Samba, or Samboo?
Way back in 2000, Sega threw everything they could think of at the Dreamcast to lure in
punters. Memory cards with screens, online gaming on a console, fishing rods… and in one
last-ditch attempt, a crazy maraca-shaking game by the name of Samba De Amigo. Sadly, it
wasn't the huge hit they'd hoped – despite being incredibly fun, the public passed it by.
Samba was simply too pricy, too niche, and it wasn't on PS2, the console everyone wanted.
The mad fools.
Samba Round 2
Eight years on, and Nintendo have made wavey motion controls, party gaming and day-glo
colours so de rigeur, that Sega have given Samba another shake. Developed by FPS specialists
Gearbox, Samba De Amigo for Wii takes the original game's rhythm based double maraca shaking
insanity and applies it to Wiimote and nunchuk. Or two Wii-motes, if you're made of
money.
A manic mix of carnival calamity involving grinning monkeys,
shade-wearing suns, trumpet-playing cacti and more.
Controls gripped firmly in each hand, you first calibrate your controls, then shake them
high, medium, or low as orbs travel on musical cue towards large coloured circles.
Successive correctly timed shakes result in your multiplier going up, increasing your score
and rank. It also sets the background action; a manic mix of carnival calamity involving
grinning monkeys, shade-wearing suns, trumpet-playing cacti and more. Do well, and the party
atmosphere goes all Grateful Dead, with psychedelic swirls and tye-dye patterns beaming
while everyone dances. Perform badly and everything goes gloomy, characters crying and
shuffling around dolefully.
Colourful madcap fun
For those who didn't play DC Samba De Amigo, the Wii version will offer colourful madcap
novelty fun for up to four players. Sadly, former Dreamcast fans will be a little less
easily pleased, because the Wiimote and Nunchuk controls aren't as sensitive as the old-style
DC maracas. Everything must be done very precisely and with small increments of movement,
and even playing with all the va-va-voom of a Conservative Party Conference might see arm
moves register as shakes, and vice versa. Playing with two Wiimotes is slightly better, but
flailing as you'd want to the salsa beats will still often result in fail.
It's good family fun. fronted by a grinning sombrero-wearing
monkey and featuring saucy salsa'd-up tracks. What's not to love?
It's made slightly worse by the fact that most of Wii Samba De Amigo's unlockable tracks
are hidden in Hard and Super Hard mode, because it's here that missing beats proves most
costly – and thus, here that using the Nunchuk in particular might frustrate.
Lovin' La Vida Samba
Still, Samba De Amigo is at heart a multiplayer title, and here things pick up greatly.
Get some friends round, play on the lower difficulties in particular and don't get too
worked up about a perfect score, and it's easy to forgive the trickiness when everyone is
giggling and swaying to the samba beat. It's good family fun, fronted by a grinning
sombrero-wearing monkey and featuring saucy salsa'd-up tracks like Livin La Vida Loca,
Carlos Santana's Smooth and of course, signature song Samba De Janeiro. What's not to
love?
A proper music game in the vein of Guitar Hero this isn't it, but Samba De Amigo deserves
to bring a little sunshine to British households over the winter months. It's not on par
with the Dreamcast original, but it's still well worth a shout on Wii as an unusual
curiosity with a cool carnival-feel.
GAME's Verdict
- Great music gets everyone in the carnival mood.
- Bright visuals really set the tone.
- Good solid party fun featuring a saucy soundtrack and a sombrero-wearing monkey. Nice.
- Awkward, imprecise controls that won't please fans of the DC original.
- Too tricky too unlock tunes… due to controls.
- Did we mention the controls?
Review by: Ian 'Samba De' MacDougall
Version Tested: Wii
Review Published: 03.10.08