Get On Da Mic Review (PS2)

Ever since Sony's Parappa the Rapper burst onto the scene, musical videogames have been going strong. We've pressed buttons to the beat, hopped around on dance mats, and played all sorts of instruments. But now, it is the karaoke games that have been tearing up the rhythm scene, and after Konami scored a hit with its Karaoke Revolution, Eidos prepared to take center stage with its offering, Get On Da Mic, a hip hop game that takes the "let's rap for it" phrase from Parappa to a whole new level. Unfortunately, the end product fell short in the worst possible place.

Get On Da Mic is a karaoke game that requires you to don a PS2 USB head set and put those rhyming skills to good use. There are several gameplay modes, but the meat of the game is its single-player career feature. You select a character and bring him or her to the top of the music scene by successfully performing numerous songs. You start out as a small-time hopeful singing in his bathroom, but eventually you'll go from the streets to a party, contest, studio, and big arena, among others, thrilling scores of fans and raking in the dough. If you do well, you'll thrill the crowd and obtain some cash (that can be used to purchase all sorts of goodies such as cars, yachts, and mansions). If you fail, you get booed off the stage and live the rest of your life as a wanna be.

To its credit, Get On Da Mic's presentation is golden. With over 15,000 ways to personalize your character (you can outfit him or her with all sorts of name brand stuff), Eidos has given us a wealth of things to choose from. Also, the songs really make the game stand out. Featuring over 40 of some of the more famous hip-hop songs, there will definitely be something for everyone. Gin and Juice, Rapper's Delight, Nothing but a G Thang, Push It, Hey Mama, and California Love are but a few of the songs you can choose from. Unfortunately, Eidos couldn't get the actual artists for the game, but the voice-a-likes aren't too bad. Besides, you're supposed to be the one singing.

Graphically, Get on Da Mic is solid. It's not as flashy as Karaoke Revolution, but I don't think the developers wanted it to be. Many of the environments have a gritty feel to them, though that doesn't mean they aren't detailed. Each venue has a distinctive look all its own, and the special effects, like flying money and electricity surging through the stage look pretty cool. However, I do take exception to the animation. While I don't mind seeing my character with a mic in front of his or her face and their head bobbing up and down, why are they doing it between pauses in the song?

The biggest issue that I have with Get On Da Mic is the last problem any publisher wants with its music game, which is a problem with the actual music system. While I like the track selection, I don't like how the rhythm doesn't match up with the lyrics. You're presented with the words at the bottom of the screen, and as the song starts you'll see a light gray bar pass over the words. When it does that's when you're supposed to sing, and the game will rate you accordingly. Unfortunately, it appears that the developers botched some of songs. Some words are dragged out, causing you to frequently mess up, and the game isn't won on how well you sing. I performed several songs perfectly only to watch in disgust as a friend of mine basically went "blahdubdubblah" and racked up over 30,000 points! The humanity! At least in Karaoke Revolution (where you can cheat by humming), I get a better sense of personal failure, but Get on Da Mic makes me feel like the system is working against me. It's as if the game is trying to incorrectly tell me how to sing a song that I know for fact that I'm performing the right way. Everything gets a lot better once you bend to the game's will, but it shouldn't be that way. I should lose because I sucked, not because the game threw me a poorly-executed curve that I wasn't expecting. Still, this problem doesn't happen with all of the songs, which means, for the most part, there's a lot of singing fun to be had.

While the actual singing is a bit whack, Get On Da Mic's multiplayer mode gives the game an added boost. Featuring a handful of modes, it'll keep you pretty busy and is a great thing to bust out at parties. You can play Competition (pass the mic around and get judged for your performance), Co-op, Party (where everyone takes a turn), and Freestyle (where you and an opponent come up with your own rhymes.

Even though it has some serious issues, Get On Da Mic isn't a horrendous game. It's still really funny and a good party pleaser, but a great game doesn't require its user to work around its quirks. You shouldn't have to alter a song in order to do things the way the game wants you to just because it was incorrectly programmed. In this respect Eidos failed in its quest for super stardom. As it stands, it'll have to be content being the opening act for the big dog.

Our Final ScoreBad

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