Mario Party 4 (GameCube) Reader Review

So this is the fourth Mario Party in the series. What has it got to offer? More than 50 new mini-games and 6 new boards.
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And that's it I'm afraid. Mario Party 4 doesn't reallyadd much to the series that wasn't already there. It seems they are running out of ideas folks, beceause it's starting to become a case of "We've seen it all before". Obviously there are new mini-games but not all of them feel that new.
As usual, Mario Party 4 is about the multiplayer. It's great to play with your friends. However it's only "fun" in multiplayer. Single player has nothing to keep you playing and it becomes boring and repetive.
The main problem with playing Mario Party 4 alone is that you have to face the computer. They are a bit "lifeless" if you get my drift and you don't get nearly as many surprises compared to when you play with friends. It has no replay value whatsoever, you may play alone for 5 boards, which is the total number of boards, with whatever character you are using. Once you win at a board, all you get is a present from the character whoes board you've won. Yoshi, gets Yoshi's shoes and Yoshi's table. These presents are nice but certainly won't keep you playing. And all you can do is keep playing against the computer and it just gets tedious, even if you change the difficulty setting.
Even worse, none of the games are exactly addictive, so you won't want to play them again.
Even the "Extra Room" will only keep you playing for possibly an extra twenty minutes at most. It's just a room with other mini-games not available in the main game. You try and get records in them, but they get tiresome quickly.
The graphics are pretty average, they are very colorful which suits the game, but they certainly don't push the gamecube to any limits. Sometimes the mini-games look really good, but the actual boards look pretty basic.
The sound isn't good either. It is repetive and it doesn't change much throughout the game. It certainly isn't catchy, and some tunes to hum along to wouldn't've have been too hard to put in.
The game however, does look quite professional, when you first turn it on. Well, alright, not exactly professional, but stylish at the very least. It does pull you into the game.
The gameplay has been pretty much discussed. Alone it gets very boring and repetive. With friends you'll have a lot of fun though.
How long will it last? Mario Party 4 will last hours in multiplayer. Probably 1 hour in Single Player.
So to summarise: Only get this game if you have lots of friends to play it with. If you buy it for single player, you'll play it once but then stash it in the cupboard to gather dust.