At their press conference Monday, Microsoft debuted Lips, their answer to the massively popular Singstar series. The title, which looks to be equal parts Singstar and Rock Band, invites wannabe warblers to belt out all their favorite hits while trying to match the pitch and lyrics of the original recording. Like other music games, points are awarded for accuracy, and if you get too far off key, the experience will end up in failure.

To demonstrate Lips, Microsoft brought out Welsh songstress Duffy to perform her single "Mercy," which will be included in the packed-in soundtrack. While she couldn’t pull off a perfect performance (which makes you wonder how anyone ever could), Duffy still managed to secure quite a few points and effectively present just what the Lips experience is all about.

While the game may sound like just another karaoke sim, the major draw of Lips is the promise that you can hook up your Zune or iPod and transfer your song library right into the game. Microsoft isn’t saying if there will be any restrictions on what songs can appear (we have to assume not every piece of music ever created will be supported), but if I can finally properly rock out to "Bohemian Rhapsody" back-to-back with "Chop Suey," then this game might just be worth suffering the indignity holding a light-up microphone would bring.