level, you could do a lot worse than this."
Techcrunch: "Nintendo's Mario Party series is among the most joy-inducing in games, especially when you're playing with a crowd. Mario Party 10 continues in that tradition, with a massively different new mechanic in Bowser Mode that pushes the franchise forward and really takes advantage of the Wii U's specific hardwares ... Mario Party 10 is still probably the best game for four or more people you'll pick up this year, in terms of something that can actually be played and enjoyed by all in party-style settings."
Destructoid: "Mario Party 10 has an admirable bundle of minigames and sidegames, but the lack of interesting boards and half-measure Amiibo Party mode hurt the overall package. There is simply not enough meat on the core game modes, seemingly in favor of adding in a hodgepodge of concepts that are isolated from one another."
Gamespot: "Despite Amiibo additions and gamepad Bowser games, as well as a delightfully bright and colorful aesthetic, it's hard to ignore just how similar this game is to its predecessors. But even if you could overlook it, the fact remains that even with some fun minigames in tow and a good group of friends to enjoy it with, Mario Party 10 just doesn't have the depth or the challenge to hold your attention for long."
IGN: "Nintendo's intended audience in Mario Party 10, as with its predecessors, is clearly kids. But when you design something just for kids you can run into something I'll call Candylandization: flashy stuff that requires no thought whatsoever ... Nintendo, and the Mario franchise in particular, has a history of making games that are enjoyable for all ages. Mario Party 10 isn't one of them. There's always next time."
Digitalspy: "When playing a good skill-based minigame it can be a blast, but these moments are far too fleeting. It's a fun game to stick on when you've got company round from time to time, but don't overdo it or it won't be long before people stop accepting your party invites."
Metro: "In this new sequel, the whole game has been streamlined to such a degree it's squeezed out almost any element of real interactivity. Reducing the downtime is fine but now you don't get a mini-game after every round, but only when you land on a specific kind of space ... The upside of this is that the 'board' is now much more elaborately designed and comes complete with its own mini-boss and boss battles."
Canadianonlinegamers: "Mario Party 10 is a packed game. With three main game modes, tons of minigames, and Amiibo support there's lots to do. Unfortunately Nintendo chose to continue to dumb the game down to an uninteresting board-fest broken up by only a couple of minigames. In the end, if you liked Mario Party 9 then get Mario Party 10; you'll love it."
