Above-average multiplayer combined with awful single player, Get on Da Mic is good for parties but bad for lonely days.
With this in mind, Eidos gives us Get on Da Mic, a hip-hop version of Karaoke Revolution. Boasting dozens of old school and new school tracks, multiplayer, and freestyle modes, Get on Da Mic hopes to be the last music game you'll ever need. Sadly, it's not nearly as good as Harmonix's singing series. The game engine is at times not all there, and the single player mode seems almost a tacked-on afterthought. Regardless, Get on Da Mic manages to still provide a good time, provided its with some less than uptight friends.
Gameplay: 7
GODM's play mechanics are extremely simple: rap along to your favorite songs using the included USB microphone. The game judges you based on your flow, meaning the more on beat you are, the higher your score will be. Rap well enough for long enough and you enter "Rock the Mic" mode, where you score extra points and send the judges into a frenzy. Rap too poorly and you'll be booed off the stage.
The meat of the single-player lies in the career mode. You follow a standard progession of levels, facing harder judges and songs as you move up the ladder of success. Beat a level, and you get money to spend on prerequisite rap gear like new clothes, jewelry, and cars. Unfortunately, these unlockables offer no benefits. Clothes merely change you character's look, and cars and electronic only show up in the overall picture of your character between levels (lame!). The career mode is also very short, especially on easy levels. You can pass through in an hour or so easily. However, the play balance is completely off kilter on the harder difficulties. You'll go from mastering a song to beeing booed off stage almost immeadiately, making hard more frustrating than fun. Add to the fact that some songs move faster than the lyrics appear, and you'll be pulling your hair out unless you really know the song you're doing.
The game system can also be cheated quite easily. Since all the mic checks for is sound on the beat, you can simply say gibberish, tap the mic on something, or make various animal noises, only to see the rating of "Great!" for each line. This cheapens the experience quite a bit however, and it is best that you buy into the "illusion" by rapping the correct words.
Multiplayer fares much better, provided everyone is willing to actually rap and not cheat the system. Battle mode is your standard versus, with each singer giving a performance. The highest score wins. Co-op is extremely entertaining, as up to four people can pass the microphone back and forth, doing different sections of one song. It can get quite crazy, and it guaranteed to provide a few laughs.
By far, the best mode of the game is Freestyle. In it, you choose from over 80 beats (40 from the track list and 40 originals) and take turns rapping off the cuff about whatever you choose. An impartial judge uses the controller to give or take away points based on the originality of each rapper. If you have a couple fast-witted friends, this mode is priceless. Especially if you love hip-hop, the multiplayer is a blast.
Graphics: 5
Get on Da Mic is far from a looker. The game's style seems at times non-existent and at other times forced. The characters lack any personality and the levels are painfully bland. Even the "Rock the Mic" effects aren't that impressive. At times, they even look glitchy. Your character cycles through a few animations, and will often look as if they are rapping their heart out during musical interludes. The words themselves appear on two lines, but at times don't display fast enough. All in all, the graphics are functional but nothing more.
Sound: 7
GODM boasts a pretty impressive track list, with songs by everyone from Dre and Kanye to Biggie and Tupac. Although I appreciate the inclusion of "old school" rappers, many of their songs are lame and simply unfun. Say what you will, but a seven minute cut of "Rapper's Delight" is simply too long to be entertaining. Regardless, there's a little something for everyone on the list.
Most of the covers are good, but some have laughable errors in them ("Me and Willa" instead of "mi abuela" in Talib Kweli's "Get By" comes to mind) and some seem to have different patterns than the originals. Die hard hip-hop fans will probably be up in arms about the errors, but casual fans will be able to let them slide.
The editting in the songs is also laughable. Almost all profanity is represented by ####, including words like "dope" in non drug-related references. Yet other times, graphic depictions of sex and violence go by unnoticed. The uneveness, again, may turn off hardcore fans.
However, the songs are not so broken than they can't be sung, and some are actually quite good. The 40 extra Freestyle beats are also well done and competely usable. The package is not as stellar as anything Harmonix has done, but not abysmal either. It's an average presentation enhanced by a great track list.
Verdict:
Get on Da Mic is not for everyone, especially if you aren't into hip-hop, music games, or huge multiplayer affairs. The single-player is bad, the graphics are bland, and the sound package is hit-or-miss at times. Yet, somehow, the fun provided by the simply multiplayer modes make up for this game. Try an evening of 8 Mile-esque freestyle battling and you'll see why. If you love parties and music games, pick this game up, especially if you find it on the cheap. At the very least, you'll get a good USB microphone to use with Harmonix's far better karaoke offerings.