Review: Boogie

Karaoke has come to the video game world in the form of many games, most notably the SingStar series of games for the PlayStation 2. Now, the Nintendo Wii is getting its share of that vocal chord hugging madness with Electronic Arts’ Boogie.

Karaoke has come to the video game world in the form of many games, most notably the SingStar series of games for the PlayStation 2. Now, the Nintendo Wii is getting its share of that vocal chord hugging madness with Electronic Arts’ Boogie.

Boogie is a blend of dancing and singing and has a visual style all on its own. It’s also got a story mode but… we won’t go down that road. Let’s just say that the story isn’t worth getting your head around and you should probably just stick to the singing and dancing part of the game.

The songs of Boogie may not be to everyone’s liking as most come from that Boogie period of life, the seventies, with songs such as the Jackson Five’s “ABC” and “I Want You Back” as well as the Commodores’ “Brick House” and the Village People’s “YMCA”. A few songs from the past decade are loaded in there too including The Pussycat Dolls’ “Don’t Cha” and even some Britney Spears songs.

While the karaoke system does allow you to sing, it’s ultimately flawed. It doesn’t matter if you don’t sing the words nor does it matter if you hum, whistle, or belch in its general vicinity. Provided you match the bars going up and down the scales, Boogie thinks you’re Pavarotti. And then there’s the dancing…

Boogie blends the Wii’s accelerometer based controls with singing to give you what might seem as an all out dancing experience. To do this, you sing using the included Logitech microphone and use the Wiimote to dance around by moving it up, down and all around. While you’re given different points for the type of combo moves you can pull off, ultimately all you have to do is shake your hands all over the place to get a decent score.

Boogie does well to bring a unique style and flair to a game that you probably wouldn’t otherwise expect it from. The game adopts a 3D cel-shaded feel and looks very cool. The characters are unique and the dance moves have good animation.

The sound is also pretty good with the music having a good feeling even though there are times when it can feel empty. You even get a movie mode that allows you to edit all the zany times you’ve had playing Boogie into a music video.

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What you get in the end is a nice looking game that feels like you’re stuck in a mediocre karaoke bar. When you do end up playing, you more or less have to sing and dance like a drunk lunatic. We’re not saying you should be drunk when playing this game, but it could certainly help to keep things exciting.

Basically, if you’re looking for a good reason to belt out some songs while shaking your hands, Boogie is the game for you. Boogie is available now only for the Nintendo Wii and it’s rated PG.

Developer: Electronic Arts
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Classification: PG
Formats: Wii
URL: Boogie

Reviewed by Leigh D. Stark