Just Sing It (iOS) review

Just Sing It is a new iOS game from AnyoneGame. It's available now as a free download from the App Store, and carries additional in-app purchases. Just Sing It takes the popular asynchronous multiplayer format of games such as Draw Something and transplants it to the world of popular music rather than crudely-drawn depictions of various things. The game is a non-competitive social experience, much like Draw Something, in which pairs of players take it in turns to sing at each other while the other attempts to guess what the song they are singing is. The game requires logging in using either Facebook or a proprietary account before it can be played. Once logged in, the player will almost certainly have at least one game with a random opponent waiting for them. Games unfold in two main phases: singing and guessing. In the singing phase, the player picks a genre of music then one of three different available songs to sing, then sings it. In the guessing phase, the player listens to their partner and must guess the name of the song they are singing. The guessing player is given a few clues, however -- they are shown how many words the song has in its title, and are given a selection of words to choose from to construct the title. Much like Draw Something, the game splits the available options for the singing player into three different "difficulties," with more in-game currency available for those who challenge (and successfully guess) a more difficult song. The app does not make it at all clear what this in-game currency is actually for despite allowing players the opportunity to purchase more of it from the main menu. There is also a second in-game currency known as "lightning," which is used for various functions such as getting hints in the guessing phase, getting a new selection of three songs when preparing to sing or applying various special effects to the recording when it is complete. Normal recordings and those that have been pitch-shifted to sound "male" or "female" are free to send to opponents, but "robot" and "hamster" voices require lightning. Just Sing It is a nice idea but it needs a little bit of work as it's somewhat unpolished at present. The intro music that plays while the game is loading cuts off very suddenly, for example, and every time the game is quit while headphones are plugged in it inexplicably brings up the iOS on-screen volume control for a moment. Not all songs appear to have backing tracks available, either, and sometimes the interface appears to incorrectly indicate that there is no backing track available when, in fact, there is. The fact that it's not explained to the player what the two in-game currencies are actually for before giving them the opportunity to acquire them through in-app purchase is also a bit of a problem -- it would cost nothing to put a brief bit of help text on the "store" screens for both currencies, and it would be much more friendly to the player. This, in turn, would help the player to feel much more confident about making an in-app purchase -- at present, it's not clear what they're paying for. Just Sing It has potential, then, but it needs a bit more development before it can be recommended without reservation. It's certainly a good idea and mostly well-implemented, but the few little flaws it has here and there hold it back from greatness. You can follow Just Sing It's progress with AppData, our tracking service for mobile and social games and developers. Wait A nice idea, but an app that needs a bit of work before it's ready for primetime.

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Just Sing It (iOS) review

Pete Davison

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Pete Davison