It's a good multiplayer game for those who haven't played the series before.
The single player game is as fun as it was on GameCube installments. The multiplayer, however, continues to suffer. The controls are not as responsive in the minigames and the quality is not as good as past versions. Some are very fun and sensible others suffer because they are difficult to play due to the controls.
If more time were spent on perfecting the controls and the concepts of the minigames...this game would be tons better. But it does well for what it does right. I really like the game. There are just not enough single player levels for me.