SingStar Amped review

Sept 18, 2007

The more different variations of its excellent SingStar karaoke series Sony slams out, the more we can't wait for the PlayStation 3 version. These PS2 versions are always great, but technologically, we're dying for the franchise to take the next logical step.

The basics are, as always, as solid as rock, be it musical, igneous, or sedimentary. One or two players grab a microphone, a song starts playing, usually with the accompanying official music video, and you sing along in the proper pitch and rhythm to either acclaim or shame, depending upon your skill level. It's a gameplay paradigm Sony and Konami (with its Karaoke Revolution games) have been exploring and refining for years, and they've pretty much nailed it.

Granted, it doesn't always realize you've completely blanked on the words and started singing your shopping list instead, but if the pitch and cadence are right, that's more than Britney Spears can manage these days, isn't it? You're all right by us.