Geek Dad Blog

I received the new Sing 4: The Hits Edition video game for review on my geek dad blog. Sing 4 (Crave Games) is a karaoke style game for the Nintendo Wii. Bottom line: it’s a fun game for people who like to sing. The Sing 4: The Hits Edition Wii game is available now. For a limited time, the video game also includes a Logitech microphone, which is a really good bonus because I couldn’t a microphone for my Wii at any of the stores in our area (Best Buy, Target, Toysrus, etc). The video game is rated T because some of the lyrics and videos may be inappropriate for young children. BTW, you can win a copy of Sing 4 over on my dad blog. You better hurry, my giveaway ends on Thursday (December 22, 2011).

Sing 4 features three modes: practice, play, and jukebox. In practice mode, you can sing the songs without being scored or shown the pitch levels. Song mode is my favorite mode because I enjoy watching the music videos and also because I can’t sing. Play mode is the actual game itself. In play mode, you have the option of competing solo or with multiple players (up to four). In multiplayer mode, you can compete as a duet, in battle with other singers, or in cooperation with other players. In cooperation mode, the players all sing the same sections of songs, but their score is combined instead of compared. When you sing, you also have options for difficult level, song length (short vs long), and voice effects.

Voice effects include:

• Echo: the game repeats the player’s voice moments after they sing
• Reverb: makes it sound like you’re singing loudly in a large hall or cavern
• Helium: increases the pitch of the player’s voice
• Ogre: decreases the pitch of the player’s voice
• Wobble: randomly increases and decreased the pitch of the player’s voice
• Pitch correction: the game attempts to adjust the pitch and vocals to the song

To score points in Sing 4, you have to match the pitch, vocals, and timing of the song you are singing. Sing 4 features 40 songs. In addition, you can also purchase and download more songs via the Internet. I have not checked out this option so I have no idea how many additional songs are available or how much they cost.

Sing 4: The Hits Edition Songs List

• Bad Romance by Lady Gaga
• The Climb by Miley Cyrus
• OMG by Usher
• Last Name by Carrie Underwood
• Fireflies by Owl City
• Dynamite by Taio Cruz
• All Night Long by Lionel Richie
• Tik Tok by Ke$ha
• How You Remind Me by Nickelback
• Another One Bites the Dust by Queen
• Love Song by Sara Bareilles
• According to You by Orianthi
• Call Me by Blondie
• Umbrella by Rihanna
• Light My Fire by The Doors
• My First Kiss by 3OH!3
• Love Shack by The B52s
• Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis
• Hey Soul Sister by Train
• In My Head by Jason Derülo
• Here We Go Again by Demi Lovato
• Breakeven by The Script
• Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds
• When Love Takes Over by David Guetta and Kelly Rowland
• Big Girls Don’t Cry by Fergie
• I Will Survice by Gloria Gaynor
• Haven’t Met You Yet by Michael Bublé
• Bulletproof by La Roux
• Don’t You Want Me by The Human League
• No One by Alicia Keys
• Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley
• My Life Would Suck Without You by Kelly Clarkson
• Hey Ya! by Outkast
• Lips of an Angel by Hinder
• Apologize by Timbaland
• Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus
• We are Family by Sister Sledge
• Second Chance by Shinedown
• Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield

Note: Crave Games is holding a special Sing4 YouTube Contest. The grand prize is a trip to Chicago where the winner will be the opening acting at the Songwriters Music Series. In addition, the grand prize winner will also receive $3000 cash and a digital audio recording studio package (MacBook Pro and several recording instruments). Other prizes include a trip to Los Angeles and a 52″ LED flat screen TV. The deadline to enter is January 31, 2012.