Game: Singstar Vol.1
Published by: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developed by: SCE Studios London
Formats: PS3 Played: PS3

Not really much I can review with this game/karaoke product but as Lips is now out on the Xbox I felt I should at least say something. For those who don’t know Singstar is a game for the Playstation consoles and there have been a whole host of games for the PS2 and now on the PS3. My first go was at Kates house where we sang a few songs and I became addicted.
The pack comes with two wired Mics and a host of songs on the disk as well as letting you download more from the Singstar store.

You have 3 settings Easy to Hard which tests your vocals and you really to have to sing in tune if you want a high score. While you are singing you can chose to have either yourself on Webcam singing along or you could have the video playing in the background. If you did have the web cam inserted at the end of the song you will be able to see a video clip of you singing and also 10 pictures which would have been taken during the song. These images/videos can be saved and if you like uploaded to your singstar account for others to view and comment on.
Online you can view other peoples video’s and pictures and also comment on them. It can be fun to do but don’t get to dishearten if you score a 1/5 star!

8/10


Game: Lips
Published by: Microsoft
Developed by: iNiS
Formats: Xbox360 Played: Xbox360

Lips is Xbox’s answer to Singstar and at first it sounded like it was going to be great. 40 Songs and two wireless mic’s are included with the pack and like SS you can also download tracks, although at this moment in time there are not many great ones.

Lips is actually very different from Singstar and I feel that it’s more of a party game then a Karaoke game. You only get one level of hardness which means as long as you are remotely close to the level of pitch it will give you a score.
The Mic’s feel cheap but they do look good and sparkle at the bottom and top different colours which you can change or switch off to save battery life.
The mic also makes a noise of an instrument when you move it around which can be annoying and is made mostly for the party aspect then anything to do with singing. They encourage you to move your mic while you’re not singing to give you something to do although I think it’s a gimmick that runs your battery out quicker. You can also sinc this sound with buttons on your controller.

There are 3 extra party modes, like SS you can watch the video of the song you are singing but you can’t use the web cam. However you can watch a virtual video or there are three games. These games are a bomb mode which you have to sing to fill a glass of water then tip your mic to pour the water on the fuse to put it out. Don’t let the bomb go off. It’s easy to do but frustrating when there is a long instrumental.
The others I have yet to play and that’s a lovers duet and a fighting mode.

There isn’t a store as such but you can challenge people which I guess works on score and you can purchase songs in the get music section.
Lips is a great party game but it could have been so much better.

Singstar is brining out wireless mics and when this happens I would say that it is the superior Karaoke game.

6/10