My husband and I are video game addicts. Console or computer, it doesn’t matter; we own a bunch of games and have played even more that we’ve borrowed from friends or swapped for others at GameSpot.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone here that my favorite game of all time is Kingdom Hearts. The super-popular Japanese franchise blends the action-RPG style of the Legend of Zelda games with an original and epic story line, one that includes character cameos from Final Fantasy (one of the most popular series of video games). But most importantly, the story revolves around Disney characters.
Video games and Disney: what’s not to love? I have to admit I’m not a huge fan of the obviously slapped-together video games often released to coincide with Disney films, but when time is put into a Disney game, I’m intrigued. So I’m excited for the release of Disney Sing It: Family Hits this August.
Disney Sing It games have been around for awhile, ever since the popularity of Guitar Hero and Rock Band games hit the mainstream. They’re a sort of karaoke game; they let you take the microphone and sing along with your favorite Disney hits. My husband and I like Guitar Hero/Rock Band, so when I first heard about Disney Sing It, I thought I’d want to buy it immediately.
As it turned out, the previous Disney Sing It games only featured songs from the current crop of Disney Channel shows and movies. Disney Sing It, Disney Sing It: Pop Hits, DSI: High School Musical 3 Senior Year, and High School Musical: Sing It exclusively contained songs either from the HSM franchise, or hits by Disney channel regulars like Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, and more.
Not exactly my cup of tea. But now Disney’s releasing the “Family Hits” version of its Sing It franchise, and I finally get what I want: to play a video game revolving around singing along with Disney’s songs from the animated films, from classics like “Mary Poppins” and “Sleeping Beauty” to more recent films like “Aladdin” and “The Lion King.”
The game also includes singing tips and exercises from Anika Noni Rose, the voice of Tiana in “Princess and the Frog.” It will be available for the Wii or the PlayStation 3. Songs play alongside full-screen clips from the movies. The game includes 30 Disney songs playable in either solo or multi-player mode (up to 8 people).
If you don’t have a prior version of Disney Sing It, you need to make sure that you buy the “bundle” version of the game, which includes the microphone. If the game you’re purchasing doesn’t say “bundle,” then it doesn’t have the microphone.
Disney Sing It, whatever version, sounds like a great family game. In my experience music games like this, though they can be enjoyable when played solo, are most fun when played as a group game. So if you’re worried about your kids spending too much alone time playing these games, they could work well as a family or group activity.
As for me, I’m hoping that the video game’s interface follows in the footsteps of the Disney Sing-Along VHS tapes I loved so much when I was little. It would be a great nod to Disney tradition if Disney: Sing It prompted its players to follow along with the mouse-eared bouncing ball.
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