Samba De Amigo Review

Samba de Amigo is the revival of Sega's classic Dreamcast game. The original was one of the first rhythm games to come with its own special peripheral controller in the form of maracas, which have now been translated to the Wii's motion-sensitive controls. You shake your controllers in time with the music, matching the beats in either the high, middle, or low circles.

This game has been unfairly panned in professional reviews, and to get the most out of it you have to understand how the controls actually work. Unlike the Dreamcast version, the Wii remote does not sense height - raising your arms above your head to shake won't actually register a high beat. It's about angles, so you tilt the remote up to hit the high circles, point it down to hit the low circles, and hold it level to hit the ones in the middle. It's very much about wrist work, and once you've got this down the game's easier to manage. The other problem is that the learning curve is pretty steep. Easy is a write-off, Normal isn't much challenge, but at Hard the beats start coming every which way, and it's often hard to focus on what you're supposed to hit next. With practice you'll get better, but the game isn't great at prepping you for the challenge.

Otherwise the rest of the presentation is mostly solid. Graphics are wild, colouful, and totally psychedelic. It's exactly the type of look to make the game stand out. The song list features a bunch of well-known Latin and pop beats, and while a lot of them are covers, this is a pretty strong lineup. There's also downloadable content available, so like other music games you get a bit more value. What doesn't work are the various game modes, which basically all amount to what you're doing in single player career, and the minigames, which are an absolute brainless waste of time. Hit a pinata? What's the point?

I'd recommend going against the reviewers for this one and picking this up if you want a music game that's not Guitar Hero/Rock Band. The Wii controls get the job done once you figure them out, and the catchy beats and visuals make this an easy game to get into.

PS: Like most Wii games, they're selling a pair of plastic maracas that can snap on to your controller for that added "realism." Skip 'em. The shaking is fun for a few songs, but you'll be more accurate without the added weight.

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Product Description:
The samba-inspired rhythm music game made popular in the arcades is shaking its way onto the Wii™! Keeping the beat with over 40 songs on a Samba-inspired sound track, players shake the Wii Remote and Nunchuk like maracas, and compete with friends to see who has the best moves. Throughout the dynamic songs there will be opportunities to strike a pose for extra points. Friends and family will be thoroughly entertained cheering each other on as they anxiously await their next turn. Special Modes expand gameplay with Quick Play, Classic, Battle, Survival, Hustle, and Mini-games.

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