[IGN-Review] Mario Party 4 & BloodRayne

[Supersonic]

Mario Party 4 - ign Review

Closing Comments
Mario Party 4 is exactly how you would envision it on GameCube -- all-new mini-games and better visuals. My man Waluigi has made it onto the cast list this time, which is an awesome addition, but outside of these basic upgrades, there's nothing new about Mario Party 4. It is a worthy sequel that continues to bring multiplayer fanatics a whole slew of clever mini-games.
It's an absolute must-rent if you have a few friends over for the weekend. That goes for adults, family members, and kids. It's definitely an "everybody" title, and you shouldn't miss out on the diversity it has to offer. Those interested in buying would be advised that the game will collect a lot of dust if there is not a frequent crop of participants ready to partake in multiplayer matches. This will continue to be the franchise's biggest weakness unless it sees a major makeover.

Also, for the next Mario Party, I would be interested in seeing Nintendo archive all of the best mini-games from the previous Mario Party titles. In a game that is all about diversity, you can never have enough mini-games.

-- Fran Mirabella III


Presentation
Very lighthearted, birthday party inspired presentation. Good selection of playable characters, but there's room for more. Could use more extras, too; stats, name labeling, trophy collection, etc.
6.0

Graphics
Sharp, vivid, and well animated, but unbalanced with some blurry textures at times.
7.0

Sound
Very basic, but the lighthearted tunes are fitting. This just isn't the kind of title to sport stunning surround sound or hours of voice overs.
6.0

Gameplay
An incredible amount of multiplayer fun awaits you and your three friends. Don't dare to play it alone, though. There's no "party" when you're alone.
7.0

Lasting Appeal
Addictive four-player party action that you can pick up anytime. Great for kids, families, or adults who might like to turn it into a drinking game.
8.0

OVERALL SCORE (not an average) 6.9

 

[Tabris]

Du postest wirklich nur die schlechteren Wertungen oder?

Naja, von dem Game war nichts anderes als ein Update zu erwarten, das war mir von Anfang an klar und beim Probezocken in Grossostheim wurde es mir nochmals bestätigt. Holen werd ich's trotzdem, will nicht immer überallhin auch mein N64 mitschleppen um Mario Party zu zocken.

 

[Supersonic]

6.9 ist doch nicht schlecht

 

[Tabris]

Für ein simples Update nicht, stimmt.

 

[Tabris]

MARIO PARTY 4

A predictable sequel with enough newness to make it one of the best party games on the market.

October 14, 2002 - The party genre was given a big kick in the pants in February 1999 when Mario Party debuted on the Nintendo 64, proving that board games didn't have to be stale and that mini-games were the ultimate answer for four-player mayhem. Since then it has carried on the tradition with cookie-cutter sequels, and Mario Party 4, the debut of the series on GameCube, is no different. It walks the same path that the previous titles did, banking on the power of 50 totally new mini-games and vastly improved graphics to do the selling. It's nothing new, but it's brimming with enough cool mini-games to keep any Mario Party fan at bay.

Features
- Several modes to choose from including single-player Story mode, pure Mini-Game mode, Party mode, and more
- 50 completely new, never-before-seen mini-games
- Five all-new game boards with more events and spaces
- Support for up to four players
- Team play available
- Buy items in the Item Shop to change the odds
- Play as your favorite Nintendo characters including Mario, Peach, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Daisy, Yoshi, Wario and Waluigi

Gameplay
This franchise is widely considered to have started the party game genre. It's a simple concept: four people trek their way around an interactive game board and indulge in a wide variety of mini-games after each turn. Instead of points, you earn coins, which allow you to buy stars if you land on the correct space. The player with the most stars and coins wins. As for the very important mini-game challenges, they range from free-for-alls, to 1v3, to 2v2 matches. The free-for-alls are certainly the most reoccurring, but the design calls for teamwork occasionally. It makes for an interesting dynamic, too, when you have to team up with the enemy. On the one hand, if you win, you earn equal points for the both of you. On the other hand, if you lose, you can stymie your partner, but will give your contenders a lead. It's not a new concept to Mario Party, but it's one that is still appreciated.

