Today at eGames '07, we got a chance to go hands on - or should I say lips on - with the PS3 version of SingStar. The first thing that you'll notice about the game is the interface; it's got a very smooth, clean and crisp look to it, and everything seems to have been polished for its next-gen treatment. The initial menus are similar to usual - select how many players, select your song, and then choose whether it will be the short version or the normal version, and then get those microphones ready.
A warning... some people can't sing.
It seems like the decision has been made to keep the old microphones from the PS2 versions of SingStar. They still work fine of course, there's nothing wrong with them, but some snazzy new mics to go with the snazzy new disc would have been cool. The tracklist was a mix of old and new, incorporating a bunch of songs from previous SingStar discs, along with plenty of songs new to the series. There seems to be a good mix of different genres, so everybody should have something to enjoy when the initial 30-track disc is launched. We jumped straight into 'Cool' by Gwen Stefani (a song that we thought suited the game very well) and got ready to belt it out in front of the crowd of people and cameras surrounding us.
Again, the in-game 'graphics' (if you can call them that) were much easier on the eyes. They seemed to shine and were a noticable upgrade from the PS2 SingStar discs, and the scores for each player are now directly next to their singing bar, as opposed to having a seperate scoring section as seen in the previous games. This meant that the video clips took up much more of the screen and so the whole product looked a lot more polished.
The basic mechanics seem to be the same - sing the right note, and you'll get a high score, even if you don't know the words. The game has received criticism for this over the years, as you can sing completely different lyrics and still get a high score, but when it comes down to it, not everybody is going to be able to sing the words perfectly, so it would take enjoyment from the casual players if it was to be more difficult. The experience is as enjoyable as ever, especially given that you'll be able to choose which songs you buy. Honestly, if you like the song, you're going to enjoy yourself regardless of gameplay.
Oh, it's so. It's VERY so.
Given that there was no rapping parts in 'Cool', we haven't tried the rap meter yet. It seemed to be a real problem in past SingStar's, seemingly thinking on it's own and not being able to score you properly even. Hopefully we get a chance to try it out, but if not, we can only hope that it's been fixed and works more effectively this time around.
After a gruelling battle, I managed to defeat Luke Van Leuveren by about 1000 points. This made the whole experience extremely worthwhile, as he claimed he would beat me easily before we sang. Thankyou very much, Gwen Stefani. The party element of the game is still present, as people of all ages have been enjoying the game all day, watching each other sing before getting up the courage to grab the mics themselves. We can't wait to sing some more tracks later on, and considering the downloadable tracks along with other online features, we're now looking forward to the PS3 SingStar more than ever.
- apoligies to anyone who was getting excited over new mics and is now upset!
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