Samba De Amigo - Wii review

Hey Mumbo, or give it a rest?

4 November 2008 11:00 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Fancy getting giggy with it? That's what Sega is hoping with its remake of its maracas game from the Dreamcast for the Wii. But should you bother doing the mambo? We get shaking to find out.

Samba De Amigo, like Sega Bass Fishing, is the latest game to get a Wii remake and like Bass Fishing sees its accompanying accessory that was once on the Dreamcast (a set of maracas) being replaced by the Wii Remote and Nunchuck.

Like the original, the premise of the game is to shake your stuff in time with the music. Think of those dancing games and you get the idea. When the icon lights-up you've got to shake the Remote in that general direction. And that general direction is up, down, left, right in a circle.

There are a series of different modes available: career, training, and single player, but in reality they are all virtually the same. You have to shake your arms to the music as if your life depended on it, if you don't, you lose.

To spruce it up there are a series of mini-games available to you as well as the ability to battle a mate or play two player synchronised, but on the whole it’s fairly drab.

The mini games are very mini: smash the piñata or break rocks when they appear in the certain space. Think 5 minutes of entertainment and you'll be pushing it.

Verdict

With a stack of tunes like Mambo No 5 and Livin' La Viva Loca, with plenty more that are unlockable to play against, it's not a lack of tunes that let this game down but the unexcitability of shaking your Wii remote for minutes at a time in front of your TV screen.

If you are in to, or looking to get into, shaking in your living room (no not that kind of shaking) then dive in. However whether this is for you or the kids, for us the boredom set in after the second track.

Score

Review Recap

Made by: Sega
Price as reviewed: £39.99
Latest price: Compare prices
The good: Lets you shake your arms in your living room, fun with two players (sort of)
The bad: Repetitive, dull, short-lived
Quick verdict: Repetitive tunes will dispel all but the hardened maracas fan
Score