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Archive for March, 2009

Samba de Amigo – Wii Mar 07
Samba de Amigo - Wii

Samba de Amigo - Wii

Having only recently got my hands on a copy of Sega’s Samba de Amigo for the Wii, I finally got round to playing it the other day and can’t believe what a gem this game really is.

All of the music is Latino of sorts, such as: Mas Que Nada, Papa Loves Mambo, Oyo Como Va, La Bamba and Bamboleo. Included as well are a few Latin versions of the non-Latino songs such as: Tubthumping and Take on Me. All in all there are 44 songs included on the disc, although some need to be unlocked by playing through the game. There is also currently a further 9 downloadable songs. For the Full Song list of both included and downloadable content, please see the Samba de Amigo Wikipedia page.

The general gist of the game is to use the Wii remote and nun-chuck like a pair of Maracas. As you’ll be able to see in the picture there are 6 circles that you must point your “Maracas” towards and then shake when the blue dot reaches the centre of the circle. Added to this is an occasional pose where you point towards the indicated circles. These two actions form the “Original” method for playing Samba de Amigo. There is also a “Hustle” mode that includes both control methods of Original as well a sort of dancing where you move either one or both of your “Maracas” back and forth between the indicated circles.

Game play can be anything from sedate to frantic, with many different game modes to select from, including Career Mode, Training, Single Player and Multiplayer. Within Single and Multiplayer, there are more game modes to select from:

  • Quick Play – Play a game in either Original or Hustle with any of the songs available from your Song List.
  • Classic – Choose either Original or Hustle and play two songs in a row. Perform well enough and you’ll play a bonus song.
  • Love Love – Perform together with a friend or the computer to demonstrate your ability to work as a team.
  • Battle – A Competitive game against a friend or the computer.
  • Survival – Clear as many songs as possible, missing no more than an allowed number beats. Please note that this is only available in Single Player.
  • Mini-Games – There are 7 Mini-Games to choose from.

It is also worth noting that it is possible to play with remotes only, which has the advantage of no wires, but it does mean you’ll need 4 Wii remotes to play a two player game.

On the subject of controllers, this is where Samba de Amigo is allegedly let down. While I don’t always agree with the reviews and the final scores given by Nintendo Official Magazine, I do generally take notice of what they have to say, especially in relation to any control issues that they make note of. As indicated in the review it’s the harder stages of the game where the control method may become prohibitive in completing each song, however I think where this game works is as a party game and lets face it, must of us aren’t lucky enough to be surrounded by hardcore gamers whereby the harder levels will become problematic.

Of course in the single player mode, the controller issue may become a major letdown and when I get that far I will update this review accordingly. But for anyone who likes rhythm games, Latino vibes and party games, this is one seriously fun game where the thing you most have to worry about, is knocking out the person sitting next to you when you lose yourself to the rhythm…

Resources:

Nintendo Official Magazine review of Samba de Amigo
Wikipedia’s Samba de Amigo page including game history and full track listing.

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