Singing games fun but not music to the ears

All the new music video games make me so angry at myself. I can play the plastic guitar and drums just fine in "Rock Band 2" and in "Guitar Hero World Tour." But when it comes to singing in those games, or in the karaoke games "Lips" and "SingSong," I don't sound anything like a star singer.

I mention this not to navel-gaze, but because I bet loads of other singing gamers share the same frustration. Sure, you'd love to sound like Kurt Cobain on Nirvana's "In Bloom," or like Beyoncé in "Irreplaceable." But it's not going to happen.

Here's the thing. If you had access to a band in the real world, you could simply change the key of the song to match your voice. But in a game, you are a slave to the key and octave of the artist. Singing games still are fun, mostly for party play. You just have to get over yourself and accept your limitations.

The best karaoke games also feature original music videos, including "SingStar," with its two wireless microphones for PS 3 and PS 2; and the newer "Lips" with its two wireless mikes for Xbox 360.

If you're a Disney kid, feel free to opt for the wired-mike karaoke of "Disney Sing It," which comes with Disney music videos, such as Aly and AJ's "Potential Breakup Song" and "You Are the Music In Me" from "High School Musical 2." (Both are great songs, and no, I'm not kidding.)

If you're into the full-band experience, "Guitar Hero World Tour" is pretty sweet. Not long ago, there was only the first "Guitar Hero," in which you played a plastic guitar with five buttons, while the TV screen told you which buttons to press.

Then came "Rock Band" and "Rock Band 2," in which you and your friends could play together -- guitar, drums and vocals all at the same time.

"Guitar Hero World Tour" is trying to catch up to "Rock Band 2," by offering (at "Rock Band 2's" equivalent price of $190, during a recession) a full-band setup of wireless plastic guitar, microphone and drums. You can play solo or with friends, or compete online.

If you've never played one of these full-band games but want to, you probably should go with "Rock Band 2" by a hair. It's smoother, since it's been doing the full-band thing longer. But if you find "Rock Band 2" too easy, check out the harder-to-master songs of "Guitar Hero World Tour."

The trouble with these band and karaoke games is you have to pay to download one new song at a time ($1.50 to $2 each). The other option is buying extra discs featuring about 20 songs for $40, such as "SingStar ABBA" and "Rock Band Track Pack Vol. 2," but then you're getting songs you might not want.

By the way, you can compete against other gamers online with "Rock Band 2" and "World Tour," but you cannot do so with "SingStar," "Lips" or "Disney," which do offer multiplayer duets offline with people in your home.

But whatever. These are remarkable games for re-creating rock and pop catalogues for your performance desires, and for their ability to discern when you are offpitch while singing. For the record, I sing on pitch. But if staying in tune were the only requirement for good singing, we'd all be rich.

("Guitar Hero World Tour" with full-band setup retails for $190 for PS 3, Xbox 360 and Wii -- Plays fun, if not as deep as "Rock Band 2." Looks good. Easy to very challenging, depending on settings you choose. Rated "T" for lyrics and mild suggestive themes. Four stars out of four.)

("Lips" with two wireless microphones retails for $70 for Xbox 360 -- Plays fun, though ships with too few songs. Looks great. Easy to challenging. Rated "T" for lyrics, mild cartoon violence, suggestive themes, use of tobacco. Three and one-half stars.)

("SingStar" games with two wireless microphones retails for $60 for PS 3; $50 for PS 2 -- Plays fun, though ships with too few songs and charges $1.50 for an online song download. Looks great. Rated "T" for lyrics, sexual themes, use of alcohol, use of tobacco. Three and one-half stars.)

("Rock Band 2" with full setup retails for $190 for Xbox 360 and PS 3 -- Plays fun. Looks OK. Easy to very challenging based on settings you choose. Rated "T" for lyrics, suggestive themes. Four stars.)

Contact Doug Elfman at 702-383-0391 or e-mail him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He also blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.