This has to be the coolest thing I have seen this week - a trailer for Samba de Amigo. Monkeys with maracas… overenthusiastic fathers… looks-to-be-fun gameplay are all present here.

Three new screenshots from Mad World, the upcoming black-and-white ultra violent game for the Wii.

Sega Europe sent out word that Football Manager 2008 will be released for the Xbox 360 this Spring. The upcoming installment in the renowned sports simulation series has been developed by Sports Interactive and is fully updated for the new season, including transfers being made in the mid-season stransfer window, allowing players to select their favorite club or international team and guide them to the title.

The game, as expected, will feature online play via Xbox Live, allowing players to challenge friends to one-on-one matches and even host tournaments. Football Manager 2008 will kick in to stores on March 28.

A Viking: Battle for Asgard trailer has been released, offering two minutes of in-game footage from the upcoming third-person action game.

Five new screenshots from Condemned 2: Bloodshot, the upcoming sequel to the hobo-basher from Sega.

The first footage from Iron Man has been released by Sega, showing off some gameplay footage of the superhero jet fighter! The game is in development at Secret Level and A2M, and is slated for release in 2008 alongside the highly anticipated movie.

Sega has claimed that it plans on bringing more previously import-only Sega Genesis titles to the Wii Virtual Console service. According to the publisher, prices for import games will begin at 900 Wii points ($9 US), a premium over standard titles mostly caused by localization efforts.

The company’s first titles on the service were recently released Golden Axe 3 and Alien Soldier, both of which were previously only available to North American Genesis owners.

The Dreamcast classic is back on the Wii! Sega has announced Samba de Amigo, its classic rhythm music game, for the aforementioned Nintendo console. The game will have players shake to the beats of a samba-infused soundtrack comprised of new songs as well as fan-favorites from the original game.

Playing as the grinning, sombrero-topped monkey, Amigo, players shake the Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ like maracas, in time with the visual beats of the music on-screen. The perfect party game, Samba De Amigo is packed with lively stages and a host of colourful characters. More details about this exciting new title including a full song listing as well as new special features will be revealed over the next few months.

It is in development at Gearbox Software and will be available exclusively on the Wii during Spring 2008.

It’s that time of the week again when Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop Channel. Here are this week’s additions:

Lunar Pool (NES, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Lunar Pool takes the historical game of billiards and reinvents it with a unique and futuristic flair. The rules are simple: All you need to do is use your cue stick to hit the white cue ball, causing it to hit the other numbered balls and make them go into the pockets. You can enjoy nearly unlimited game play with 30 tables, two different ball arrangements, and the ability to change the degree of friction on the table. You can play against a computer or another human player, so try challenging someone once you’ve got the hang of the game.

Ninja JaJaMaru-kun (NES, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 600 Wii Points): Take on the role of a ninja called JaJaMaru and rescue the captured Princess Sakura from the evil Namazu Dayuu in this action-packed game, previously unreleased outside of Japan. JaJaMaru must use his throwing stars to defeat the monsters lurking in each of Dayuu’s many hideouts. JaJaMaru has to be careful though, as each monster has its own unique weapon and method of attacking. The only way for him to advance is to break the floor bricks above him and move up and down between the levels of each round, defeating monsters as he goes. To help him, broken bricks sometimes reveal items that JaJaMaru can use to his advantage, possibly leading to the ultimate power-up: a ride on Gamapakun, the giant frog. Throw in some bonus stages and you’ve got a game with a style all its own.

Golden Axe III (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, Rated E10+ for Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): The once-peaceful kingdom so familiar to fans of the original Golden Axe is under threat once again. The Prince of Darkness has stolen the invaluable Golden Axe, taken over the kingdom and rendered its warriors harmless with an evil curse. One warrior breaks free from the curse and must defeat the prince and regain the Golden Axe to save the kingdom. In this one- or two-player action game, play as a giant, a panther or a sword-wielding human and fight your way to victory once again.

Fans of the Sega mascot rejoice - Sonic will be a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl! It was confirmed by both Nintendo and Sega that the blue hedgehog will be duking it out with other iconic Nintendo characters.

“It’s amazing that after all these years we get to see these two much loved characters compete against each other in another fantastic title,” said Mike Hayes, President and COO of Sega Europe. “Bringing Mario and Sonic together again underlines the continuing partnerships between Nintendo and SEGA, and produces another industry first for our two companies.”

The game is out early next year on Wii.

Sega announced that a unique series of “Dream Events” will be available in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, which will be both single and multiplayer-based. The Dream Events are colorful game-like universes that include objects and power-ups that can empower the player, or bring the opponent down. There will be four of them:

• Dream Race (Sandhill Race Course) - Get on your marks for this intense power-up filled race course, made for either one player, or as many as four.

• Dream Platform (Tropical Reef Diving Area - 10,000M Diving) - More like skydiving, soar through hoops and perform aerial tricks while avoiding obstacles and opponents to reach the finish line first.

• Dream Fencing (Duel Wharf Fencing Beach) - With unique special attacks for each character, this jungle-inspired world offers the ultimate duel.

• Dream Table Tennis (Speed Rally Table Tennis Stadium) - A sci-fi wonderland, this magical table tennis extravaganza offers a special ability for each character - so move fast!

Some new information on The Club was sent out earlier this week. Sega sheds light on three gameplay modes that will be present in the upcoming Bizarre Creations action-shooter. Here’s the scoop:

Run the Gauntlet
A single player mode: “Run the Gauntlet” is exactly how it sounds; a point-to-point run-and-gun race against the clock. Players will sprint through the level chaining together as many combos as possible by blowing away bad guys in stylish and deadly ways. The focus is on sprinting the character towards the exit and trying to finish the level within the time limit, achieving the set score.

Team Skull Shot
A multiplayer mode: This is a team-based game where both teams have coloured skull shot targets scattered throughout a level. The red team must shoot the blue skulls and vice versa. The team who shoots all the opposing team’s skull shots first is the team who wins.

Score Match
A multiplayer mode: Players are set a score target and must burst into the level and try to achieve it as quickly as possible by taking down the other players and keeping their combos going. It’s all against all and not a place to make friends, but then The Club is all about survival of the fittest, fastest and meanest.

Get your Wii Remote and Nunchuk and go fishing! Sega has announced Sega Bass Fishing for the console, the latest addition to the “most successful fishing game franchises of all time.”

In development for release early next year, the game will utilize the aforementioned Wii controllers and will offer over 20 different types of lures to choose from, time-of-day and season during play, 15 environments and multiple game modes. As expected, it will make use of the motion-sensitive controllers, having players toss and move to catch their fish.

New bloody screenshots from Condemned 2.

CVG reports of a delay to Universe at War, an upcoming RTS that is being published by Sega. According to the article, the game has been pushed back to further tune it to satisfy the players’ expectations.

The delay only affects European regions though. As per this post on the Petroglyph forums, the setback does not affect the US launch that is on November 2.