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How fun is EA’s first original Wii IP? Electronic Arts increased support for Nintendo’s red-hot Wii platform has resulted in Boogie, the publisher’s first wholly original game for the Wii. Boogie is a karaoke game that uses the Wiimote to let you control your character’s dance move. Although it isn’t perfect, it’s a great fit in the Wii library.
Boogie features a traditional karaoke mode. The game presents lyrics with pitch bars to guide your singing. The pitch detection is very generous and gives you the points for almost anything resembling a human sound. The soundtrack skews older so you’ll find songs like Jackson 5’s “ABC” and “Dancing Machine,” Lou Bega’s “Mambo No. 5” and M.C. Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This.” You’ll also find newer songs like Britney Spears “Toxic” and “I’m a Slave 4 U,” Fergie’s “Fergalicious” and Rihanna’s “S.O.S.” All in all the game includes over 35 songs, although they are covers and not master tracks. The singing portion lets you use the Wiimote to execute dance moves for your own entertainment, although the dance moves aren’t factored into your score.
Boogie’s differentiating feature is the ability to control your character’s dancing. You use the Wiimote up, down, left or right to pull off dance moves with your onscreen character. If you hit down, you may get a spin move on the floor or something to that affect. The game lets you link up combos fairly easily, too. You get more points for executing dance moves that go with the beat of the music and can even earn bonus points to pull off a special dance move. You can also use the Nunchuk to pose your character. As with the karaoke mode, though, the dancing portion is very simple and doesn’t require much musical ability at all.
Boogie includes a singleplayer mode that lets you earn credits to unlock songs and clothes for your five characters. Most of the singleplayer mode focuses on the dancing portion of the game, although there are some karaoke chapters as well. The game also features a party mode where you can compete against a friend’s dancing ability. If people actually get up and dance around with the Wiimote in hand, it can be a lot of fun. Lastly, the game lets you record and edit your onscreen performances.
Boogie is a great looking game thanks to excellent, stylized graphics. The animation is splendid and links up the moves almost perfectly.
Boogie isn’t a very deep game. EA has created a great world and a solid launching pad for the franchise, but ultimately the dance portion—which is heavily emphasized—is far too easy even if people get really into it. A slightly more technical Boogie, with more emphasis on the karaoke portion, would be a hit on the Wii. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Sep 4, 2007
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