Yeah, yeah, why the heck did I buy this game when I wasn't all that thrilled with the first? Well, I was promised a better game this time around and I was willing to give Nintendo the benefit of the doubt. Believe it or not, they actually did deliver a better game--just not by much. The graphics were tweaked and look quite a bit better, and the new boards and mini-games are quite innovative. The best news of all is that those "rotate the control stick" mini-games are GONE! (can't you hear my hand shouting for joy?) The boards also have "themes" now, and the characters wear costumes to fit in with the themes. For instance, on the Horror Land board, Mario and company dress like wizards (or a witch in Peach's case). They're pretty cute, and add a nice touch of variety to the game.
Unfortunately, my chief complaint with the first MP is still here: you have to have four players at all times. And that damn computer still finds a way to screw you over every time, even if you set it to "Easy." This is not the gripe of a disgruntled sore loser--the computer really does cheat, I swear. If you're pretty good at the mini-games, you can still win, but the computer will none the less attempt to pound you like a nail. New features like the Duel mini-games and the Koopa Bank are neat, but those Battle mini-games suck! They're much harder than the regular mini-games, and the computer nearly always won no matter how hard I tried.
MP2 is only a slightly better game than MP. And as I said before, these games aren't any fun if you have to go alone. Now I hear Nintendo is going to release a third Mario Party later this year! Um, I probably won't get that one unless they get rid of that stupid "four players only" rule. Really, that computer can put a damper on the fun. Smash Bros. makes for a much better multi-player.