I do consider myself to be a massive music geek, I play the guitar and I have created some of my own tunes over the years and reached the dizzy heights of actually having a tune played on the radio, granted it was BBC introducing but I’m still quite proud of it. With that said though I can’t sing a note but I jumped at the chance of reviewing We Sing Pop!

This game type has been around for some time now and proved to be quite popular in its early years. We Sing has been around since the start, flexing its karaoke muscles across multiple platforms and turning ordinary people into living room superstars. We Sing games are a great hit at parties, with the multiplayer element mixed with a drink or two – everyone is guaranteed to have fun. Where does We Sing Pop stand amongst all that though? Is it a game for a gamer or just a party activity? Let’s see.

We Sing Pop (which I keep calling Let’s Sing for some reason) provides you with the chance to sing to 30 different songs from a wide range of genres and artists spanning the last 30 years or so. There is a good range of tunes that everyone will be able to enjoy from Coldplay and Meghan Trainor to Wham! and Freddie Mercury. They have “I Want to Break Free” on the list but credit it to Freddie alone, maybe that’s a licensing thing but it did feel a bit wronged, it may have been a mistake, who knows…

I used my headset microphone but you can use the bespoke ones provided in the retail box version but I don’t suppose it makes much difference. In addition, you can use an app from your respective store, I had some problems with the app though as in I couldn’t use it at all. My phone is on the same network as my Xbox and the app is supposed to detect the game and connect automatically, well it didn’t… not even once. I suppose using your phone over a network as a mic wouldn’t be ideal anyway as the lag would be unbearable.

Speaking of lag and latency, just like every other game like this, it’s a serious issue. Developers have put settings in place so you can offset the sound with whats on the screen but these don’t really provide what is needed to get a smooth player experience. I have my Xbox over HDMI into a TV using Game mode, I have no issue with any other game but for some reason I just could not get rid of the latency on We Sing. I also have Rocksmith which I can pretty much nail the latency issue but We Sing proved to be very frustrating. The latency issue means that you’ll miss markers and get misses while trying to sing, meaning your score will suffer. If I’m doing something wrong then I’d love to know what it is but the latency issue really put a downer on the whole experience.

The interface and layout is very user-friendly and anyone can navigate where they need to go easily and quickly. It’s pretty much a launch, select and sing game with no messing around (unless you have bad latency…alright alright I’ll leave it, calm down) meaning you can get into the singing pretty quickly. There are a few modes including solo and multiplayer modes that can support up to 4 singers.

The on-screen lyrics change colour when it’s time to sing and each song is set to its original music video which is a nice touch. Each phrase or word is represented by a shape on the screen giving you a clue how long to keep a note going, it also changes colour to indicate whether or not you have hit the mark or sang in tune. I do think you can pretty much say what you want into the mic to get the points, just as long as you sing in time you’ll be fine.

If you’re drunk or in your early teens – not drunk and in your early teens though – We Sing Pop is a great bit of fun, not to be taken very seriously. The latency issues won’t matter if you fit in either of those categories. I had fun with it just singing along not taking myself too seriously and confirming the fact I can’t sing at all. My son had a go and sang his heart out, he had loads of fun with it and I think he now fancies himself as a star. As long as you’re not expecting a game that will occupy you for hours on end, then We Sing Pop will meet your expectations as a party activity or just a bot of fun for the kids, nothing more.

Thanks to THQ Nordic and Xbox for supporting TiX