The basic setup to the game is also quite familiar. There are five totally new game boards available from the get-go. They range from haunted Boo-themed environments to something more tropical like Koopa's Seaside Soiree. The new boards aren't just about atmosphere, though. Hudson has gone ahead and expanded the size of them in addition to implementing all-new spaces and interactive elements. On Koopa's Seaside Soiree, for example, you'll be able to buy items to power-up your game. Buy a Mega Mushroom and use it to stomp coins out from your opponents as you pass over them. Or, if you can afford it, buy a Genie to warp you to the star points, which can quickly alter the face of the game. The Seaside Soiree also contains animal interaction with a dolphin to ride upon for shortcuts and a monkey that tosses bananas in your way to randomize your chosen direction. There are a whole slew of events that can happen on the
various boards. They help to ease the tediousness of rolling the dice, but it all pales in comparison to the mini-games.



Like all the Mario Party titles before it, this fourth edition's main appeal is the 50 completely new mini-games. The diverse offerings range from frantically shooting three-pointers to vying for the most surface area by stamping a piece of paper with a color of paint. As always, Hudson and Nintendo know how to put that magical touch into each of the mini-games. Almost all of them are uniquely entertaining. Even the most simplistic mini-game concepts, such as stacking the most dominos by mashing the A-button (called Domination), can easily send the room into laughing fits as you and your friends wear your thumbs out to garner the top spot. Slamming the button repeatedly is basically all there is to it, but the on-screen element is executed nicely. You and your friends must tune in to watch the results as the dominos tumble one-by-one. As each row comes to a halt, places are decided, and the victor can rightly mock the losers.

This is what keeps Mario Party 4 entertaining. The freshness of mini-games in combination with unbridled multiplayer action. However, without four players, Nintendo's newest addition to the party genre is severely wounded. With each player slot that is filled with a CPU, the fun factor drops. It's the same story as usual for the franchise. It's meant to be played with the max number of participants. It isn't remotely entertaining as a single-player game. In fact, it's pure tedium to play the game's Story Mode alone. You are wickedly subjected to watching the three CPU players make their turns. It's not so much a game at that point as it is a form of torture. The only reason one would endure Story Mode is if they were so competitive they wanted to practice all the mini-games first. We can assure you, it's not worth the pain.

Summed up, Mario Party 4 is simply a compilation of very clever mini-games. The board game element is simply a front to control the pace. This is certainly the best Mario Party yet with some of the coolest mini-games. But, that's all that it is. It is not a vast improvement on the series and is still limited to being multiplayer-only gaming, despite the tedious Story mode.

Graphics and Technology
Given the leap from Nintendo 64 to GameCube, the visuals for Mario Party 4 are a huge improvement since we last saw the franchise. The small, controlled environments leave room for a lot of varied texture work and detailed objects. Character models, composed of perhaps a few thousand polygons, are well animated and textured. They're nothing extraordinary, but they blend with the environments quite nicely instead of being blocky and unrefined like we saw on the Nintendo 64. There is a lot of specific effects work for each mini-game, as well. One of the most visually impressive has players performing the classic "butt stomp" on an inflated plastic cube. As the cube deflates, it wrinkles and squishes without looking jagged. The idea that it is just polygons an
d textures is removed from you as it casts glaring reflections from the sun. Overall, the visuals are quite sharp in many places. But, there are also a lot of blurry textures to be seen too. It's a mixed bag of good and bad.

There's technical merit beyond the visuals, though. With 50 different mini-games, it's impressive that all of them feel and play differently. There has been a great deal of work put into the subtle control touches and various physics models.

Like nearly all Nintendo published GCN titles, it supports progressive scan for HDTV users, which makes it look even more sharp and vibrant.

Sound
A collection of MIDI tunes, bell effects, whistles, crashing symbols, and all around circus type music. Mario Party 4 is a very lighthearted game, and the music perfectly fits that. But, the composers and sound designers haven't taken the liberty to make the sound experience a memorable one. It's meant to make the experience feel "fun," but it's also a lot of background static. There are a number of character voice effects too, which are usually just "Woahs," Heys," and "Ahhhs." Each character has their signature mutterings, but that's about as complex as the sound design gets.

 

[Tabris]

BLOOD RAYNE

A cash in on gore games or worthy of your collection? Our full review.

October 14, 2002 - From Majesco and developer Terminal Reality comes BloodRayne, an action-packed 3D adventure starring a life-sucking heroine of the same name who isn't afraid to obliterate just about anything and everything in sight. It's a game that clings to and plays on just about every cliche in the videogame universe, from extremely over-the-top violence to undead and Nazi enemies, silly one-liners, and so much more. Often times publishers hide sub par products behind gimmicks like these, but in BloodRayne's case there is an enjoyable experience to be found underneath all of the body limbs and pools of blood.

