Games for Lunch: Samba de Amigo
In a nutshell: Maraca shaking with shaky controls.
10/29/2008 7:30 PM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 3
Developer: Gearbox
Publisher: Sega
Release Date: Sept. 23, 2008
System: Wii
ESRB Rating: E
0:00 I really enjoyed the Dreamcast original until my cheap third-party maraca controllers gave out on me. Here's hoping the Wii remotes are both more accurate and less prone to breakage that those old things.
0:01 "AMIGO!" screams an unseen crowd on the preview screen, causing a big grin to spring across my face already. Island rhythms play over a high shot of an island. The sun is also grinning and wearing sunglasses. A monkey with maracas and an equally big grin jumps up and down on a parade float traveling through a crowded street. Cut to a spotlight in a dark room, where a bunch of trippy characters are generally jumping around like they're high on a potent mix of crystal meth and ecstasy. Cut to a sandy beach, where they continue to jump and be crazy. Finish on a dramatic edge of a cliff, as they look out into the middle distance. Weird...
0:04 On to the tutorial to learn how the Wii controls work. I'm asked to shake my left hand to determine which remote is which. Intuitive! Then there's a quick calibration where I have to point the Wii remote up, down, left and right. Seems to work pretty well so far.
0:06 "
Samba de Amigo turns two of your Wii remotes into a pair of maracas!" The woman saying this sounds like she is on the same mix of meth and ecstasy as the characters. "Try to hit these balls." That's what she said! Really, it is!
0:08 The game is much like the original, with blue rhythm balls coming out from the center towards six spheres set around a circle. I have to move the remote to the right position, then shake when the blue balls reach the spheres. The sensor seems to jump around a bit when I shake the remote, but the game is relatively forgiving so far.
0:10 I have trouble matching the on-screen poses by "Mr. Pose." (That's really his name. I didn't make that up!) The game has trouble recognizing when I reach one arm over to the other side of my body unless I hold the remote juuuust right.
0:12 A new feature for this game: Dance moves. Basically these involve swinging the Wii remote back and forth, as shown on screen by Mr. Pose. The game is still having trouble detecting a few of these. I feel like WiiMotionPlus would help out here.
0:13 On to advanced training, where I'm explicitly taught about crossing my hands over to the opposite side of my body. I find myself concentrating way too much on remote orientation and placement, rather than rhythm and general hand placement.
0:15 Apparently you get a "Wide Selection" bonus if you hit a ball with both maracas at once. Given the difficulty of crossing over, though, I doubt I'll be trying this much.
0:17 The "Fast Move" training asks me to alternate between high and low shakes rather quickly. Problem is, the quick swing from high to low seems to be detected as a swing, meaning the game doesn't react correctly when the remote finally gets where it's going. This doesn't bode well.
