Boogie SuperStar (Wii) - Review by Chris

Introduction

Electronic Arts have become increasingly vocal in their support of the Nintendo Wii. As a result of this growing support, we've seen many of their key franchises, noticeably their sports titles, using the Wii as the main platform and building from those to create the titles for the other respective consoles. We've also seen a fair amount of new intellectual properties from them as well, including the likes of Boom Blox and the prequel to this game, Boogie. After receiving a mixed views from both consumers and critics, EA are back with the sequel, titles Boogie Superstar, to see if they can improve their luck with this one.

Gameplay

Even if you aren't instantly familiar with the recent Boogie series, the title alone tells you exactly what you're letting yourself in for when you purchase and play the title. Boogie Superstars doesn't stray from the formula that was set out in the original and so those familiar with it will be familiar with what is on offer here. However that isn't to say that EA haven't changed things up. For better and for worse, there have been some changes to the dynamics of the game and the way in which it is played out that distance and improve it over its predecessor.

The gameplay is simple: you choose a caricature which can be completely customised from skin colour to hair to clothing. Once you have your character set up, you can choose to play through a tutorial or skip straight to the main menu. For beginners to the series, I strongly suggest playing through the tutorial, and even those who have experience with the series should play it as well as the dancing mechanics have been tightened from its rather lacklustre appearance in the first title. Once through the tutorial, you have a small choice of options in the main menu to select from and only one of which will take you into the actual game play; this mode being called Star Show. The other modes on offer include the Academy mode, where you can make dance routines and practice, and the Dressing Room, where you can customise your character with a wide array of clothing and items, many of which are unlocked through playing of the main mode.

The game focuses on two main mechanics of gameplay: singing and dancing. Both of these are selectable in the main and practice modes and you're never forced to play a certain one. As previously mentioned, the dancing has been improved somewhat over the poor showcasing it had in the original title. The dancing will have you gesturing with the Wii-mote and keeping in time with the on screen prompts and music. To help, a beat ball has been included into the mix and this beat ball moves back and forth between two marks on the screen and changes colour depending on how you are doing with keeping the pace or indicates whether you need to speed up or slow down. It's a nice inclusion to the dancing and means you can constantly keep track of how you are doing. It's a much better showing of the dancing this time round, although there still remain some problems, which mostly stem to the gestures. The singing, which was at the forefront on the original, seems to have taken a backseat this time though. While the dancing has been improved, this seems to have taken a slight step backwards. Staying are the tried and tested ways of Boogie yet it just feels lacklustre in comparison to other karaoke based titles on the market, such as Singstar or even the singing in Rock Band. While it carries the same mechanisms as those titles, it just doesn't seem to work as well as those and, overall, seems slightly detrimental to the title and the improvements it has received. All the singing and dancing is done in a Pop Idol style environment where judges will mark you based on your performance. This particular route seems to have been included purely to appeal to those younger people who are fans of these types of shows and it doesn't really bring much to the game.

Controls

Dancing in the game is controlled by the Wii-mote on its own, with gestures taking the leading role. You'll be swinging the remote from side to side, up and down amongst many other motions, which become progressively more difficult as the game moves on. While the actual gestures for the dance moves work well, and for the most part they always work, the controls seem to dip when it comes to the combos. The combo is initiated by shaking the Wii-mote vigorously but what follows doesn't always work. Three gesture prompts will appear on the screen, each with its own countdown timer to the point where you need to initiate the move.

But when it comes time to do the move, it rarely registers with the Wii-mote, showing not only the games limitations but also the controls. It suffers the same fate of the controls as those in Samba De Amigo on the Wii, which also suffered from poor detection and movement reading. Perhaps the forthcoming Wii Motionplus, if implemented in later titles in the series, will improve the game but given how much time has been spent on improving the dancing experience, the controls do let it down. The microphone, which is either bundled with the game or separately, works well in picking up the pitch and tone of your voice. So at least that's a plus.

Graphics

The prequel was always given praise for its stylised looks in both the character department and the stage visuals. Well that praise can remain as the game retains the very look that caused it to stand out. Character models are done in a highly stylised cel-shaded look that looks great, with the game offering up lots of customisation options for the characters, and the stages are well represented, showing a great level of detail, from the lighting to the effects that come as a result of a continual awesome streak. The graphical presentation is one area of the title that cannot be knocked. The only downsides to the this aspect of the game are the menus which seem to have been designed so as to be easily accessible yet they feel very cluttered by having too many options on them, especially when it comes to the Star Show mode. Even if they had shifted some of the options to further menus it would have helped make them less cluttered. The only other problem is that the game forces you to play as an entirely new character almost forgetting that the original was praised for providing and creating a cast of wacky characters which made the title stand out. It seems a strange move on EA's part to virtually disregard them.

Sound

The initial premise of the music in the title is good. There are over 40 songs to unlock, ranging from the likes of Katy Perry to Fall Out Boy to Avril Lavigne. Unfortunately, the songs remain only in name to their original creators as all the songs on offer here are cover versions, and not great ones at that. This wouldn't be a huge problem but the game circles around the concept of music and singing along to your favourite modern tracks (another downside as it sticks solely to today's chart music and doesn't even attempt to offer anything in the way of classic pop music) and it's just not right hearing them performed by others. Titles such as Singstar and the likes of Guitar Hero and Rock Band are now releasing all songs as master tracks and so why couldn't EA do this. The answer probably has something to do with money, which isn't a real surprise given that it is EA. And unlocking the songs is a trivial quest of nonstop playing that seems to take forever. Streamlining the unlocking process for younger gamers would have perhaps been a better idea.

Final comments

Boogie Superstar builds upon what its predecessor laid before it, improving in some keys areas, such as the dancing, but taking a step backwards in others, namely the singing. The overall game looks great, can be great fun to play, and sounds great as well, even if the music isn't the master tracks, but the games problems and flaws hurt it from being anything other than a title to be played in short bursts with company. But even then, there are much better and similar titles on the market offering up a wider berth of music and options. It's definitely one for the younger gamers but old hands will wish for a better selection.

Pro: Great graphical presentation, can be good fun to play
Con: Some control problems, music is covered and not the master tracks, not a lot of options
Final score: 6

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