We Sing Pop! Review [Wii]
Nordic Games' We Sing karaoke sim series remains the flagship singing game series available on the market, and their latest shows no signs of that monopolising hold slipping any time soon.
rating:4
Who wouldn't want to be a singer? Look at One Direction, a group of regular teenage boys who failed to win a talent competition, and yet can count on millions of fans and a massively promising future in the US as long as they are able to keep churning out tween-friendly, sugary and disposable pop songs. And without the cut-throat world of Reality TV, those boys would probably still be looking forward to a life of doing nothing more spectacular than 99% of their school friends. It is that inherent appeal of the Made For Hollywood rags-to-riches rise to fame and glory which all Reality TV contests trade on that make singing simulation games so enduringly popular despite their fundamental lack of real, deep gameplay mechanics or original, immersive content. Everybody who ever appreciated a song at some point had that hair-brush brandishing dream moment, standing in front of the mirror belting out a Gerri Halliwell classic to their heart's content to the collected awe of thousands of imaginary fans behind the mirror. Or maybe that was just me... Nordic Games' We Sing karaoke sim series remains the flagship singing game series available on the market, and their latest shows no signs of that monopolising hold slipping any time soon. We Sing Pop! not only fundamentally appeals on that Fame Dream level, but it also combines simple, ergonomic functionality with a well-balanced and thoughtfully conceived track list that will appeal to pop fans from almost every generation.
The game brings numerous modes, from the traditional Versus head-to-head games and fan favourite Party Mode, to trickier specialist modes like Blind, which masks random lyrics and pitch bars and the simple joys of non-competitive Karaoke. There's also Expert Mode, which takes away lyrics and pitch bars entirely, Marathon, for extended playlist sessions, and party competitive modes Group Battle, First to X and Pass The Mic which challenge group players in different ways. Like all other We Sing! titles, scoring is based on the player matching pitch and rhythm on their selected tracks, with in-game aids available and Star Notes and a Rap Analysis Performance System for boosting scores in certain sections of the songs. It isn't exactly deep gameplay, but that was never the point, and the presence of three difficulty levels does offer three different gaming experiences for developmentally minded players. Each song is accompanied by the official music video, which gives We Sing Pop! the edge over traditional karaoke with its psychedelic swirls of colour and simple lyric presentation, and the presence of their favourite act's videos will no doubt appeal to those players brought up on MTV and The Box. As a further nod towards that generation of video lovers, the game includes a Jukebox Mode that allows you to watch every included song without the gameplay features turned on. Nordic have also included some tidbits of trivia before each video rolls, adding another little engagement element to what is a very impressively executed set-up. The scoring mechanic is further boosted by the inclusion of a series of thirty Awards, which like Achievements and Trophies on other consoles extend the immediate longevity of the game's appeal, through objectified tasks from entry level things like creating a playlist, and completing all singing lessons, through to high-scoring on every song available. The game includes Charts for players to track their scores for each specific song and for each of the individual game modes. 
Nordic have also allowed some customisation too in order to personalise the experience for players, who can edit game backgrounds, button colours, and menu music to their own preferences. The star of the show is, of course, the tracklist, which mixes some modern hits from the likes of Adele, Jessie J and Lady Gaga with older classics from Wham, Hanson and the one man wonder that is Peter Andre. There's a very good mix, with something for all generations of pop fans, and just enough solid gold cheese to keep the real spirit of Pop alive. The full track list can be seen here. At the final analysis, you can't really fault We Sing Pop! at all - it achieves all of its objectives, combining ergonomic design and slick, simple interfaces with catchy and well-conceived playlists (and huge potential for DLC) to successful effect, and the inevitable pleasure of fans of the series. Like the Rock Band and Guitar Hero series before it, the shelf-life of We Sing might not be massively long, but while Nordic Games offer such a slick, entertaining experience, the series will surely enjoy continues success into the future. And also like those guitar sims, for We Sing, too much deviation from their successful model will be fatal, so it's lucky at this stage that the developers seem to have found such a strong balance. 