The Facts

- Play as a bloodthirsty and hip vampire agent and kill enemies including zombies and Nazis soldiers
- Drink enough living blood and you put Agent BloodRayne into an intensely violent state called Bloodlust where she does much more damage. Drink even more blood and she goes into Bloodrage
- Agent BloodRayne's supernatural abilities increase throughout the game and include incredible speed, inhuman agility, enhanced vision senses, the ability to "slow time" (a la the Matrix) and more
- Main character uses silver blades attached to her wrists for which she can gain enhancements throughout the game. She's also expert with submachine guns, pistols, harpoon knives, grenades and rifles
- Horror-filled cinematic action immerses you in a story that you play instead of watch
- Intelligent enemies seek reinforcements, plan ambushes and use your own weapons against you
- Camera FX feature allows for automatic slow motion camera panning when spectacular events like dismemberment or explosions occur. Camera can be triggered to follow any projectile to its target
- Solid 3D engine draws large, detailed environments complemented by real-time damage models, lighting effects, surfacing scarring, cloth physics and much more
- Does not run in progressive scan mode or DPLII

Gameplay
Majesco's BloodRayne for GameCube is a shameless cross of Blade and The Matrix with some Castle Wolfenstein thrown in for good measure. The title stars sexy heroine BloodRayne, a half human-half-vampire agent hired by a secret organization known as the Brimstone Society to wipe out a Nazi conspiracy. The story makes no apologies about its inspirations and, probably because it doesn't take itself too seriously, it works.

BloodRayne is a 3D action game in every way, shape and form. Players control the limber vampire girl as she makes her way from the darkly lit swamps of Louisiana in search of spidery beasts to her eventual confrontation in the industrial German factories with several Nazi leaders. The game unfolds in linear style, leading BloodRayne from target to target for the kills, or to accomplish basic goals such as planting a bomb on a Nazi-controlled radio setup, or figuring out a way through a warehouse to the next location. There are breaks in the routine -- boss fights, obstacle challenges
and more; at one point the character must take control of a giant mech-robot and blast her way through a level, and these are well paced, welcomed additions. In-game puzzles are practically nonexistent -- the focus is definitely on the many encounters the fast and well-equipped heroine has with hordes of ruthless enemies, all of them primed and ready to be butchered in an exaggerated, grotesque manner that's sure to please the bloodthirsty.

The character moves with surprising speed and precision, can perform a variety of different death moves and utilize a wide selection of powerful weapons. Control feels tight in some regard and loose in others. For instance, the process of manipulating the character about the worlds is intuitive. The developer has employed a dual analog setup -- the main stick moves BloodRayne (forward, backward, left and right) and the other controls her direction as well as the camera. It's the latter that's flawed. Often times, manual or not, the camera is in the wrong place at the wrong time and occasionally it jumps out of whack in a corner, or in a confined corridor, and during similarly small, claustrophobic areas. There are times when it definitely gets in the way, which is mildly frustrating, but because this happens fairly infrequently it's not as troublesome as it could have been.

Terminal Reality has spent a great deal of effort making BloodRayne a force to be reckoned with, and this is definitely noticeable. The character can jump onto enemies and suck their blood, a very satisfying maneuver if a bit cheesy. She can also shoot forth a sharpened chain and rip into foes, pull them closer and feast upon them -- another nasty, but enjoyable move. There are many more, too. BloodRayne can leap and spin, which enables her to break through doors; she can jump and shoot forward her death chain, which serves to damage enemies; and she can flip left or right and dodge out of harm's way. Then there are the weapons -- everything from shotguns to rocket launchers, which she can break out using the Z-trigger and shoot at foes. On top of everything else, she has vampire-specific abilities, from the option to slow down the world in a very "bullet-time" borrowed effect that is nonetheless still ultra slick to the power to use her eyes as a long rage scope and home in on enemies. The character can even use her vampire sense to see through walls and where her next major enemy hides. The sheer selection of abilities is, quite frankly, very impressive, not to be shrugged off as an extra, and they all play a very integral part in the action of the experience, which smacks of smart design.

