I hate to admit but 'Pop Idol' is quite fun! I found myself tapping along to the songs and I was worried about-facing the judges and getting voted out of the competition.
The game is similar to any rhythm/action title, the players press corresponding buttons with they pass over a centre point on the screen. If you do well the result is a strong voice but if you miss a few then you expect your character/contestant to begin to make a horrendous noise. The technology that Codemasters have used to do this work surprisingly well, you can tell the difference between a good performance and a bad one.
Mr Nasty
The game includes "Mr Nasty" or Simon Cowell to pour scorn on your performances. I missed the other UK judges, Fox, Nikki and Pete not to mention the comedy relief the presenters Ant & Dec offered on the TV series.
Gameplay
There are five different play modes for you to enjoy, the competition mode, the party competition mode, the singing practice mode, the karaoke mode and the jukebox mode.
The competition mode is where you can create your own Pop Idol contestant; you can control their hair colour, skin colour, gender, clothing and even their make up! Just like the TV series you take your contestant through a series of auditions, heats and if you are successful the finals!
The party competition mode is where you can go up against four of your friends. You take turns in performing a song to the best of your ability, at the end of each performance as well as the judges giving you feedback the other performers also give you a secret hit or miss verdict.
The singing practice mode is where you can practice your song before going in front of the judges and public vote.
The Karaoke mode is a fun mode where the backing track and the words to the song appear on the screen and you can sign along! Not sure I am brave enough to try this mode out!
The fifth mode is the Jukebox mode, which allows you to sit back and relax while six Pop Idol vocalists perform any of the 40 tracks available on game.
Songs
I was surprised to see that there was 40 licensed songs available to chose from. There are favourites like "Let Me Entertain You", "Angels" and "Hit Me Baby One More Time", plus some classics like "I Will Survive" and "Let's Stay Together". I haven't come across a song that I don't like or I am bored with.
Dance Mat
For the fitter types out there you can use you dance mat with this game instead of the controller. Although the game isn't as good as some of the dedicated dance games out there, another level of enjoyment and possible humiliation to what is the ideal party game.
Overall
I will be bringing this game out at Christmas time when my family all come round, I'm sure we'll all have a great laugh dressing our characters and trying to make them sing perfectly.
I enjoyed this game; I was impressed by the selection of songs and technology behind the voices. I was also impressed by the quality of the graphics, the TV studio looks so real and the characters/contestants are realistic as well. The gameplay was a little too simple for me, it isn't the worst rhythm/action game but it's not the best either. I was impressed with the footage that was included from the TV series throughout the game at various stages, was a nice tough that added to being in the show. Pop Idol fans will love this game.
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