Lips – 360 – Review

Music
lovers who happen to be gamers must be having a blast thanks to games that bring
out our inner Guitar Hero and what’s more fun than getting together with
a group of friends to form your own Rock Band? Fans of karaoke aren’t
left behind either with titles like SingStar and Karaoke Revolution
and now Xbox 360 owners can add Lips as another party game that will
happily have you grabbing a microphone and start singing.

Lip gloss
and the one I love

Lips
is packaged with not one but two wireless microphones and – you better sit down,
music gaming fans – they’re far more superior than the microphone found in
Rock Band. The microphones (one black and the other white) are sleek, not
too heavy and light up from the bottom when they’re on. The awesome thing about
them, however, is that they use motion-sensor technology so when you’re asked to
strike a pose during a song all you have to do is give the mic a shake. Oh, and
they work magnificently and they aren’t very difficult to synchronize with your
console.

Aside from
the microphones, of course, you get the game. Lips include 40 songs with the
promise that you’ll be able to download a slew of tunes via Xbox Live’s
Marketplace. You can also import your own songs with certain MP3 players you can
hook up to your console via the USB port. Sadly, Lips didn’t recognize music
from a friend’s iPod Touch but did recognize all of my tunes from my Rune. I
tried importing tunes from an old iPod I had and it worked well, however, so
iPod users aren’t in trouble if you’re not a Touch owner.

Ah, but
the songs are worthy of any karaoke party play list and aside from a large
number of new tunes from artists such as Leona Lewis and Rihanna there are also
some classics as well as some other surprising tunes. It’s great to find an
eclectic mix of tunes that wonderfully shuffles a song from Beyonce
(“Irreplaceable”) and Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” You can sing along to Avril
Lavigne’s “Complicated” as well as try to do your best Freddy Mercury with
Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust.” If you love ‘80s tunes then you’ll love
the fact that Lips includes a song from R.E.M., The Bangles and Depeche Mode.
Some songs will really test your vocal skills with artists such as Maroon 5,
Duffy, Taylor Swift and Young MC’s complicated “Bust A Move.”

The good
news is all of the 40 songs on the list also come with their original music
videos as well as two other custom visualizations when you want to add a unique
background when you perform the song … or if you didn’t like the music video in
the first place. You’re even free to select the songs you like the most in your
own personal Jukebox so you can drop songs you’re not very familiar with or ones
you know your friends will totally ruin. As I mentioned above, you can import
your own tunes from an MP3 player and you can add them to the Jukebox selections
only be warned that some songs don’t recognize the data to include lyrics so
you’ll have to sing to them freestyle.

I’m only me
when I’m with you

Like a
good party game, Lips encourages friendly competitions and co-op play via
the party game modes available. Kiss, for example, features the silhouettes of a
couple attempting to dance to each another for a rewarding kiss at the end of
the song. This is a co-op mode that has you and a friend attempting a duet to
move the couple closer to each another by hitting the notes just right and by
tilting the microphones to trigger a kiss when they do reach each another. In
Time Bomb, the object is to diffuse a bomb by racking up enough points with your
singing to fill a cup of water that will put out the fuse. Vocal Fighters is a
mode where you go up against another player by attempting to beat your rival’s
score by trying to outperform them using the same song.

The
problem with Lips is that there are a number of drawbacks in the gameplay
and the game modes themselves aren’t as diverse or fun for too long. The
microphones and controls (you use the 360 controller to use a noisemaker or add
crowd noise) are fine but there are some questionable issues when the tilt
controls are concerned such as the times when you’re suppose to tilt the
microphone when you “strike a pose.” Shaking the microphone when you’re about to
hit that high note in Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees” just doesn’t work.

Worst yet,
however, is the points distribution. Somehow, I was able to outshine two of my
roommates by completely fumbling through Blondie’s “Call Me” when the crooning
styling of another roommate was enough to rival the hot vocal range of Leona
Lewis. This game is far more forgiving than that of SingStar and
certainly easier than Karaoke Revolution. If anything, I’m beginning to
feel that Lips is the perfect game for those just starting to get into
karaoke.

Stand by me
while I bust a move.

I do like
the game’s visual presentation and the snazzy visual effects that pop up when
you do nail a particularly difficult verse. The music videos look sharp like
you’re looking at a DVD copy of a collection of music videos. Even the original
custom visualizations look decent when you’re tired of looking at the music
video versions. Moreover, the game modes offer a retro-styled look that works
well with the game.

A
delightful party game with plenty of excellent reasons to get a number of
friends together, Lips isn’t perfect but it is still able to provide a
good karaoke experience fit for your Xbox 360. While the game modes leave much
to be desired and the point system is flawed, the collection of tunes will give
you something to sing about and the two microphones are high-quality peripherals
you will definitely love over other microphones released for the Xbox 360.
Gamers looking for another party game will certainly want to pick this one up.

Review Scoring Details for Lips

Gameplay: 7.0
A lengthy song list,
two microphones and a few game modes makes this a genuine party game for karaoke
fans. Still, the points system is far too wacky and the co-op fun is simply Ok.
Striking a pose during a verse just doesn’t work. You can import your own tunes
if you have the right MP3 player.

Graphics: 7.5
The game’s
presentation is slick and sparkly but the real treat is how crisp the videos
look. The fleshy effects are also nice.

Sound: 8.0
Many of the songs in
the collection are definitely karaoke material whether you’re a fan of the
classics like Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” and The Police’s “Every Little Thing
She Does Is Magic” or something a bit more recent and challenging like Alicia
Key’s “No One.”

Difficulty: Easy
I don’t know I was
able to get a spectacular score when I butchered Dido’s song so horribly. Oh,
and even though I gained major points with “Soak Up the Sun,” I feel the need to
apologize to Sheryl Crow. The game just isn’t as challenging as Karaoke
Revolution.

Concept: 7.0
The microphones
themselves are easily better than the ones in Rock Band and the
collection of tunes are a nice eclectic mix (which also includes country
favorites from John Denver to Johnny Cash). Zune owners are in luck but iPod
Touch owners won’t be able to import your own tunes.

Multiplayer: 8.0
This is definitely
one of those true party games that are worth sharing with a number of friends
that enjoy a good karaoke atmosphere. You’ll have a blast attempting to outshine
a friend and the game modes will truly test your vocal skills against others.
Can you say house party?

Overall: 7.0
Those who are
looking for yet another solid party game for their Xbox 360 will certainly
appreciate all the things Lips has to offer including the excellent
microphones. The song selection is actually not bad at all but the game modes
could have been a bit more exciting than the ones found in this game. Still, you
cannot go wrong with this one, karaoke fans.