With so many karaoke games on the market right now, you may be forgiven for flipping past this particular title, but given that it's the first of its kind on Wii U, it's worth a look, if only to see what the future holds for party games on the system. So, is SiNG Party the next Celine Dion or is it another Ke$ha?

This game gives you two main options, Party Mode and Sing Mode. For single players, Sing Mode will be your main port of call, and is what you'd expect from a karaoke game whereas Party Mode is less about scores and more about genuine fun. 

In Sing Mode, you pick a song out of the impressive line-up (which features everything from Frank Sinatra to Justin Bieber to The Pet Shop Boys), and either play it straight away or add it to a playlist, where you'll be able to play multiple songs one after another. 

When playing, you'll be tasked with singing in the right pitch, the desired pitch being outlined on the screen as a blue line whilst your pitch is displayed as a blue ball that leaves an orange line it its wake, so you can clearly see how well your voice matches up to the song.

Lyrics are displayed along the blue pitch line so you know exactly when to sing, and displayed in full at the bottom of the screen to make reading the lyrics easier. At the end of each song you'll be given a score and the option to bag extra points if you met the right criteria to get the correct pitch, power and flair. 

These points get added to your overall score, which has various levels ranging from 'Novice' all the way up to 'Singing Sensation'. This progression isn't a major breakthrough but it is a nice touch to keep single players coming back for more and giving them something to aim for.

If the levelling up doesn't keep your attention for long though, there are challenges to be overcome which are similar to the Achievements system seen on Xbox. Tasks will ramp up from something as easy as "Complete 3 songs by male singers" to trickier requests such as "Get 4 stars on a song" or "Achieve 50,000 points". Whilst this may seem like a small addition, it really goes a long way into adding some longevity for single players in what is clearly a multiplayer focused title. 

So far then, it doesn't really stray too far from what you'd expect to see in a title such as this but it's the GamePad features that really set this game apart from the crowd. In Sing Mode, the GamePad provides a slew of great features that you can play around with mid-song.

Five tabs are displayed across the top of the GamePad. The 'Playlist' tab allowing you to pick, choose and change your playlist as you so desire, the 'Song' tab allows you to browse and change songs if you're not feeling your current choice (or are desperately failing to reach the crazy heights of Bieber's voice) and 'Awards' allows you to view the tasks mentioned earlier.  

It's the final two tabs that provide all the fun though. The 'Mix' tab allows you to change the volume of the mic, instruments, vocals and/or the reverb, so you can customise the song to your liking. Not feeling overly confident? Make sure the vocals are up high. Feel as though you can do it alone? Leave only the instrumentals on full and sing your little heart out. 

Finally is the 'Jam' tab that lets you to bust a little ditty or two. This tab allows you to tap the screen which will create sound effects that fit into the song, so you can change the chorus to Call Me Maybe to a slightly different tune or start playing the drums in the background. It's not earth shattering, but it's a nice extra. 

So, Sing Mode offers classic Karaoke game fun, but it's Party Mode that everyone is talking about, the less serious and arguably more exciting option of the two. In this mode, scores are thrown out the window, as is the pitch bar, so all you have left is the lyrics, your voice and a barrage of fun. This mode, depending on who  you're with, will either fall flat on its face or be the life of the party. 

Party Mode sees one player with a mic, reading lyrics off the GamePad whilst the other people in the room receive prompts off the TV screen from your happy gyrating avatar. Messages saying "Dance along to the song!" and "Start clapping to the beat" will appear on screen though whether or not your peers will join in is another matter, as with no Wii Remote tracking, they will merely be doing it for the fun factor.

The singer will receive prompts from the GamePad, often telling them to shout things such as "Rock on!", to point to the crowd or to choose a member of your group to duet a certain part of the song with.

It's silly, it's fun and it's great if you have the right atmosphere going, but like any over the top title that asks you to look like a buffoon, it will only be enjoyed by a certain group of people, possibly under the influence of a shandy or two. If you're willing to leave your dignity at the door though, this is the first singing game to truly bring the Karaoke experience home.

SiNG Party has a great song selection, decent amount of options and good voice detection (you won't get by with a few blows on the microphone like some of the cheaper alternatives). The quality shines throughout, from the clean, easy to use menus, the amount of options and good use of the GamePad. The only thing that lets the game down is the lack of music videos, something that has been a staple of karaoke games for years now.

SiNG Party is a great addition to anyone's library of party games, in a sea of cheap and shoddy singing titles, this is a decent first try on Wii U. It doesn't quite reach the heights of SingStar, but certainly doesn't dive to the lows of High School Musical: Sing it! If they continue to build on the series, add HD videos and include DLC in future titles, this series could be the karaoke equivalent of Just Dance, at the moment though, it just falls short.