Lips: Number One Hits

I recently swapped my Xbox 360 gamepad for a microphone and treated the neighbours to some of my “singing” courtesy of Microsoft’s Lips: Number One Hits. It’s a tweaked version of last year’s Lips karaoke game, featuring 40 ‘Chart-topping Hits’. The package also comes with two of the rather snazzy wireless Lips microphones.Compared with the mundane microphones supplied with Rock Band, the Lips microphones are a bit of hand-held, neon lit, Vegas. They flash away to the beat of the song, and when your vocal cords can take no more, they also double as noise makers when shaken to create a hand-clap, finger-click or tambourine sound.I know it is a bit of a cliché to say that there’s something for everyone, but with a track list that ranges from Marvin Gaye to Lady Gaga, Lips: Number One Hits really tries to cater for all musical tastes. If you are not keen on the available tracks, you can import any DRM-free songs on your Xbox 360 hard drive, portable USB device or media centre capable networked PC into the game. However, the song-import function does not include the lyrics, so you’ll have to know the songs. Lips: Number One Hits is compatible with the original Lips downloadable content. There are over 200 additional songs available for purchase in the Xbox Marketplace. You can easily browse and preview downloadable songs from within the game before you buy them.  Being familiar with the naff pub karaoke set-ups of old, I was rather hoping that Lips: Number One Hits would offer players something more than the pretty rudimentary modes on offer. The solo/vs. mode allows a second vocalist to join by simply shaking the second microphone, turning the song into a head-to-head sing-off. Duet mode allows players to sing together and harmonise.Lips: Number One Hits is guaranteed to spice up your summer parties.