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The SingStar series makes its second appearance on the PlayStation 3.
Sony’s SingStar games were always well received for their minimalistic style and solid soundtracks that made the games multiplayer superstars. SingStar Vol. 2 differentiates itself from its PS2 cousins by including My SingStar Online and SingStore. My SingStar Online lets you create a profile that lets you show your favorite songs and highest scores to other SingStar players. It even includes a comments section very similar to Facebook’s wall. The profile also includes five audio slots, five video slots and many picture slots. You can upload your best performances (with or without video), as well as pictures from the game captured using the PlayStation Eye camera. Other players can come on your profile and rate your content, which is then highlighted for other players to see. You can obviously do the same for other players.
SingStar Vol. 2 also differentiates itself by including the SingStore, where you can download additional songs (and videos) for $1.49. As of this review, there were over 400 songs on the service from artists including Avril Lavigne, Billy Joel, Coldplay, Daniel Powter, Duran Duran, Good Charlotte, Panic at the Disco, Whitney Houston, etc. The songs featured in Vol. 2 will not be made available on SingStore, which is unfortunate.
While it excels in comparison to the PS2 SingStar games, compared to the first SingStar on the PS3, Vol. 2 is more of the same with new songs (and of course, a new color for its main theme). Thankfully, the soundtrack is stellar and includes songs like Boys Like Girl's "Hero/Heroine," Eminem's "Without Me," Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten," Panic! At The Disco's "Nine In The Afternoon," Phantom Planet's "California" (perhaps better know as The O.C. theme song), The Killers's "When You Were Young," Weezer's "Beverly Hills," and Yael Naim's "New Soul."
The core game here is the same as it has been since the PS2 debut except with fancier animations, shinier menus, and a general glow that comes with being in HD. For those new to the series, SingStar Vol. 2 includes thirty songs, as well as a mixture of these songs called “medleys.” You’ll be shown the words onscreen, as well as the pitch that the words were sang at and you’ll have to do your best to match the pitch. The game has various difficulty settings—requiring more precision the harder the difficulty setting. After every few words, you’ll be given a score and a qualitative rating. If you just want to sing and not worry about score, you can do that as well. The game lets you sing alone, in a duet (you switch on and off) or a battle (where you both sing the entire song and compete for the highest scores). There’s also a party mode for up to 8 players in which people are divided into teams and “pass the mic” to each other. All in all, it’s good fun—especially if you love the songs and your friends are in the mood to make fools of themselves.
Overall, SingStar Vol. 2 is a tremendous improvement over its PS3 predecessors thanks to My SingStar Online and the SingStore. Compared to the first PS3 SingStar, though, it’s a little more than a song expansion pack. For early adopters, it would been nice if Sony allowed us to import the songs from the first SingStar onto the PS3’s hard drive (to prevent disc swapping) or the ability to download Vol. 2 songs from the SingStore. That said, the core game here is extremely solid, especially if this is your first entry to the SingStar series on the PS3.
Soundtrack
Aerosmith - "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)"
Bad English - "When I See You Smile"
Bobby Brown - "My Prerogative"
Boys Like Girls - "Hero/Heroine"
Elton John & Kiki Dee - "Don't Go breaking My Heart"
Eminem - "Without Me"
Gavin DeGraw - "In Love With A Girl"
Gnarls Barkley - "Run (I'm A Natural Disaster)"
Gold Frapp - "Happiness"
Lit - "Miserable"
Natasha Bedingfield - "Unwritten"
P!nk - "Just Like A Pill"
Panic! At The Disco - "Nine In The Afternoon"
Paramore - "CrushCrushCrush"
Phantom Planet - "California"
Radiohead - "Street Spirit"
Rise Against - "Prayer Of The Refugee"
Sara Bareilles - "Love Song"
The Bravery - "Believe"
The Cure - "Pictures of You"
The Killers - "When You Were Young"
The Mamas & The Papas - "California Dreamin'"
The Offspring - "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)"
The Police - "Don't Stand So Close To Me"
The Proclaimers - "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)"
The Shins - "New Slang"
Tone Loc - "Funky Cold Medina"
Weezer - "Beverly Hills"
Yael Naim - "New Soul"
Young M.C. - "Bust A Move" -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Nov 16, 2008
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