Because everyone loves a good review thread, am I right?
CVG: 4/10
Gamespot: 7/10
GamesRadar: 3/5
GameXplain: 3.5/5 (multi-player); 2.5/5 (single-player)
(VIDEO REVIEW)
God is a Geek: 6/10
IGN: 5.5/10
Nintendo Life: 6/10
Nintendo World Report: 8.5/10
Pocketgamer: 6/10
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Stumpokapow's detailed impressions:
CVG: 4/10
Chris Schilling said:That lack of imagination is pervasive. People talk about the Nintendo difference, that almost indefinable sprinkling of fairy dust that's found in the company's best games. It's almost entirely absent throughout Island Tour, a game seemingly designed for nothing more than to bolster the 3DS's software library, a slot-filler at best.
And yet 3DS doesn't need it. 2013 will be remembered as the year when the much maligned portable truly established itself with an array of brilliant games: Luigi's Mansion 2, Pokémon X and Y, Animal Crossing New Leaf, Fire Emblem: Awakening (and, spoiler alert, the forthcoming Bravely Default is a bit good, too). So to close things out in this way - in the US, at least; EU players have to wait until January - feels like a riotous party brought to a messy end by the final guest throwing up on you on the way out.
Gamespot: 7/10
Heidi Kemps said:It's not a perfect party by any means, but some good design considerations, better-than-average variety, and always-enjoyable Mario thematics put Mario Party: Island Tour a few notches above your average video game bash-in-a-box. It's nicely portable, uses the hardware well, and has a mostly good minigame mix, making this the easy-to-play multiplayer vacation you've been looking for.
GamesRadar: 3/5
Hollander Cooper said:Ditching the lengthy matches of Mario Party's past in favor of shorter options makes sense, and it makes for more manageable experiences. But it's still saddening that the longest game of Island Tour that you'll ever play should wrap up in under an hour. Hell, a majority of matches will be over in half that time. Because of the randomness and the short length of the boards, it never feels like you have time to get the gist of the level's themes. Having one or two classic boards would've satiated old fans while still giving those interested in shorter matches an option; alas, you're stuck with what feel like miniature versions of the Mario Party levels you know and love.
And, honestly, that's sort of what Island Tour is: a miniature version of Mario Party. Making a handheld game like that might've made sense when Nintendo was trying to shove an N64 game onto the Game Boy Advance, but the excuse doesn't hold water anymore. Though you'll enjoy your time with Island Tour, it feels fleeting. Nintendo could have done so much better and made a portable version of Mario Party worthy of a huge gala, instead of a little shindig.
GameXplain: 3.5/5 (multi-player); 2.5/5 (single-player)
(VIDEO REVIEW)
God is a Geek: 6/10
Robin Parker said:Mario Party: Island Tour is far from being a bad game, it’s just a part of a series that seems to have run out of ideas to an extent, lacking any aspects that really excite or pleasantly surprise you. There is still plenty of fun to be had when taking on some of the more successful mini games with a group of friends locally, but the game as a whole does come across as more of a re-tread of something we have played time and time again. As such, there is little about Island Tour to recommend above past portable versions of the game. If this is your first experience with the series, it is certainly one of the best versions, I’m just not entirely sure that it’s a necessary one.
IGN: 5.5/10
Scott Thompson said:Mario Party: Island Tour’s single-player campaign is laughably bad, and the ambitious, content-rich multiplayer options and unique game boards are ultimately dragged down by mostly boring minigames and unfortunate system-jerking motion control. A group of friends might only have fleeting good times with this collection.
Nintendo Life: 6/10
Dave Letcavage said:Even with the misfires and shortcomings plaguing the game boards, we believe Mario Party: Island Tour may still be a sound purchase for kids, families or anyone looking to play with friends. Those seeking a long-lasting single-player experience may want to steer clear though, as there isn't enough depth to the solo-focused modes to keep you engaged for very long. Island Tour doesn't do much different from it predecessors, and the throwaway boards — coupled with some forgettable game modes — definitely hurt the overall experience in a big way. Thankfully, the great collection of mini-games ensures that there may be enough reason for many people to roll the dice.
Nintendo World Report: 8.5/10
Kimberly Keller said:Mario Party: Island Tour is a fantastic addition for the 3DS. The graphics are crisp and utilize 3D well, while the music fits each game and board without becoming monotonous. Every mode and board is easy to pick up and play with anyone, anytime.. Island Tour is a perfect balance of old and new that keeps the game fresh with playing styles to meet every need. It’s exactly what you want out of a portable party game, complimenting the 3DS effortlessly, and bringing a perfectly suited party game to the console that is long overdue.
