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London’s hit reaches US shores. Although karaoke games haven’t exactly shaken the US videogame industry, the success of Guitar Hero II shows that there is potential for the market. The SingStar series has already taken Europe by storm and SingStar Pop may just be the game to do it for US shores.
SingStar Pop is a lot like its predecessor. If you have already played Rocks!, the only thing that’s truly different here is the song list. The game has nearly 40 songs, all of which were popular hot singles sometime during the past few years. Artists like Ashlee Simpson ("Pieces of Me"), Avril Lavigne ("Sk8er Boi"), All American Rejects ("Move Along"), Daniel Powter ("Bad Day"), Destiny’s Child (“Survivor”), My Chemical Romance’s (“Helena”), Panic! At the Disco’s (“I Write Sins, Not Trategies”), and The Fray’s (“Over My Head”). There are older songs too like Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” and The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go,” but the game is definitely tilted towards recent pop songs. Best of all, all of the game’s songs are immediately unlocked.
As a karoaoke game, the gameplay in SingStar Pop isn’t particularly complex. The song’s music video plays in the background and in front of the music video, the game displays various bars that tell you the note and how long you need to hold the note. If you have experience with previous karaoke games, and even if you don’t, it is very easy to pick this up. The game does include an eight-player mode where up to four teams of two can alternate playing in order to get the highest score. Both the software and mics work on the PS3 and you can even use the EyeToy to see yourself sing instead of the music videos. Lastly, it should be mentioned that you can load Pop, then switch to Rocks! without having to turn off/reboot the game which is a nice touch.
SingStar Pop can be purchased separately for $30 or in a bundle with two mics for $50. If you take a look at the song list and really enjoy those songs, you should definitely pick up the game. With artists like All American Rejects, Panic!, The Fray and My Chemical Romance, though, chances are you’ve heard these songs plenty of times even if you aren’t familiar with the names. SingStar Pop is one of the PS2’s best party games. -- Adam Nunez, PGNx Media
---- Apr 11, 2007
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