The Voice (Wii) Review

At its heart, The Voice is a karaoke experience. It's somewhat similar to Now That's What I Call Sing 2 but with a couple of twists and a different song list. There is a pretty good song choice that includes some classics such as A-ha's Take Me On and Queen's Don't Stop Me Now. It closes the divide felt in many games that rely only on newer music and provides a little something for the crowd who grew up before the 2000s. Obviously, there is a good list of modern songs, too, for the younger audiences to identify with.

How does it work, then? Well, the main experience is The Show, in which the player takes part in three modes, from the 'Blind Auditions' and 'The Battle Rounds,' and the 'Live Shows.' This emulates the structure of the TV programme. Auditions are single-player but Battle and Live are two-player head-to-head modes, although they are available for single players, too. There is also Party mode that gives access to all 30 songs to sing with friends or alone at leisure. Overall, it's a robust package with many more options than expected.

The Voice is all points based. The more points gained, the more judges will turn around during the play time. It's not difficult to score well, so long as some form of correct pitch is held during bonus zones - explanation of the gameplay incoming. Like many musical games, then, there are official music videos a-plenty used in the background as you sing along to the tracks all presented in high definition and with crystal clear sound. Overlaid on the videos are a series of rectangles connected by a thin line - this is the pitch bar. Keeping the voice circle within the rectangles nets points, which can be built up further using the bonus areas; bonus areas are golden sparkly rectangles that, when matched, almost act like a multiplier. Hitting all of them perfectly is usually enough to get the judges to turn around, which is the ultimate goal of the audition mode.

The game screen consists of the video with the pitch overlay and a rectangle that contains the score, player number and lyrics, which highlight, along with the sound. It's important to adjust the latency setting to reduce the input lag. This is a very nice addition to any rhythm game as it lets players ensure that their TV isn't disadvantaging them and helps keep the gameplay difficulty as fair as possible.

In co-operative mode, the experience intensifies and this is where The Voice definitely shines. There is nothing more satisfying than challenging a friend or family member in battle. Both compete to get the judges to compliment their abilities (sadly the compliments are a bit repetitive), singing simultaneously for points. Surprisingly, the game is very good at distinguishing the players' voices as separate entities, with no sound overlap. It is all extremely enjoyable, funny, competitive and, above all, pretty addictive.