oh. my. god. this game is horrible. bad. instead of having your kid play this at his party, have them go outside anmd kick a ball around. they'll have way more fun, and they'll even get exercise.
I have absolutely no idea why Nintendo wants to keep this series alive. I have an N64, so I can safely say that this - despite what the developers want you to believe - is the same thing as all the other Mario Parties. Nintendo just throws out these games to look like they are being productive, when they could be spending their time making a new Zelda, Metroid or Super Mario.
My second favorite Mario Party game (original N64 game in first). Wonderful for slumber parties. I'm a relaxed parent, but some of my kid's friend's parents aren't, so when they come over they can play this without concern. A must-have for those who have slumber parties a lot, along with all other MP games.
Whenever my 10 year old kid has a slumber party this is the first thing that he plays with the guests. It's a great game for when you have a lot of kids around. I myself play it all the time. I probably shouldn't be doing this, but if I find myself waking up at 3 AM, I play Mario Party 4. Great game.