There are some layout oddities, which disappoint. For starters, some of the levels themselves are a bit on the disorienting side -- some of the locales look the same and there are points, particularly in later stages, where players may find themselves scratching their heads in wonder of what to do next. For example, we found ourselves stuck at one point in the game where a piece of flooring collapses to an underwater area below -- a problem, for BloodRayne is damaged by the liquid. We searched for more than an hour bef
ore we figured out a way past the obstacle and the experience is best remembered as a kink in the otherwise well formed armor of the action sequences the game has to offer. Also, the game's compass, located in the corner of the play screen, is designed to show BloodRayne where she must go next, but it occasionally sends her directly into walls and it's up to players to discover the correct way around them -- a bit of a stupid system, as far as we're concerned.

Encountering armies of enemies and dynamically devising new ways to dispose of them using BloodRayne's arsenal of options is the title's main appeal, perhaps only outdone by the effects her deadly weapons erupt in violently crude showings. Bodies are exploded, limbs torn apart, and pools of blood splattered as the heroine rips through gangs of undead monstrosities, spider beasts, Nazi soldiers and fights against gigantically oversized boss entities. Call it a guilty pleasure, but it's fun. For some gamers BloodRayne will be more than enough, in spite of its comparatively short play through. But those expecting deep, engaging puzzles or levels meant to inspire are in for a disappointment. The game is much more about the next enemy encounter, the next bloody fight -- not about moving stone blocks to trigger a door. That's not a bad thing -- just a consideration.

Graphics
The visual side of BloodRayne is very solid. The game uses an impressive 3D engine built by Terminal Reality to draw big, detailed locales with inspired architecture, above average texture clarity and more. In early stages, gamers walk through swamps filled with misty waters complete with broken down structures, riddled with holes and cracks, which float in water. Later the heroine progresses through candlelight cathedrals with gothic hangings and demonic paraphernalia -- it's very stylistic.
Meanwhile the main character, from the sexy, revealing leather outfit, to the hip hair clips that swing with real physics as she jumps around, is well designed, though quite obviously way over the top. She looks the part of a vampire sex kitten. Some of her animation is equally impressive, particularly seen in slow-motion view a la The Matrix. Other animations, especially for running forward, seem a bit on the stiff side and there is the very occasional view in which she appears to be floating inches above the ground, not walking upon it. The enemy characters, meanwhile, are downright disgusting -- the spidery things that chase gamers around in the early stages still give us chills. It's the Nazi leaders later in the experience that come off more as goofy than anything else, but perhaps that is the point.

Terminal Reality has tried a lot, whether it always works or not. The worlds are varied. They are filled with objects that feature full damage models. Just about everything in the game can be carved up, blown up, or fully destroyed, from book shelves to cabinets, tables to chairs, and more. There are cloth physics. Sheets of Nazi covers hang from walls and if gamers want they can tear them up with BloodRayne's claws -- her primary weapon -- or simply walk through them, at which point t
hey will sway and move back and forth. The texture quality on these pieces of cloth isn't spectacular, but we're impressed that the feature is in the game nonetheless. Lighting effects are everywhere, from the real-time torches that flicker about in environments to the many guns the vampire can rain upon foes, all of which illuminate the immediate area in flashes and bangs. Most impressive of all, easily and without doubt, are the particle effects and subsequent environmental influences -- basically, the gore. BloodRayne is one of the most violent titles in existence and it does its job well -- the blood and guts in this game are executed brilliantly. Particle blood sprays in every direction, body parts are dismembered and thrown into the air, and the floor becomes drenched in red, realistic blood as the female avenger dices and slices. The engine itself spits out tens of enemies on-screen at once, too, which often results in a virtual blood bath of guts and body parts, drenched flooring and splattered walls. It's a mess, but it's done so well that there is a tangible sense of accomplishment having bested a group of Nazi scum, especially when playing in slow time.



On the other hand, the framerate isn't always steady -- there are drops here in there depending upon the architecture detail and the number of enemies on-screen. Massive explosions -- bombs thrown by enemies, also cause the fluidity to chug for a second or two before it can repair itself. Some of the models are terribly low in polygons to the point where they seriously look edgy. There is clipping at points. Some of the texture work is blurry and unrefined. And then there is the camera, which sometimes gets in the way of the action, a disappointment. There is bad here for sure, but the good generally outweighs it.