Pocketgamer: 6/10
Mike Rose said:It goes without saying, too, that if you don't have any friends to play with Island Tour isn't worth forking out for. This is very much a multiplayer-only experience, regardless of the CPU bots.
Mario Party: Island Tour is a decent new addition to the series, but it doesn't come close to matching the quality of the first batch from all those years ago. Having produced more than a thousand mini-games during its lifetime, the series appears to be running out of ideas.
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Stumpokapow's detailed impressions:
Played three rounds on three different boards. Download play is pretty quick and once you're in there load time is minimal. Some of the games introduced a limited amount of lag over download play. You can close your 3DSes and re-open them and have the game resume but we managed to get a desync once by closing all the 3DSes and only re-opening some of them so don't screw around much.
Objective on two of the boards was "get to the end first", with minigames incentivizing faster movement. No stars or coins, just go fast. Third board was "get the most mini-stars", but you got mini-stars basically by getting to the end first. As a result, I can't say I recommend the boards I've played yet. One board (the rainbow road / Mario Galaxy board) had basically no minigames. There's a little tiny bit of strategy and we had some light backstabbing, but I can't help but feel that the boards a less engaging than they were in 9 or some of the other better instalments. I'll have to re-play a game of MP DS sometime soon to compare. Still tons of super-slow menus, text, dice-rolling, movement, etc. It's impossible to have a quick run through a board.
Characters unlocked by default were Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Waluigi, Wario, Daisy, and one other can't remember off the top of my head. There appeared to be 7 boards of which 6 were unlocked by default. I'm not sure if I'm recalling this correctly, and since I was a downloader, not the host, I haven't played around with the menus.
Minigames are mix of luck and skill based. One that I really enjoy involves fast-forwarding or rewinding a film reel to get to a frame shown on the touch screen. Haven't tried any mic games yet. Games generally seem to control well, absent one that involved 3d rotation of objects by rotating the 3DS which totally failed. No 2v2 or 3v1.
Digital instruction book.
Tentatively I'd say right now that if you're looking for a top shelf Mario Party experience, hold off. But if you like every Mario Party you'll probably like this, it's functional. My first experience was not super positive.
Played the rest of the boards.
There was an interesting one where you used cards to move, but some of the cards also affected your opponents, but you also steal cards from your opponents every term. There's a Bowser card, which basically gives you shit every three turns and if you have it in your inventory, you can't win the round. So if you have it, it's like hot potato hoping someone else accidentally steals it from you. That was sort of neat.
The bullet bill board is pretty neat. The 6 on the dice is replaced with a bullet bill. Each space on the map has a space is in the path of a firing bullet bill. Above each space is a separate space that's safe from bullet bill. So basically if you roll a 5, you have a choice between taking the 5 and ending up in Bullet Bill's path, or taking a 4 and using your last move to hide in a cave. But since only one player can hide in a cave at a time, you might end up sticking them in BB's path. And since every other player rolls before it's your turn again, the odds are fairly high you'll get wasted if you don't hide in a cave.
The unlockable final board (play every other board at least once)is a Bowser themed board that uses the second Bowser level music from Mario 64. You win by being the last to reach the goal, not the first. Winning a minigame gets you a low-moving dice, not a high moving. Bowser basically just gives you shit the whole round. Easily the best board. And it ends with Bowser using a hammer to knock the loser off the face of the earth.
There's only one unlockable board and one unlockable character (beat single player Bowser Tower, get). All the other stuff you can purchase with your points are like, little figurines and soundboards. The soundboards are mostly useful for making perverted noises.Bowser Jr
In general the boards are pretty short which I think would be nice for, like, if you met up with someone at an event and wanted a quick 15 minute Mario Party session, but if you have friends over for an evening of playing they feel a little bit flimsy. Most boards have multiple rounds of movement between minigames, so you feel like you aren't playing enough minigames.
But I think the fatal flaw is that all the boards save one make you win by moving to the end. I'm sure all the various ways to win stars in earlier Mario Party games were random and dumb, but it gave those games a sort of false depth and engagement. This one seems pretty shallow by comparison. I also felt the boards in 9, even though you moved together, felt more interactive and dynamic and vibrant.
I do like most of the minigames though. The microphone ones are hilariously broken. In general I think you'll be happy with the balance of the minigames but disappointed with the board selections, computer AI, and unlockables.
I hope my impressions have been valuable for people. I'm not trying to shit on the game or anything, it's just I've played every game in the series and so I feel like I have a good comparative sense of how each game improves or doesn't on previous ones. I definitely think DS is the better portable game, and if you want MP on your current gen machine, play MP9 on your Wii U's Wii Mode.
