Before we begin, I feel the need to start with two items: one a statement and the other a disclaimer.

Statement: If you love pop music and karaoke, then this game is for you. No real need to read further.

Disclaimer: I don’t care for karaoke and I absolutely loathe pop music!

I offer these two first because I really want to give this game the fair shake it deserves, yet I think you ought to know that although I am obsessed with music and rhythm games, I am definitely not into the pop music scene… and you have no idea how hard it is for me to follow the word "pop" with "music." Brittney Spears is a filthy tramp. End of discussion.

The SingStar series (or ScreamStar as in the case of TFL) is Sony’s answer to the hugely popular (in America) Karaoke Revolution developed by the rock stars of music games, Harmonix. While relatively new to the U.S. (SingStar Rocks! Came out in Fall ’06), the European market has apparently been eating this thing up. And I say, “For good reason!” First, when you purchase the full game for the PS2, it comes with two quality microphones (far better than what you would find at RadioShack for $10) and the USB adapter, making the game itself a total of $30. I say that’s a hell of a deal. While the mics are nothing special, they are no lightweight toys and should survive a solid beating as well, which will be essential if you break this out at your annual re-enactment of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. The obvious benefit is that there is no need to purchase additional peripherals *way to go Sony!* and you can immediately start throwing down some Destiny’s Child with Grandma Francis in duet mode, which in my humble opinion is the only way this game should be played.

If you have played Karaoke Revolution, when you sit down with SingStar you should feel right at home. The gameplay is nearly identical: you sing along with the words as they scroll (vertically in the csae of SSP, two lines at a time) and watch your pitch accuracy on the “pitch recognition line” for lack of a better phrase. Sony has done fine work with the accuracy of this technology and has incorporated little point bonuses into the game depending on the accuracy of each phrase. At the end of the song you receive a little stat sheet with your overall placement and a sense of accomplishment… I guess. There is really nothing to unlock, which makes this feel less like a game and a lot more like a karaoke program for your gaming console, and I don’t see a problem with that at all.

The presentation looks a lot more like watching aVH1 special than a video game and is bolstered by the fact that each song is accompanied by the original music video. Karaoke Revolution, on the other hand, looks very much like a video game. I don’t think one is better than the other at all. They both look great under their own merits. My biggest gripe is the song list. Here I say KR is kicking SS ass!

Sony, please consider my misguided and selfish request. You are one of the few remaining music publishers in the world. Your catalog is mighty and deep. I know you have brilliant music available and I also know how the industry works. You own the rights to those songs, so there are no rights to secure. Please don’t release another disc of complete and utter crap. Use this power for good. Karaoke Revolution has many installments covering many different genres and a MUCH better song list to date. The only problem is that they do not have permission to use the original recordings and must remake each one. Sometimes they nail it… other times… well… I consider this to be one of the greatest strengths of SingStar. I just hope they use a little more discretion when selecting the next set of tracks.

Overall, my impression is very positive. While I scored SingStar Pop as an 8.5 a lot of that had to do with my disdain for the bands and songs selected. I think it would be very fair to give the gameplay a 9 as it works beautifully, but for Christ sake, Hoobastank? Seriously.




Article By: Moe