Samba De Amigo Wii Preview
SEGA's Upcoming Music and Rhythm Video Game Throws Out the Maracas
This summer, SEGA plans to release a sequel to the popular Dreamcast game Samba de Amigo. This time, though, the Nunchuck and Wiimote will serve as players' maracas.
With the success of Guitar Hero III on Wii, a variety of new music and rhythm games have been announced for Wii. SEGA's Samba de Amigo, due out this summer, is one of those titles, but this one is no Guitar Hero copycat -- originally a Dreamcast title, Samba de Amigo for Wii features reworked controls and a very colorful style.
Shake Those Wii Controllers
If it's not obvious from the title, Samba de Amigo gets its inspiration from Latin music. Thus, in the original Dreamcast title, players would trade in their guitar for special Maraca controllers which players could shake, as well as a mat and sensors which could determine both the height and angle of the controllers.
Since the Wii already comes with motion sensor technology, however, SEGA no longer has a need for these special controllers, mats, or sensors. Instead, according to recent SEGA press releases, players will simply use the Wii remote and Nunchuck as their Maraca controllers.
Gameplay Basics
Basically, in Samba de Amigo, players will shake their Wii controllers to the beat of the Latin-style music. However, for added difficulty, players will have to shake their controllers at certain heights and positions (Top Left, Middle Left, Low Left, Top Right, Middle Right or Low Right).
Lest players get too comfortable with constantly shaking and moving around their remotes, however, at certain points during the song, an on-screen character will signal to the player to hold the maracas at certain positions without moving. Thus, overall, if players shake and pose at just the right moments, they will rack up combo points (Amigos) and eventually move on to more difficult songs and modes.
Style and Song List
Samba de Amigo boasts a famously colorful and vibrant interface, as well as a very upbeat Latin song list. The Wii version will feature certain hits from the original version (such as "Hot, Hot, Hot," originally only in the Japanese version of the game), as well as newer songs that are yet to be announced.
The Wii version will also allow players to transfer in their customized "Mii" characters that will show up next to the player's score on the top of the screen. When players are doing particularly well, the Miis will smile; when they're nearing failure, however, the Miis will frown.
Outlook
Samba de Amigo was a hit with critics when it released for Dreamcast, receiving an average of 86% according to Game Rankings. Thus, the biggest question with the Wii version of Samba de Amigo is whether the game transfers well to another system -- especially since gamers will be using the standard Wii Nunchuck and remote rather than the special Maraca controllers.
However, early impressions indicate that the game is shaping up rather well for the Wii, and there is a big advantage in using the standard Wii controllers rather than special Maraca controllers. In the multiplayer mode, each player won't have to buy their own expensive remote; instead, they can just use the controllers that they probably already have.
Thus, those interested in a different music experience should look out for Samba de Amigo when it releases on August 19th, 2008, in the United States, as well as sometime in August in Europe. Wii gamers may also want to look into other upcoming music and rhythm games on Wii, including Battle of the Bands, Rock Band and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.
