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FreestyleGames, the makers of DJ Hero, return with more music-based fun without all the bulky peripherals.

Ozzie Mejia

June 5, 2012 7:30 PM

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QUICKTAKE: FreestyleGames, the makers of DJ Hero, return with more music-based fun without all the bulky peripherals. The Wii GamePad is used by one player, but this game can entertain numerous players. SiNG has the potential to be a breakout hit and could be one of the best party games in years.

THE DEMO: Joined by some members of the Spanish gaming press, I picked up the Wii U GamePad and sang a ... ahem ... "unique" rendition of LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem. While the lyrics appeared for me on the GamePad, the rest of the room was given prompts on the television screen to sing along and perform some stylin' dance moves.

DETAILS: SiNG was light on content, but heavy on fun. Freestyle has skillfully implemented music and dance cues to create a party/karaoke-style atmosphere. They've also made full use of the Wii U GamePad to allow one person to sing along to the music, offering a master of ceremonies type of feel.

SiNG's Party Mode demo contained three songs -- Carly Rae Jepsen's "Maybe," Betty Everett's "The Shoop Shoop Song," and LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem." With several shy people in the room, I took it upon myself to take one for the team and pick up the microphone and GamePad. The GamePad prompted me to pump up the crowd at several instances during the song with generic phrases like "Get your hands up!" When the song began, the lyrics simply scrolled up the touch screen. I struggled to see some of the lyrics, as there was no cursor or marker to indicate where I was in the song. Meanwhile, the rest of the room saw lyrics and dance prompts appear on the television screen, in the style of a music video, and they rocked out accordingly.

As a party game, SiNG hits just about every note. It gets everyone involved and wallflowers are more than free to sit out. Party Mode doesn't feature any kind of scoring or failure system, focusing more on simply having fun and creating a party atmosphere. If the room's reaction is anything to judge by, it succeeds wildly. The playlist feature wasn’t shown, given the few songs in the demo, but Freestyle reps assured me that it will be a major component of SiNG.

SiNG has every chance to make a huge mark as the Wii U's marquee party game, thanks to a friendly interface and simple focus on having fun. Look for SiNG to arrive on Wii U this holiday season.

I just hope that video footage of me singing "Party Rock Anthem" doesn’t turn up when I run for public office.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?