There is no escaping the fact that this game is predominantly aimed at kids. Kids will absolutely love this game and for this reason I will aim this review at those who will actually go out and buy the game, the grown ups. If you do have a kid, buy this game, it’s as simple as that.

If you don’t have any kids then you’re probably sitting there just now hoping that I’ll let you in on a little secret, and tell you that the game is actually meant to be played by adults, providing you with an excuse to rush out and buy this game, because deep down you know you want to!

Don’t worry, while you will look silly standing in front of your TV waving your arms around, and trust me, you will, the only justification you need to buy this game is that it’s a hell of a lot of fun.

The song list is a nice mixture of classics from the original game:

Vamos A Carnaval – WaveMaster
Volare – Gypsy Kings
Hot Hot Hot – Arrow
Salome – Chayanne
Tubthumping – Chumbawumba
The Cup of Life – R. Martin
Samba de Janeiro – Bellini
Mambo Beat – Perez Prado
Livin’ La Vida Loca – Ricky Martin
Bamboleo – Gipsy Kings
Take On Me – Reel Big Fish
El Ritmo Tropical – Dixie’s Gang
Macarena – Los Del Rio
La Bamba – Ritchie Valens
Tequila – Chuck Rio
Soul Bossa Nova – Quincy Jones
Samba de Amigo – Bellini
The Theme of Rocky – Bill Conti
Mas Que Nada – Jorge Ben
Sway – Gimbel and Ruiz
El Mambo – Solemar

As well as these Wii-exclusive songs:

Baila Me – Gipsy Kings
Papa Loves Mambo – Perry Como
Mambo No. 8 – Perez Prado
Conga – Miami Sound Machine
Low Rider – War
Mambo No. 5 – Lou Bega
Oye Como Va – Santana
Asereje – Las Ketchup
Arriba Allez – Bellini
Magalenha – Bellini and Mondonca Do Rio
Ran Kan Ran – Tito Puento
Groove Is In the Heart – Dee Lite
Jump in the Line – Harry Belafonte
Do It Well – Jennifer Lopez
Como Ves – Ozomatli
Cha Cha – Chelo
Pon de Replay – Rihanna
Smooth – Santana
Mexican Flyer – Ken Woodman
Borriquito – Charo
Un Aguardiente – WaveGroup
Solo Tu – WaveGroup
Tango With Me – WaveGroup

My first few plays of the game took place in my bedroom which, because it happens to be the tiniest space on the planet, didn’t give me much room to work with and because of this the sensor seemed to have a problem picking up my movements. This issue was dramatically reduced when I moved to my living room which has much more floor space and I could better position myself in front of the TV. While this move improved the game for me it was something of a double-edged sword as it also meant that I had to shoulder more of the blame if I messed things up!

There’s no denying that there are a few niggles which mainly come from the fact that the Wii-mote doesn’t lend itself to this game as well as it should do. Another thing you’ll notice is that a few of the mini-games simply aren’t that great and appear to be have been tacked on. The volleyball mini-game in particular is best avoided.

With this in mind, let me tell you something, there are some reviewers out there who have given this game unreasonably low scores backed up with some ridiculous comments. I’m paraphrasing just now but there seems to be a trend in closing comments along the lines of “if you’re unfortunate enough to have some silly friends who enjoy waving their arms around like idiots then you might consider giving this game a go”.

I have to wonder why such reviewers feel the need to distance themselves in this way, to me this comes across as a pathetic attempt to make everyone aware of the fact that they are grown ups, perhaps they feel that people won’t take them seriously if they admit that they enjoy such a game. I might not be the most well known reviewer around but I’ll always tell you how I genuinely feel instead of hiding behind a disingenuous mask of misplaced ‘professionalism’.

Another popular sentiment is that the sensor issues I mention above have left some reviewers tearing their hair out in sheer frustration when it stops them from racking up the points.

Now, anyone who knows me will appreciate that I have a temper which at times is slightly shorter than, let’s say, a raging bull. I find some games incredibly frustrating so much so that I have been known to throw around the odd controller to breaking point and I’ve rarely met a door which hasn’t in some way been on the receiving end of my anguish.

I’d like to take this moment to let you in on a little secret, this game differs from Guitar Hero and Rock Band which are both quality games but do have a tendency to wind me up, Samba de Amigo is an incredibly perky game and even with its minor frustrations the uplifting music and cute characters make me want to smile and have another shot. This is also good news for my wallet since my Wii-mote and Nunchuck should avoid their last rights for a while to come.

This image is my Desktop Wallpaper because I am awesome!

If you are a parent then the decision to purchase this game really is a no-brainer and, for a while at least, your kids will believe that you are the best parent in the world. For those of you don’t have kids, it’s time to invite a friend round, knock back a few drinks, and shake your maracas…or, ignore that cheeky innuendo and just have some old fashioned fun…which still sounds like an innuendo, I just can’t help myself.

9/10

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