Lips - 360 review

I can't sing - my voice is so heroically bad, I would fail an audition for Jedward. Small children run, screaming, from the sound of my singing voice.  Cats actually cry  in my singing presence. You would think, then, that I'd try to avoid a karaoke game if at all possible.  You'd be wrong, I have no problem in making others suffer and I find the 360-exclusive sing-a-long-a-game Lips fantastic family-based fun. 


The game entails singing along, at the right time and pitch, to onscreen lyrics, thereby building your score (and/or receiving medals, the collection of which upgrades the overall rank conferred upon the player). Combos (continually hitting the right notes) build your score further (or not, in my case), as do motion-sensing actions with the mics (and 360 controller). At the end of each song, you are awarded a grade (from 'biscuit' to 'infinity' - quite a span) and can then view online scoreboards  to show how you're doing against the world  - I have somehow managed the 151st best version in the world of Mirror in the Bathroom by The Beat (maybe only 151 people had sung it).

You can sing solo, against another player, or in duet and there are a few singing minigames (stopping a bomb exploding; kissing; vocal duelling)  available, which I'm not a fan of, certainly compared to the main singing game (yes, I'm not that good at them).


Strictly speaking, it is my daughter's game rather than mine, bought for her for Christmas 2008, at the end of a lengthy carpet-bombing advertising campaign for it on children's TV. The initial 40 songs with the first  Lips weren't that great, I think as a result of having to cover too many genres in order to appeal to the widest market possible (as a new franchise). I don't think there is much crossover between fans of The Cure and Lupe Fiasco, for example (I didn't even know what a Lupe Fiasco was when I got the game). That being said, there were some gems on that first disk - I certainly brought tears to my family's eyes with my rendition (almost in the CIA sense) of Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus and I'm sure Robert Smith was spinning in his woolly pully at my version of Just Like Heaven.

Songs have been available for download from Xbox Live since the game was released, in order to boost the game's longevity (and Microsoft's bulging coffers). Just like the evil Nick O'Teen (readers under the age of 35 - google it), the first hit was free (Take on Me by a-Ha) but  additional songs have been 160 MS points each, with new songs added to Xbox Live every week. It seems to me that the types of songs released, unsurprisingly, have an American slant - there have often been acts I've never heard of. And that's not just because I'm old (probably).  There have been some decent ones among the dross, though - I've probably downloaded about ten songs since my daughter was given the game.  You can also add songs from external sources.

Late last year, a first 'proper' expansion pack was issued, Lips Number Ones, which I steered clear of as there was little on there that I was interested in among the Lips-standard 40 tracks.  Two further disks have been released this year, both of which I have, Party Classics and I Love the 80s. As you can tell from the titles, both games are nostalgia-fests for 30-somethings (result!) and there are plenty of both disks that my family and I am more than happy to sing/wail along to. 


Essentially, that is what Lips comes down to - having a good time singing along with family and friends.  This is not a hardcore game, nor is it a game that lends itself to solo play - wanting to pretend to be Tony Hadley, in a front of a TV, on your own, would be quite an interesting character trait, to say the least.  However, if you're after a fun, party game and aren't too bothered about making yourself look daft, Lips is a worthy choice.