Samba review - time to sell my Wii

[pilonv1]

9.0 Presentation
Plenty of different single- and multiplayer modes, online leaderboards, mini-games, and downloadable content. A helpful in-game tutorial will get novice shakers started.
8.5 Graphics
Cute characters dance around in colorful environments. One of the better looking Wii games.
9.5 Sound
Great samba soundtrack, full of well-produced covers of popular songs and Latin standards.
6.5 Gameplay
Solid rhythm gameplay marred by poorly-implemented controls. Casual gamers probably won't notice, but the hardcore won't be fooled.
8.0 Lasting Appeal
Plenty of songs on the disc plus forthcoming downloadable content will keep fans shaking for a while.
7.5
Good OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)

http://wii.ign.com/articles/910/910586p1.html

The problem is you'll find your shakes aren't always recognized, and the game will mistake other movements for shakes. Sometimes just lowering your hands from the upper to the middle zone will trick the game into thinking you're giving a shake. Sometimes you'll clearly have your remote pointed down for the lower zone, but the game will disagree. It's not a problem on the lower difficulties because the symbols don't come fast enough and you have time to compensate, but once you get to hard you'll find Samba de Amigo just can't keep up with your movements. On the Dreamcast the maraca peripheral was height sensitive and did a much better job of reading your movements. This Wii version puts all its hopes on the remote's accelerometer and it turns out it's not up to the job. There are onscreen indicators that show which zone your remotes are currently held in, but the game moves too quickly on hard for these to be much help.

Last hope for Wii = epid fail

SEGA :'( :'( :'( :'(

WII

[Joe Molotov]

You were expecting a good Sega game? This ain't 1999, son.

[pilonv1]

how hard is it to fuck up Samba?

easily - put it on a console with shit controls

[drohne]

saw this coming -- iirc the dreamcast version used some kind of ultrasonic sensor gizmo, and as we well know the wiimote can't do shit

nintendo

[pilonv1]

yeah the DC one had floor sensors to tell how high you had the maracas.

plus it probably looked better too.

[AdmiralViscen]

So that leaves Wario for the rest of 2008.

[Joe Molotov]

how hard is it to fuck up Samba?

easily - put it on a console with shit controls

It's not like it would have been any better on any other console, without the Maracas. Sega should have made some, but no, they didn't and that's why it sucks.

[demi]

So that leaves Wario for the rest of 2008.

I'm buying Symphionia II as well

[drohne]

So that leaves Wario for the rest of 2008.

doubt it's worth anything like $50, but apparently a wii backup loader is coming, so maybe i'll check it out anyway

wii

[y2kev]

as in burn dvds from your computer and play? free wii games for all!

....soooo should i pirate shovelware orrr shovelware

I have some interest in the smaller Wii games like De Blob, but they seem too expensive for purchases. I will rent I think.

[demi]

Renting is a legitimate form of pirating anyway. Power to the people!

[AdmiralViscen]

Oh right, de blob, why didn't that come out in spring like it was supposed to?

So that leaves Wario for the rest of 2008.

doubt it's worth anything like $50, but apparently a wii backup loader is coming, so maybe i'll check it out anyway

wii

Exactly, it'll be lucky to be longer than 3 hours.

[drohne]

i don't really care about its length. i just think it's going to suck. pretty sprites tho

[Greatness Gone]

Just give me Space Channel 5 Part III, Sega.

[pilonv1]

Just give me Space Channel 5 Part III, Sega.

put it on 360 or PS3 so we get decent sound/visuals

[Rman]

I was always skeptical since I don't think the wii can determine height without using the ir sensor.  I do miss Samba and loved the original dearly for Dreamcast.  The maracas had amazing build quality.

[Eel O'Brian]

I think I'm buying that Carnival Games mini-golf game for my friends, but that's about it

I think the trick to having fun with it is recognizing it for what it is - a toy, not a game system

[cool breeze]

I'm still picking it up.

[Purple Filth]

I guess it needed motion plus...

[cool breeze]

Watching the video on IGN makes this look borderline unplayable.

[Ninja]

The wiimote is shit, can't they release the same type of maracas they used on DC and put it on PS3/360 while they're at it. The number of Wii games I want this year has just gone from 1 to 0.

[tiesto]

Hey, so why are people not hyped for Wario? Were the JP reviews negative? Wario, Kororinpa 2, and King Story are the only games I want for Wii this year.

[cool breeze]

Wario had some bad impressions posted, but I still think it looks pretty fun.  I was a fan of past Wario Land games, so unless this one really fucks up like that thief game, I should enjoy it.

King Story and Kororinpa 2 are out this year? I might be buying more games for my Wii than PS2 this year after all!

[Third]

So that leaves Wario for the rest of 2008.

Don't forget Wii music.

[Mrbob]

Wiimote once again exposed for the shit controller it is.

[pilonv1]

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=239694

Beyond that, the limitations of the Wii remote's motion sensing capabilities become apparent at the exact point you really need them to be reliable. Try as Gearbox might, the bald truth is that the Wiimote is far from an exact instrument in precisely judging where you're shaking. Time and again, just as you're building up a great multiplier, a simple repetitive moment can be misinterpreted, leaving you staring balefully at your hands, wondering why thatshake was deemed incorrect when all the others were fine. At lower skill levels, you can afford the odd hardware-related slip-up; you'll make it through anyway. But, really, the routines are basic enough that you shouldn't be makingany mistakes.

Needless to say, the imprecise nature of the controls starts to weigh heavily once you're faced with more complex routines and manoeuvres. You'll go from being able to do each song with pretty much with your eyes shut to hitting a brick wall the minute you progress to Hard mode. The games almost works perfectly when asking the player to perform very deliberate actions, but demands an unreasonable level of precision later on - a level of precision that is currently beyond the Wiimote. While the expensive Dreamcast system employed was capable of triangulating the position of each maraca relative to the sensor bar, Gearbox's Wii system relies on static acceleration data. While this is a clever alternative on paper, it has limitations when you're being asked to move from high to low to medium positions in quick succession - while also shaking in time. It's a nice workaround up to a point, but it doesn't quite work in the white heat of maraca-shaking insanity.

Nintendo

[pilonv1]

They can just bring out Samba De Aimgo 2009 then.

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

Couldn't they just have instructed the player to put the Wii's sensor bar on the ground, pointing straight up or something?
I'm bummed.  I was looking forward to this.  Sega better not fuck up House of the Dead: Overkill and Thunderforce VI, lest they find themselves back on my shit list.

[Mrbob]

Everything Sega does they fuck up.

Such is life in the post hardware era for them.

[cool breeze]

If you have played Samba de Amigo in the past or plan to play past normal difficulty, do not buy this game.  The controls are fine when it comes to your right hand covering the right side and the left with the left, but when you need to get into doubling up on one side, the entire game falls apart.  Even the dance bits are completely broken.  And even though the game passes as playable in the earlier difficulty levels, you will still need to play in a very robotic way to get it to register...don't expect to get into the groove playing this.  Oh, and I was even playing with two Wii remotes, so presumably it could even get worse if you play with the nunchuck.

One part unreliable Nintendo hardware + one part shitty new Sega game = total disaster.

Still, the soundtrack is pretty good, but I don't get why Going the Distance is listed under 'Theme of Rocky'.