REVIEWS
37 FAITHFUL AS SAMBA DE AMIGO IS “AS AESTHETICALLY, THE LASTING
If Samba is a seductive, irrepressibly joyful dance worthy of Beyonce then playing this Wii version will at times remind you more of Mr. Bean at the local disco. It’s not completely broken, but neither can the game be played in the rightful spirit when a large part of the time is spent worrying if your movements will actually register (at least the bad gamers amongst us have an excuse now...).
IMPRESSION IS OF
A MISSED OPPORTUNITY ”
Aside from the core game there are a number of extra features, such as a selection of minigames (now as familiar to Wii owners as Achievements are to the Xbox 360) and a bizarre Love Love mode. The former is little more than variations on how fast you can shake the remote (though ‘Volleyball’ is possibly the worst bonus game this writer has ever played on the Wii), while the latter is a cute if superfluous addition that allows two people to play together on the same song before calculating their compatibility. The first time we tried this feature the game threw us with our Mii version of Michael Jackson, our rating a healthy 80%. Career mode is sturdy enough, the carrot of
unlockable songs (not to mention the wonderful cameo of certain famous SEGA faces) reason enough to persevere. Gearbox (not the first developer that comes to mind for such a game) should be commended on the visuals and music. The game is vibrant without being too over-the-top, the classic SEGA charm complimented by the appearance of your personal Miis dancing in the background, while the audio is of high quality throughout. The track selection may appear odd on the surface (since when have Chumbawumba been Samba-friendly?!) but everything works in practice. In a similar fashion to playing along with Poison on Guitar Hero 3, the world of Samba de Amigo is the only one where dancing along to that damn Ketchup Song is permissible… Overall, as polished and as faithful to the source material as Samba de Amigo is aesthetically, the lasting impression is of a missed opportunity. A tighter game would have made a massive difference, though the essence of the license is so strong that an impulsive purchase won’t be a complete mistake - especially if a games party is on the agenda. With the Wii MotionPlus technology just around the corner, perhaps the next rhythmaction game to arrive will truly live up to the expectation of motion controls. At least the Dreamcast’s legacy remains strong, maracas or no maracas.
PLAY
PAUSE
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VERDICT