(Microsoft $69.99) Lips is Microsoft's attempt to go head-to-head with Sony's karaoke SingStar franchise.

If you've ever played any game on the strongly masculine styled Xbox 360 you're going to give Lips a double-take. The look and feel here screams "casual"; it almost feels like you're playing on a Nintendo game. You'll probably know right away whether this game is for you by looking at the artists: Duffy, Coldplay, Johnny Cash, and John Denver. For sure, this isn't your teen-son's Rock Band.

Guitar Hero: On Tour (Activision $50) is a valiant attempt to bring faux-instrument rock gaming to the mobile platform. It almost works, and the technology used is certainly innovative. A special accessory fret board plugs into the Nintendo DS supplying the traditional color buttons that are depressed to play the notes and chords. You “strum” the guitar with a special stylus dressed as a pick.

Comedy and creativity meet in this music game for the Wii that has players dance, sing karaoke, and even produce their own music videos using 38 songs mostly from the 70's 80's and 90's. The characters and locations have a cartoony space-age theme, and the characters' back stories (which are revealed in story mode) are funny.