Lips (video game)
Karaoke game with motion-sensitive wireless mics and personal music support.
Lips is a karaoke video game for the Xbox 360, released in 2008. Developed by iNiS and published by Microsoft Game Studios, it introduced motion-sensitive wireless microphones and allowed players to sing along to songs from their own digital music players. The game generated three sequels and several localized versions for different regions.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- iNiS
- Publisher
- Microsoft Game Studios
- Designer
- Keiichi Yano
- Released
- November 18, 2008 (NA)
- November 21, 2008 (EU)
- November 27, 2008 (AUS)
- Genre
- Music; Rhythm
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
- Platforms
- Xbox 360
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
The gameplay resembles that of SingStar and Karaoke Revolution. It supports single-player and allows two players to sing duets or compete in multiplayer modes such as Time Bomb, Kiss, and Vocal Fighters. Unlike most music games, players cannot fail a song regardless of performance, and there is no difficulty setting; instead, the game rewards singing in six categories including rhythm, pitch, and vibrato. Players can connect a digital music player like an iPod or Zune, or use a USB flash drive, to sing along to their own music, with vocal reduction applied and scoring provided but no lyrics displayed. Music can also be accessed from a computer via Windows Media Connect 2.0, Windows Media Center, Zune PC software with sharing, or PVConnect. The game comes with two motion-sensitive wireless microphones, one white and one black; a second player can join a song by picking up a microphone and shaking it. The microphones can perform game-requested gestures, and standard controllers can add overlays like hand-claps and crowd noise. A February 2009 title update introduced a new voice recognition and vibrato algorithm, microphone timing synchronization, and global leaderboards. An April 2009 update added purchasable song packs. The store and server for Lips were shut down as of October 2014.
Reception
Lips received average reviews according to Metacritic. Critics praised the wireless microphones and multiplayer experience but criticized the single-player modes and the song import feature, which many found problematic; the import feature does not support lyric downloads but attempts to reduce the original singer's voice volume. The A.V. Club gave the game a B+, calling it a self-esteem booster for tone-deaf players while noting that more content would help maintain fun. 411Mania scored it seven out of ten, describing it as a mixed bag but not a bad game, though missing key components of the genre. Variety gave a mixed review, stating that while it would bore vocalists used to Rock Band, it excels as home karaoke, but is shallow with a small song library and a broken import system, leading players to prefer Sony's SingStar franchise.
More in Xbox 360 Game Library of the 2000s
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