First Impressions: A dancing game that even the most rhythm-less of society can enjoy.
The latter half of 2007 will be an exciting time for Wii owners. With the upcoming releases of Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Nintendo hopes to show the world that the Wii is not the passing fad that Sega U.S. Vice President Scott Steinberg recently described it as. However, there are more than two reasons for Wii owners to cash in those childhood savings bonds. Electronic Arts may have invented the next great rhythm game with the Wii-exclusive Boogie. It seems that even third party developers are starting to get the hang of the Wii’s capabilities and are building games from the ground up to take advantage of the technology.
Boogie is a dance game that functions somewhat differently than its brethren. Instead of using a dance pad, the player controls their characters with the Nunchuk and Wiimote. The Nunchuk’s analog stick moves the given character around the ten beautifully rendered backgrounds. The player simultaneously flicks the Wiimote to perform a wide variety of dance moves. The game’s engine is much simpler than those of other dance games like the classic Dance Dance Revolution. Instead of requiring the player to perform certain actions with overlaid arrows, a simple beat meter on one side of the screen indicates when you should move.
The ultimate goal is to earn the most points through dancing and pulling off amazing moves. As you earn points a special meter builds up. When the meter reaches its fullest, players can perform truly spectacular moves by holding the B button on the Wiimote. However, players must be inventive since doing the same moves over and over will score you fewer points over time. Changing between the four different dance styles with the tap of the A button helps to dissipate this pitfall.
Included with the game is a USB microphone that plugs into the Wii. With this players can participate in karaoke mode. Players can sing while dancing or in a standalone singing mode. One player can even sing while the other one dances. This is a particularly good option if you have the precision of John Travolta but the voice of Harvey Fierstein.
The player will be able to dance and sing to 40 different songs. These include memorable titles like “You’re the One That I Want” from Grease, “Brickhouse” by The Commodores, and “One More Time” by Daft Punk. Could “Just Can’t Get Enough” by Depeche Mode make an appearance? Keep your fingers crossed 80s fans.
Boogie allows for a great degree character customization. At the start, each player selects one of the base characters. These characters range from stylish aliens to the typical, yet vaguely cute, rhythm game girls we have all come to know and love. Players can customize all aspects of their outfits and even their skin color. The characters appear in an incredibly detailed cell-shaded style complete with fluid animation.
One of the game’s strongest highlights is its video-editing feature. Using this, the player can record dances and his or her karaoke performances. From there the player can alter the camera angles of a particular performance and add special effects. YouTube anyone?
The game will feature a two player competitive mode, so you lonely Super Paper Mario fans should make sure to buy that extra Nunchuk and Wiimote. Unfortunately there will be no online support. Even the recordable files are apparently too large to transfer over the Internet.
Xbox 360 | XBLA
PS3 | PSN
Wii | VC
DS
PSP
iPhone
PS2
PC
Retro
