Possibly one of the greatest Mario Party games of all time (though nothing beats a classic)
Anyway, Mario Party 6 is, to put it vaguely, totally awesome. It features a cool new Day and Night cycle, which completely transforms the boards and even some minigames! Speaking of boards, they were awesome as well. ESPECIALLY Clockwork Tower (I think that was its name. I can't remember.) You had to chase Donkey Kong by day and run from Bowser by night. Sounds simple enough, but is actually quite fun.
The boards range from trying to board DK's boat to Professor E. Gadd's (yep, he's back) laboratory to a casino type board, complete with slots and gambling stars trying to pick which hat said star is under. Also, each board is complete with shops, which mainly sell you Orbs.
(In my opinion) the greatest part of the game is siccing Orbs on your opponent(s), and it filled me with great joy. Who DOESN'T enjoy setting traps for helpless victims?
Now, on to the minigames.
I forget most of them (I rented it because I couldn't find it for sale. I still don't have it to this day.), but I know they were extremely fun. In a Mario Party game, you look for the three things that make it spectacular:
1. The Boards. What would the minigames be without these? A good selection and variety is important to the amount of fun.
2. The Minigames, of course. Without these, the MP games would be... How do I put this? "Hollow"?
3. New features/characters. Face it, characters are an important part. No one wants their selection to be just Peach and Daisy. And we also look for something that sets it apart from the others. Well, as far apart as you can get with a series like this.
Like I said, minigames are a powerful aspect of the MP series, and if they're not fun, then almost nothing will be.
The story alone is nothing special, but somehow it always seems to work. The Sun (Brighton) and the Moon (Twila) are fighting about who's better, so Mario and his friends throw a party to solve the argument.
Makes perfect sense, right?
Anyway, Brighton and Twila are going at it the whole game, and won't even allow the other to "control" the board for more than 3 turns; thus, the Day and Night cycle.
The solo mode can actually earn you more Stars than Party Mode. These Stars are kept in a Star Bank and can be used to purchase a variety of things: extra difficulties, extra minigames, character taunts, new characters, etc. But your REAL goal is to buy these pages of a book (I forget exactly what they're called.) The only way to "beat" the game is to collect all the pages.
Overall, Mario Party 6 is one of the best additions to the series, with it's new features (including minigames that feature a microphone), boards, minigames, and overall level of fun. You should definitely get this game as soon as possible. If you can find it, that is...