E3 07: Boogie!!!
In the crowded seizure-palace that was the EA game showcase room, it would have been easy to miss Boogie entirely, or at least blow it off for higher-profile digs like Rock Band and MySims, and I'm a little ashamed to say we almost did just that. But boy, were both Fruit Brute and I glad we didn't. Not only is this Montreal bijou totally and fabulously wonderful, but we both agreed it was the most fun game of the day as well as the surprise hit of the whole week.
It didn't hurt that tres mignon lead designer J.C. Gaudechon was having as much fun playing the game he'd designed as we were - I hardly saw another developer enjoying his or her own game this much. It was a great sign and a cool, unexpected vibe to get from a publisher as big as EA.
Exclusively for the Wii, Boogie lets you choose from a number of cute and funny characters to have dance, sing, and mix up an accompanying music video. In that sense, it's three games in one. M. Gaudechon selected a big wobbly pink dude named "Bubba" and handed the Wiimote and nunchuck to Fruit Brute, who kicked up his heels in high form to "Fergalicious": bopping the Wiimote side to side had Bubba shaking his groove thing in time with Le Brute's wrist. Buttons change the style of dance, while the nunchuck controlled Bubba's upper body and face, and a timing meter gave bonus points for perfect tempo.
Make the jump to hear me sing, sorta!
When the dance was over, it was my turn to play. M. Gaudechon handed me the Boogie microphone (connected via USB) and a Wii-ified version of the Singstar-style vocal guide popped up, with Bubba jiggling in the background. I opted for the pre-recorded vocals rather than filling the whole room up with my wailing, so when I sang into the mic the game projected a professional version of "Fergalicious," although both options are available. It was awesome, is all I can say: "T to the I to the N and Y..."
Lastly, we watched M. Gaudechon briefly display how we'd make our video: dragging effects to a video screen that displayed Fruit Brute's moves and my bangin' vocals, with a simple progress bar beneath. The effects options were varied and fun, but I was most excited by the set list: "ABC," "Brick House," "Celebration," "Dancing in the Streets," "Don't Cha," "Groove Is In The Heart," "Girls Just Want To Have Fun," "It's Raining Men," "Karma Chameleon," and...oh hell, just look at the whole list! Buy Boogie after it launches on August 7. And put yo boy on rock-rock.
tiny dancer
Posted to E3, Video Games on 17 July 2007
· Comments (2)
Other stuff like this: boogie, e3, gaudechon, montreal, nintendo, wii
I used to want this game, and now.... now i want it BAD.
I'm all over it.
I was rather neutral about this game up until now. After reading that article and watching that video, this game has now officially caught my interest. Looks like it'll be a blast to play. And I didn't realize there was dancing AND singing!