SingStar Vol. 2 review

Beer bongs. Vodka snooters (snorting Smirnoff, in other words). Mariachi bands. Scientists are constantly coming up with new and exciting ways to make parties more chaotic and financially ruinous, but they’ve outdone themselves with SingStar Vol. 2. If you’re the sort of person who routinely gets emotionally blackmailed into holding SingStar ‘dos’ round at your house, then watch out: life is about to get worse. Or maybe better, depending on how you look at it. SingStar Vol. 2 does basically two things that previous versions haven’t. Firstly, the SingStore now offers remote connectivity via PSP, letting you browse and start downloading songs on the go. Theoretically this sounds like a great idea – you can get the party started on the night bus, arguing over Rick Astley tunes as you drunkenly trundle home – but on a practical level, we’re not sure quite how much difference it’ll make to the overall experience. It’s a nice thought, though.

Rather more interesting is the ‘Harmony’ option – now you and your mates are able to sing different bits of the song at the same time, meaning you’ll be able to compete to rack up high scores in different ways. You can, for instance, do Young MC or Crystal from Bust A Move, Noodle or Shaun from the Gorillaz’ Dare, or, um, Charlie or Craig from the Proclaimers 100 Miles. Obviously this won’t work with older games, but hopefully songs yet to be added to the store will continue the trend, because it works well and is a refreshing change to the formula.

Elsewhere on the tracklist (how long before PS3 SingStars begin, like on PS2, to be themed each time?) there’s the usual selection of middle-aged relative-pleasing rubbish (Sex Bomb by Tom Jones), songs for ‘the kids’ (Panic At The Disco) and stuff you suspect has been put in because Sony got it on the cheap (Offspring’s Pretty Fly For A White Guy). But When We Were Young and Common People are cast-iron belters, perfect tunes for singing at the top of your voice, and Eminem’s Without Me is a brilliant choice if you want to get everyone in on the chorus. Suedehead rounds out the evening for when things get a bit melancholy, making this one of the strongest SingStar tracklists in ages. Good work, science.

Jun 20, 2008