Sound
The audio presence in BloodRayne is probably its weakest element. The game's music is moody and fitting for the environments and there are specific scenes in which some of the sound effects manage to scare too. But the one-liners are usually poorly acted and unnecessary. BloodRayne is known to casually spout out lines like "You bastard!" to enemies simply for the point of cussing. She sometimes talks to herself long after an enemy encounter has ended. The 'F' word is also frequently used for no innovative reason. People buying the game for its 'Mature' rating alone will probably laugh with glee at some of the profanities in place, but the rest of the title, for all of its cliches and borrowed inspirations, somehow comes off as smarter.

More troublesome, though, is that there are very rare audio pops -- almost glitch-like noises, that happen every once in a long while during fights.


Closing Comments
BloodRayne is not going to change the videogame industry, It has its problems -- some technical shortcomings here and there, some camera oversights and the occasional level layout difficulty, but I have to admit that I enjoyed playing through the 3D action title; that it delivered a fun little ride while it lasted.
There's
a good amount of entertainment to be had controlling BloodRayne through a series of varied locals while ripping through enemies in orgies of bloody fights. The borrowed "bullet time" effects are equally well done and have a real place in the game; there are lots of moves and weapons to be learned, acquired and utilized at the peril of the disgusting foes; and the visuals manage to impress on many levels, from the damage models in place to the detail in the architecture, dynamic lighting effects, cloth physics and more.

This is not a bad game. But don't confuse it for a 3D adventure. So long as gamers go in knowing that -- expecting fights and gore versus puzzle solving and a deep, engaging quest of some sort -- they should come away happy in spite of its quick play through and lack of originality.

Worth a rental at the very least.

-- Matt Casamassina


Presentation
Very slick interface, outstanding FMV cut-scenes, but very little in the vein of options. 8.0
Graphics
Surprisingly impressive. Strong 3D engine draws big, detailed environments with lots of lighting, mapping and physics effects. Best blood spillage we've seen. Camera and framerate drawbacks. 7.0
Sound
Moody, ambient music tracks mix with some scary sound effects. Dialogue is over done and unnecessary. Lots of profanity for no particular reason. 7.0
Gameplay
Straight action. Not a deep, engaging quest by any means. But the control mechanics are fun and colored by entertaining options. Kills are bloodily satisfying. 7.0
Lasting Appeal
The game is fun while it lasts, but it's not the longest offering around. With no goodies or multiplayer options, there isn't a lot to come back for. 5.0
OVERALL SCORE (not an average) 7.8

 

[Hijacker]

Original geschrieben von sonicgroove
6.9 ist doch nicht schlecht

Find ich aber schon...!

 

[Spanish_Prisoner]

Original geschrieben von MarcusSchreck


Find ich aber schon...!

Wer nicht??

 

[Kybernaut]

Also mir sind die 6.9 für Mario Party 4 sowas von egal.

Und 7.8 für Blood Rayne ist doch ganz gut. Werd ich mir vielleicht mal ausleihen.

 

[Spawn_68]

Great for ... adults who might like to turn it into a drinking game.

und damit hat es auf meiner nach oben offenen bewertungsskala ganz klar ne 4,0 promille verdient

 

[DavidWa]

7.8 für Blood Rayne!
Das geht ja noch, somit wandert dieser Titel in meine Sammlung :anim:
(ich warte ja schon ewig drauf)

 

[Tabris]

Mario Party 4 ist genauso wie alle Vorgänger. Wer die mochte, wird auch den vierten Teil mögen. Da sollte man nicht auf die Bewertung achten, ist absolut gleich.

 

[Kybernaut]

Stimmt. Cube.ign bewertet Sequels ziemlich streng (siehe Sonic Adventure 2: Battle bekam auch eine 6.9)

 

[Supersonic]

Original geschrieben von Spawn_68


und damit hat es auf meiner nach oben offenen bewertungsskala ganz klar ne 4,0 promille verdient

LOL mit 4,0 liegst du schon im Koma. Es sei denn du bist Alkoholiker. Möchte mal sehen, wie du dann noch MP4 spielen willst

 

[Negeto]

6.9 sind wirklich nicht das Wahre wenn man bedenkt das IGN die vergebn hat.

Aber was solls man braucht ja auch mal nen lustiges Multiplayer Spiel.

 

[manji]

also ich werds mir auf jeden Fall zulegen. Ich kenn zwar nur den ersten Teil aber den fand ich ziemlich lustig.

manji