Game Review: Lips: Number One Hits

Kristina Hernandez - San Bernardino County Sun

The karaoke craze from the late 80s and early 90s can now be relieved in your home, as the next chapter in the "Lips" collection has arrived.

For fans, "Lips: Number One Hits" is the same game as its predecessor, except with different songs.

For those who haven't played the original Lips game, the concept is simple: Pick which song you'd like to sing from the game options, follow the lyrics, ask your friends to provide some background sounds using one's Xbox controller, and the game comes to life.

This time around, you're picking from the catalog of Billboard's No. 1 Hits with songs ranging from the early 60s to more comtemporary music, featuring artists like Lady GaGa, Dr. Dre, 2 Pac, Roy Orbison and even the Black Eyed Peas.

You have a variety of choices for the background feature as you sing along to the selected song.

Like the first Lips, you can either watch the original music video featuring the song's artist -- that is, if they have it -- or choose from the following options:

Time Bomb, you must sing to save yourself from a bomb exploding;

Challenge someone to a vocal duo;

A virtual music video;

The Kiss, your vocal abilities will allow two lovers to become one as you hit those notes.

Tracks downloaded while playing the first Lips game are still accessible in this new version, as well as tracks from the original Lips game.

However, to access those songs, you have to switch

discs from one game to another and personally, I find that to be very time consuming. Not only is it a hassle to get up and switch discs from the system and wait for each disc to load, you run the risk of your friends and family calling you out on a party foul.

On the plus side, while completing tracks along your Lips journey, you'll be able to unlock avatar awards which includes fun little accessories for your avatar from hats to socks to even Lady GaGa-type shades. This time around, your avatar shares the spotlight with you as it mimics the movement as you match on-screen gestures during the game thanks to motion sensitive technologies built into the Lips mics by the game's creators, so the unlocked treats are a huge benefit if you want your avatar to be your in-game rock star. Like the original, your scores are saved onto the Lips server where you can see where you rank throughout the entire Xbox Live universe.

However, your goal now is to earn bronze, silver, gold and diamond prize cups to show off your vocal prowess to your friends and family and especially to those on the Xbox leader boards who are dying to be number one. Unlike other home karaoke games, in the Lips series you're unable to pick which parts of the songs you'd like to sing in the voice challenge mode. And while I long for a multiplayer feature that rivals that of Guitar Hero where you can challenge players on Xbox Live, the challenge option on the game is still fun, if you like waiting for someone to respond to your challenge. But keep in mind that the goal of Lips is for party entertainment. And with Fox's "Glee" making a huge splash on TV, and the "High School Musical" craze still around, this game is perfect for music lovers who love to grab a mic and belt out their favorite tunes.

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