Friday, January 16, 2009
News Player's Club: Samba de Amigo review
Posted by Garrett Martin on Fri, Jan 16, 2009 at 5:32 PM
Samba de Amigo
Rated E for Everyone
Released on Sept. 23, 2008
Nintendo Wii
Developed by Gearbox Software
Published by Sega
Samba de Amigo, Sega’s beloved maraca-based rhythm game for Dreamcast, seems like a natural for Wii; gamers are already accustomed to rapid arm movements thanks to Wii’s motion controls. The resolutely bright and colorful game also possesses Sega’s most adorable mascot, a sombrero-sporting monkey that’ll kill the kids with cuteness and the adults with kitsch. Yep, this remake should’ve been a quick and easy process, just a matter of improving the 9-year-old original’s graphics, maybe tacking on some sort of online mode, and bundling in a pair of wireless maracas. Nothing could be simpler, absolutely nothing.
And yet it didn’t happen. Sure, developer Gearbox Software did the first of those two, updating the graphics and adding in online leaderboards and downloadable content. Samba de Amigo remains undeniably charming with an arresting color palette, and manic cartoony visuals that are smoother and cleaner than most Wii offerings. It’s also one of the first of Wii's disc-based games to embrace downloadable add-ons; anyone with a wi-fi connection can buy new songs. It’s evident that Sega and Gearbox intended to treat both the game and the Wii’s audience with respect, unlike many companies who are just angling for a quick cash in. Somewhere along the way, though, they bungled that most essential element of any rhythm game: the controls. Not only are maracas not included, the Wiimote-and-nunchuk control scheme is painfully imprecise. You wield the controllers like a pair of maracas, but the game struggles to correctly recognize your motions.
Here's how it works: There’s a cluster of six circles laid out like a hexagon. A constant stream of balls moves from the center of the hexagon toward the circles. The balls hit the center of the circles in time with the beat of one of the many songs from the game’s salsa-flavored soundtrack. All you have to do is point your ersatz maracas in the direction of a circle when the ball reaches its center, similarly staying on beat with the music. You point up, down, or straight to the side, all either to the left or right, depending on where the balls travel. The timing is unnecessarily difficult, however, due to the sloppiness of the controls. You’ll be pointing up and to the right, but the game thinks you’re pointing down. You’ll point to the side, but the game thinks you’re perfectly still. It can be ridiculously frustrating.
The Wii remake of Samba de Amigo has to be considered a disappointment. The developers mostly made good decisions in translating an older game to a modern system. When the controls respond properly, Samba de Amigo is as fun as ever. But it’s a fundamental problem when a game simply doesn’t do what you tell it to, and that happens far too often with Samba de Amigo.
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