If you're not familiar with the concept of Singstar then it's possible you've been living in a hut, locked away and in hibernation under a large blanket for the last twenty four months. For the price of a normal game you get two microphones, a USB adaptor and a disk. If you've already purchased a Singstar title then you can buy the stand alone disk which retails for half the price. The aim of the game is to sing into the microphones along to a specific song and the game will give you points. It's an extremely basic concept that is so incredibly addictive that it is consistently dragged out at parties.
Instant Recognition.
The song list is really what makes each Singstar edition. With a poor soundtrack this game just wouldn't be as popular and even though it really comes down to personal preference, this is one of my favourite Singstar compilations in a long time. Not much has changed in Singstar Rocks in comparison to the previous titles. There is still no decent single player mode, so if you want to play on your lonesome then you just have to try and get high scores. The first Singstar actually contained a career mode and we're waiting for an expanded form of this to make an appearance again, but unfortunately it doesn't in this title.
The voice recognition isn't flawless either. If you will do anything to win then you can actually hum your way through the song, because the game is really just looking for the tone, rather than the lyrics. However, if you're playing with friends if you begin humming they're likely to castrate you, so that will pretty much stop any cheating at all.
As we said, the tracklist really is what makes this game and the UK tracklist is actually quite different to the Australian tracklist. The songs on the Australian version include:
- Blur – Song 2
- Bowling For Soup – 1985
- Coldplay – Speed of Sound
- Deep Purple – Smoke on the water
- Dragon – April Sun in Cuba
- End of Fashion – O Yeah
- Exponents – Why does love do this to me?
- Franz Ferninand – Do you Want to
- Gangajang – Sounds of then (this is Australia)
- Grinspoon – Hard Act to Follow
- Gwen Stefani – What you Waiting For
- Hole – Celebrity Skin
- INXS – Never Tear Us Apart
- Jet – Are you gonna be my girl
- Killing Heidi – I Am
- Men at Work – Down Under
- Nirvana – Come as you are
- Powderfinger – I’ve Got You On My Mind
- Powderfinger – These Days
- Rolling Stones – Paint it, Black
- Scorpions – Wind of Change
- Screaming Jets – Better
- Stereophonics – Dakota
- Thin Lizzy – The Boys Are Back in Town
- The Church – Unguarded Moment
- The Cardigans – My Favourite Game
- The Killers – Somebody Told Me
- The Offspring – Self Esteem
- The Swingers – Counting the Beat
- Veronicas – 4 ever
We don't want to list the UK tracklist as well, but in comparison to the Australian version it appears we got a better deal. This is obviously going to come down to personal preference, but in comparison the Australian version misses out on Bloc Party, Hard Fi, Kasabian, Keane, Kings of Leon, KT Tunstall, Maximo Park, Queen and a few more artists and gains Men at Work, Screaming Jets, The Veronicas and The Swingers. Rest assured though that either way both tracklists are very compelling. Sometimes when the tracklist for Singstar titles are announced it seems like some of the music will be easy to sing, but when it comes time to actually sing the songs they aren't that enjoyable. On the most part most of the music on this compilation is fun to sing, although some of it is quite challenging.
Now who doesn't know this song?
The video clips that are in the game are still a little grainy and just aren't as high quality as we would expect from the game. The presentation is slick and there are plenty of multiplayer modes which should extend the lifespan of the game. The Singstar titles are the type of games that you don't play through in weeks and then toss to the side. You will literally keep dragging the games out every time you have a friend over or if you have some time to kill. Every time a new Singstar titles come out you're likely to drag the game out too so you can hone your skills on the older songs.
So the game still hasn't really changed that much which is a little disappointing. Luckily the tracklist more than makes up for this. There is still no real single player mode and some of the songs do become a little boring after a little while, but this is definitely one of the most compelling Singstar titles yet. If you've never purchased a Singstar game then getting the disk and two microphones is incredible value.
We know now that Studio London will have another Singstar title ready to go in about six months. However, a lot of the songs in this compilation just won't age. Singstar Rocks! is the type of game that you can play with your friends and family. We still wouldn't advise playing it by yourself, because the experience is no way near as good, but if you're after a party game that will pull your friends out of your shell then this is it. We're also very grateful that Studio London took the opportunity to localise the songs for Australia, because this makes the tracklist even more appealing.
) with this game.
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