My God, how did I miss this? Yesterday, Sega confirmed that cult arcade and Dreamcast rhythm action game, Samba de Amigo, is coming to Wii. The 1999 title, originally developed by Sonic Team, is apparently set to be ported to the Nintendo machine by... Gearbox. Yes, Gearbox, the developer of Brothers In Arms and numerous Half-Life spin-offs as well as the forthcoming (and really quite awesome-looking) Borderlands. Quite how a history of creating blisteringly intense first-person shooters will prepare this Texan team for camp maraca-waving jiggery-pokery is anyone's guess.
If you somehow missed out on the Dreamcast era, this wonderful game demanded that you shake two maracas at low, medium or high levels to a series of samba-fied pop covers, while occasionally striking glorious poses. Along with Sega Bass Fishing, NBA Showtime, Virtua Tennis, Soul Calibur and the surreally bad Worldwide Soccer Euro 2000 Edition, this was an office favourite at DC-UK magazine, an unequalled Friday afternoon tension-blaster. Copies of the game in the original packaging fetch silly money on eBay, mostly because - outside of Japan - so few people got hold of it at the time.
Of course, Wii is the perfect home for the title, the Wiimote no doubt set to take on maraca duties. It's not clear yet whether the Gearbox effort will be a straight port or a re-imagining. If it's the former, will they include the semi-sequel, Samba de Amigo Version 2000 with its fabulous Hustle Mode? Ah, it takes me back. Someone bring me a Cachaça and my sturdy samba shoes. And try saying that after four shots of Brazilian liquor and a burst of Mas Que Nada.
