The Black Eyed Peas Experience arrived for Nintendo Wii a short time ago and promises to bring the one of the most popular music groups to everyone’s living room. The dance inspired game brings its fans and newbs alike a collection of their greatest hits in the form of a rhythm/dance game. So how does the Wii version stack up?
I don’t game too much on the Wii as of late, nor do I play any of the Wii rhythm/dance game’s as I am one of those gamers that loves to sit on his butt and get drawn in by whatever I’m playing. I am by no means a couch potato, but the idea of an exercise game hidden within a dance style game just does not sit (pardon the pun) well with me. I am more of a get outside and move type guy, and my gaming time is predominantly spent on my butt. This game is definitely aimed at the hardcore Black Eyed Peas fan, but fans of the rhythm/dance genre should enjoy it as well.
Being this is my first stab at game of this nature; I did find that I wanted to continue playing the title for some time. Right away I thought that the game included a ton of hand gestures and movements, and not enough actual dance moves. Maybe it was just me as I am not much of a dancer. I found the games presentation especially in the backgrounds seemed a bit cluttered, which in the early going confused the heck out of me, but I did find a rhythm later and began to make some progress.
The game’s song selection features 25+ of The Black Eyed Peas best chart topping tracks, plus a few Wii exclusive tracks. For a family oriented console title the tracks are not edited, which could lead to some uncomfortable questions or situations. Some tracks contain the odd cuss word and or suggestive themes. My 7 year old, which loved the game, picked up on a few interesting words, which we eventually laughed off. Overall the unedited versions of the songs were not terrible and there are definitely worse games out there. I think Ubisoft missed an opportunity to appeal to a wider audience, especially on the Wii, and the game may have limited itself a bit.
I played the game for about five hours and found that I had worked up quite a sweat and was tired from jumping around. I took breaks of course, but I still thought that this could be a pretty good way to get your blood pumping while enjoying some good tunes. Although I am not a huge fan of The Black Eyed Peas the songs were diverse enough to keep me pretty engaged. The Wii version is very different from the Xbox 360 Kinect game, as you are having to carry your Wii Remote around where-as the Kinect version maps you into the game. I did begin to sweat all over the Wii Remote which became a bit of a burden because as I playe I had to actually wipe off the controller once sweat became a problem. Overall it was not a huge issue and I came away wondering if I could do this daily.
One of the neat features of The Black Eyed Peas Experience is that you can get the full multiplayer experience. The game allows you to dance with up to 4 friends at the same time and get a group score to reach the next level together or face-off against your friends in competitive dance battles. I must say this feature requires ample room for group dancing, as it can get hectic.
If you are a gigantic Black Eyed Peas fan, this game is right up your alley. There are plenty of tracks and a good amount of content. I’m not a fan of the band so my interest has begun to wane a bit, and this may ring true for other casual fans as well. The Black Eyed Peas Experience is definitely fun though, even if hampered by the visuals, and it gives the you one heck of a work out, but in the end I am not sure if has any kind of staying power in the long run.
For such a flashy game I couldn’t get past the almost bland presentation. Perhaps the game’s biggest issue is the lack of HD. From the menu to the videos the game has a slightly fuzzy or blurred look. I had to squint or get closer to the TV to see some of the commands or moves. At times there is so much muddling motion on screen that I could not discern one command from the other. The game can show a fair amount of pixilation with the frame-rate and I also noticed a bit of clipping in a few areas as well. Overall I thought it was a bit of a shame given that Wii games can look cleaner than this.
If there is a really bright spot for The Black Eyed Peas Experience it has to be the sound. As with any rhythm/dance game, the soundtrack is one of the most important things and the track list is pretty good:
- Boom Boom Pow
- Disco Club
- Don’t Lie
- Don’t Phunk With My Heart
- Don’t Stop The Party
- Dum Diddly
- Everything Wonderful (BEP & David Guetta)
- Fashion Beats
- Hey Mama
- I Gotta Feeling
- Imma Be
- Just Can’t Get Enough
- Let’s Get It Started (Spike mix)
- Meet Me Halfway
- My Humps
- My Style (feat. Justin Timberlake)
- Pump It
- Shut Up
- Rock That Body
- Take It Off
- The Best One (The Boy)
- They Don’t Want Music (feat. James Brown) – Wii only
- The Time (Dirty Bit
- Whenever
Wii Exclusive tracks
- Light up the Night
- Someday.
All of sound is encoded in Dolby Digital Pro Logic 2. The sounds are bright crisp and clear throughout the title. Gamers with a great surround set-up can also do some house dusting with the crazy amount of bass contained in the game. I had to turn my sub down, but we still had fun with the almost party atmosphere. Fortunately the music really makes this game, as it is fun and great to groove to.
If you are a gigantic Black Eyed Peas fan, this game is right up your alley. There are plenty of tracks and a good amount of content. I’m not a fan of the band so my interest has begun to wane a bit, and this may ring true for other casual fans as well. The Black Eyed Peas Experience is definitely fun though, even if hampered by the visuals, and it gives the you one heck of a work out, but in the end I am not sure if has any kind of staying power in the long run.
