Sony's SingStar series on the PlayStation consoles has long since established the template for karaoke videogames, and We Sing on the Nintendo Wii - when it first appeared - was happy to play along with the same rules as everyone else. So what you got was a collection of songs and a pair of microphones, and it was up to you to provide the warbling and embarrassing moments. We found we fitted the latter role very well.

We Sing also sold heavily, which made this sequel - available with or without the microphones, at two different prices - pretty much inevitable. And it's taking no chances with the formula: what you're getting here is a collection of 40 songs (that's quite a generous amount, to be fair) and no obvious change to the core mechanic of the game.

Sadly, it did actually need one. Whatever you think of the SingStar games, at least if you managed to hit a few notes, the game had a sporting chance of recognising that you'd managed to do so. That's particularly true on the harder levels. We Sing Encore is far less adept at that, and if you're playing the game in solo mode just looking to brush up on your singing skills, then there's every chance you'll find it a little frustrating. The game also offers a singing lesson segment, but it's not much good, and the accuracy of the voice recognition software is relatively poor.

So instead, you're wiser if you adhere to the more logical objective of the game, which is to entertain a group of people. Up to four of you, assuming you have the microphones at hand, can test your singing skills, and we had to admire the breadth of the songs from which you can choose. You've got everything from Three Lions, through to Stereophonics, The Proclaimers, Kaiser Chiefs, Elton John, S Club 7, Soft Cell and Pixie Lott. It's a fair selection, and one that spreads itself wide to tick as many boxes as possible.

And in multiplayer mode the game is good fun. Once you've belted out your tunes you can play them back if you like, and there's a collection of different game modes that will keep a group of singers content.

What there isn't, however, is any chance of expanding the game. Sony has kept its SingStar titles going more now through its online SingStore, which allows you to specifically choose individual songs rather than basically buying a compilation disc of choices. Nintendo doesn't offer that, and as such, what you buy is exactly what you get here. In this case, that amounts to a decent singing game that's not as good as the title that it's aping, but which will do enough to entertain a crowd.

Verdict
A functional karaoke game that could still learn some lessons from SingStar, but still works well enough with more than one player. Fun rather than musical accuracy is the goal here.

Company: Nordic Games

Tags: playstation sony wii pixie lott elton john singstar we sing list of downloadable songs for the singstar series