Fun Multiplayer / Party console games?

Being a big fan of the Viewtiful Joe series, I just recently picked up a copy of Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble(GCN) since it's cheap now, and I'm fairly surprised at how good it is. Not Smash Bros. good, mind you, but very good for the price it is right now. And it is very much like Smash Bros., only more goal oriented rather than player vs. player. (multiple goals per stage like "who can defeat more npc enemies," "who can collect more gems" and "who can do the most damage to the boss" to get points. Of course, if someone is far ahead of you point-wise, you can take them out to dramatically reduce their points...) With 4 players, it actually tends to be more chaotic than Smash Bros., so much so that I had to get used to it with 2 and 3 player matches first.

Timesplitters 2 has been one of my main party games this past generation (haven't played Timesplitters 3). Unfortunately, it doesn't have the 16-player lan, vehicles and huge levels that Halo has, but it's a very fun, and funny, game (and up to twelve bots if you don't have enough players anyways). Its time-travelling theme lends to it a variety of levels, from wild west showdowns to futuristic robot wars, and a variety of interesting weapons from the different time periods, including the mighty brick, which can be thrown for MASSIVE DAMAGE. Some of the most fun I've had with it is in flamethrower matches, because once you're lit on fire you can run around touching others to set them on fire, as you search for water or a fire extinguisher to put out your own flames. It also has an incredibly fun game mode - Monkey Assistant. The player in last gets a set 1-5 monkeys who help him... not be in last place anymore. It has lots of great characters to choose from, like a snowman riding on a flying carpet, Giggles the Clown, and (if you thought Oddjob was cheap, wait until you see) Robofish. If you like Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, odds are you'll like Timesplitters 2.

Last but not least, an oft-overlooked gem is Kirby Air Ride, which, party-wise, is vastly superior to its contemporary Mario Kart: Double Dash. I think the biggest problem is that people just try and judge it on the races - big mistake. City Trial is where it's at. You and your opponents duke it out while searching the city for stat power-ups and better machines until the time runs out, at which point you are given a randomly selected competition - could be a race, a target flight, a battle - so hopefully you've prepared. A hint is often given towards the middle of the City Trial that may help you know which machine to get and which stats to try and better yourself in, but, well, sometimes the hint lies.

Most amazing jew boots