I’m not going to lie, Disney Sing It: Party Hits is not a game that appeals to my demographic. I was cautious about the game from the bad press that previous Disney Sing It games have received. Once I loaded up the game and started playing, I quickly realized that Party Hits is a competent music game. It is far from a black sheep of genre, but also doesn’t add anything spectacular to this style of game. Those who look past the Disney title shouldn’t be surprised considering the game is developed by Zoë Mode, a developer known for its work on the SingStar series.
Party Hits is just like every other singing game you have seen before. The music video of the song you wish to sing plays behind a karaoke style on-screen box that displays the lyrics and pitch lines. In order to score points the player must sing at the proper pitch and at the correct length in order to match the pitch lines. This gameplay doesn’t mess with the standard of singing video games but it also doesn’t add anything to improve the genre. The gameplay in Party Hits is divided into three modes.
The main mode for Party Hits is the “Sing It!” mode, which is the game at its most basic form. This mode is played solo and has players choose which song they want to sing along to and at which difficulty they wish to sing at. From there, the player simply sings along and trys to score as many points as possible to unlock awards.
The two additional modes available are the “Party Play” and “Vocal Coach” modes. The Party Play mode is identical to the Sing It mode, but allows for multiple players. The Vocal Coach mode features Disney star Demi Lovato teaching players how to sing. It incorporates the use of the pitch matching gameplay and teaches players how to improve their performance in the game. Having the Disney star teaching the lessons keeps the audience of the game: children, engaged with what is happening. If you’ve never taken a vocal lesson before, this mode is perfect for starting out and learning some tips and tricks. My only problem with it is the constant auto-saving between lessons. With some lessons taking less than a minute or two to complete, having to wait 10 – 20 seconds for the game to save can be quite cumbersome. But this is a small flaw that can be easily overlooked.
Sound wise, Disney Sing It: Party Hit is really impressive. The music in the menus and in the gameplay is crystal clear and has no hiccups. When Demi Lovato is being the “Vocal Coach” her audio is very clear and easy to understand. When you get down to the actual set list of the game, it is hit or miss depending on your musical tastes. If you are a young girl who loves to watch the Disney Channel, you will likely love the entire set list. However if you are the average “gamer”, not a single song on the disc will appeal to you. Ultimately the quality of the set list comes down to personal music tastes, just like all over music video games.
Replay value is where the wheels really start to fall off with Party Hits. By genre standards, the 28 song set list is quite small. Pair that with a complete lack of DLC, and Disney Sing It: Party Hits won’t last that long. Scoring high on all of the songs will endow players with various awards and trophies. Unlocking all of the awards will take a little bit of time especially for younger players. Every high score is also recorded on an in-game leaderboard however the complete lack of online functionality with the leaderboard puts a bit of a damper on it. I feel that Zoë Mode could have tried a lot harder in expanding the replay value of the game opposed to simply releasing an inevitable sequel next year.
If you enjoy the tween focused set list of Party Hits you will find an above average singing game. The game doesn’t break the singing genre but also doesn’t add anything revolutionary to it. Gamers who want a more mature set list should obviously avoid this game but shouldn’t scoff at the Disney title. The developer, Zoë Mode, can make a good singing game but the tween set list will leave the game only appealing to a small demographic.
PROS
- Good gameplay
- Vocal Coach mode is fantastic
- Great sound
- Perfect music game for children
CONS
- Too many auto-saves break up the gameplay
- Lack of replay value
- Likely will have no DLC
- Only 28 songs on the disc
