Review by: Toni Schwartz

If your kids have a bad case of Beiber Fever, squeal over the Jonas Brothers, or have worn out their DVD copy of Camp Rock 2, then singing to their favorite songs a la Sing It: Party Hits will likely send them over the edge of the teenie bop hysteria cliff. Sing-It: Party Hits features music from a bevy of young Disney-affiliated artists, most of which you’ve probably never heard of but your teen and tween girls worship.

Like its predecessors, Party Hits is a karaoke game where players (or should I say singers) are rated for how accurately they hit the pitch and length of a song. But first, let’s talk about microphones. My review copy of Sing It: Party Hits came with a USB microphone, but if you already have a mic you can get a version of the game without one. Party Hits is compatible with many Logitech brand mics, and mics from other music games like the SingStar, Guitar Hero, and Rock Band series.

There are two main modes in the game: “Sing It” and “Party Play”. Sing It is the standard mode in which a solo singer is graded based on performance. You can select the level of difficulty (Easy/Medium/Hard) and whether you want to hear the Normal or Karaoke version. The Normal version has the original artist’s vocals at regular volume, while the Karaoke version lowers it by a bit. If you’re online, your score is recorded on a leaderboard to see if you’ve got what it takes to be the next American Idol. Well okay, maybe not but you still get to see how well you do compared to other wannabe singers.

The Karaoke version is a new feature in the Sing It series and while it’s a nice addition, it’s still faulty. I’ve been singing along to karaoke machines and videos for two decades and firmly believe that the original vocals should be completely stripped from the music to really enhance the singing experience. I don’t get why singing-based video games are incapable of doing this. I suppose it has something to do with licensing and the trouble of re-recording the songs without vocals but it would be nice to have a singing game that’s more like real karaoke.

Party Play is for multiple players and actually features a number of modes within. You can duet with another person, take turns singing with several people and passing the mic around, or even form teams and have a sing-off. The Party Play modes can be played with as many as eight other people. This sure beats reading teen magazines and giggling over teen heartthrobs as a slumber party activity.

If you want to improve your technique, check out the Vocal Coach section. Demi Lovato gives advice in a series of videos on topics such as breathing technique, postures, warm-ups, and arpeggios. Some of the topics feature in-game exercises such as scales. It’s a nice touch to have a little bit of education in a game, and they do help! I won’t be signing a record contract any time soon, but at least I can karaoke better.