The premise for Singstar is simple. For the RRP of a normal game it comes with a USB adaptor, two microphones and a game disk. The microphones plug into the PlayStation 3 and players sing along to songs, with the game 'judging' a player's performance. The game is one of the main reasons the PlayStation 2 continues to sell in PAL territories, with the latest Singstar release almost guaranteed to hit the top ten charts. From an observers point of view Singstar looks like the ultimate embarrassment and half of the challenge is getting your friends onto the microphone, but once they hop on the microphone and start singing along it is likely they won't want to get off. Much like Nintendo's latest console, Singstar really is a game that all the family can play, ten year olds will enjoy singing along to Aqua and those who are a little older will like singing along to Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' or Nena's '99 Red Balloons'.
Something for the older Singstar fans.
As with every other Singstar released, if you've previously purchased the microphones then you can pick up Singstar by itself, for about half the price of a normal game. Singstar was originally scheduled to come out with wireless microphones, but these weren't ready in time, which unfortunately means we are still stuck with the USB option.
For the PlayStation 3 début we've been given a sort of 'best of' mix of thirty new tracks. The thirty new tracks feature high definition (or at least ones that have been scaled up to appear so) and should appeal to a wide audience. The full list of tracks can be found below;
- Blink 182 - All The Small Things
- Blur - Coffee & TV
- Britney Spears - Toxic
- Coldplay - Fix You
- Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc.
- Gwen Stefani - Cool
- Junior Senior - Move Your Feet
- Macy Gray - I Try
- Musical Youth - Pass The Dutchie
- Ne-Yo - So Sick
- Orson - No Tomorrow
- OutKast - Hey Ya
- Primal Scream - Movin' On Up
- Pussycat Dolls - Beep
- Radiohead - No Surprises
- Razorlight - America
- REM - Losing My Religion
- Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman - Something Stupid
- Scissor Sisters - I Don't Feel Like Dancing
- Supergrass - Alright
- The Automatic - Monster
- The Cardigans - Lovefool
- The Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger
- The Killers - Mr Brightside
- The Stone Roses - She Bangs The Drums
- The Zutons - Valerie
- Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna Take It
- U2 - Beautiful Day
- Weezer - Buddy Holly
- Wolfmother - Love Train
Singstar fanatics will quickly realise the single player options are similar to those found in the PlayStation 2 versions of the game. You can sing alone, or if you have a friend at home then you can battle or take part in a duet and sing with several players in 'pass the mic'. Multiplayer has always been a key focus for Singstar and offline it is much more enjoyable singing with a friend than singing by yourself, but it is really the online options which distinguish the PlayStation 3 version of Singstar from its predecessors. First up, the disappointing news, you cannot sing against other players against the world. We can imagine that setting up online play with other singers across the world could have been quite a challenge, but there is still plenty to the online experience.
When you first jump on the interwebs you'll then see your online home, where you can enter the SingStore, go to My Singstar Online or just see some headlines, which notify players of when there are new songs and feature the latest news. In the SingStore you can download content for Singstar. First up, one of the more useless downloadable options is the wallpaper, for $2.45 you can download new wallpaper, but considering Singstar comes with several other decent options we're puzzled why Sony would think people would want to purchase this.
Yes, this video clip is in high definition..
But of course, music downloads are the main feature. There are eleven categories in total including Rock, Pop, RnB etc. There is also an option for song packs, indicating that packs of ten songs may be available at a cheaper rate, but this has yet to be confirmed. When selecting a category the songs are listed in alphabetical order, with cover art for each song on display, and when selecting a song you will see a short preview for the song, as well as the file size, cost and whether the content is in standard definition or high definition. To purchase the song you simply have to add the song to your shopping cart, enter your credit card details and prepare to hear your wallet cry. Like the rest of Singstar, purchasing songs is simple. There is no minimum number of songs to purchase, and after you've bought a song it is there on your hard drive to be sung any time in single player or multiplayer.
The other highlight is 'My SingStar Online'. Everyone signed on has a profile which identifies your highest score. For your profile you can edit your image , edit your nationality, add a comment and choose your favourite artist and song. SingStar is compatible with the PlayStation Eye camera, so you can also record your audio, take pictures and see video of yourself singing, and all of this content can be uploaded online for friends and strangers to see. If you're more of a browser, you can view other people's audio, video and snapshots and even rate the content. Those who are afraid they will see R rated images will be pleased to know there is a report option too. You can participate in polls, search online for players, once you've found a player you can also add them to a friends list so you can keep an eye on their top scores. The whole thing is Sony's way of adding social interaction into Singstar and it works very well.
Not the Wolfmother song we wanted.
There have been a few other tweaks made to the interface which are designed to make the game even easier to navigate as your library fills up with hundreds of downloaded songs. Aside from just scrolling through the songs individually the R1 and R2 buttons are used to scroll through the artists alphabetically. There is also a help button, triggered with the L1 button, and it provides some simple instructions on just about everything. Finally, there are some short cut buttons, so rather than getting lost in the menus you can quickly jump to your media gallery or hop to the SingStore. Overall it's an easy interface to navigate and one that makes the game end up feeling very polished. The lack of any noticeable loading times simply adds the final icing to the cake.
Singstar for the PlayStation 3 is a fantastic game and one we have no problems recommending to fans of the series. The lack of wireless microphones is a little disappointing, and the gameplay hasn't actually changed at all, but adding the SingStore into the game now negates the need for bimonthly disks, and as long as Sony gets content up on the SingStore frequently fans will always have something to sing. Singstar has the potential to kill every karaoke machine out there and is a game that will have your younger brother, mum, grandma and girlfriend playing. And possibly even enjoying it.
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