Singstar Legends review

There are four Singstar games coming to PS2 this fall: Pop Vol 2, Legends, Country, and ABBA (dammit Sony, where%26rsquo;s the Bollywood pack for the US? We%26rsquo;re not kidding. The UK got it and we want it too). We%26rsquo;re going to use the same review text for all three. Not because they aren%26rsquo;t good %26ndash; they are. And not because we haven%26rsquo;t played all three of them %26ndash; we have. Rather, it%26rsquo;s because there%26rsquo;s just no more to say about the Singstar series on PS2 that we haven%26rsquo;t already said. This franchise has honed its hit-making craft for several games now and stubbornly refuses to deviate from its established formula.

If you%26rsquo;ve played ANY of the previous Singstar games on PS2 (Pop, Rocks, Amped, %26lsquo;80s, %26lsquo;90s, and more in the UK) you know what to expect: Karaoke, and lots of it, with the videos playing onscreen. And it%26rsquo;s good.

The usual bells and whistles are all here as well, with the caveat that this is a PS2, so the tech is dated. For instance, there%26rsquo;s no downloadable stuff, but you can swap the disc with other Singstar titles without rebooting. And the EyeToy support enables you to save low-grade video replays of your performance %26hellip; to a memory card. Bleh. Especially when compared to the PS3%26rsquo;s giant online store of individual songs, this feels ancient and archaic. Granted, we can%26rsquo;t really fault the games for the fact that the PS2 is old enough to be in second grade now, but it feels like someone at Sony HQ isn%26rsquo;t even trying any more.

At any rate, your best bet is to choose your game by track list. Legends%26rsquo; 30-track lineup is listed below. It%26rsquo;s fairly strong, though it definitely commits the series%26rsquo; typical sin of trying to appeal to fans of too many genres. We defy you to find even a single potential buyer whose CD collection includes Barry White, Joy Division, Patsy Cline, Elvis and Biz Markie.

Barry White - You're the First, The Last, My Everything
Biz Markie - Just A Friend
Black Sabbath %26ndash; Paranoid
Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse Of The Heart
David Bowie - Life On Mars?
Dusty Springfield - Son Of A Preacher Man
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong - Let's Call The Whole Thing Off
Elton John - I'm Still Standing
Elvis Presley - Blue Suede Shoes
Grateful Dead - Touch Of Grey
The Jackson 5 - I Want You Back
James Brown - I Got You (I Feel Good)
John Lennon %26ndash; Imagine
Johnny Cash - Ring Of Fire
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
Madonna - Papa Don't Preach
Marvin Gaye - What's Goin On?
Michael McDonald - I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)
The Monkees - Daydream Believer
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
Patsy Cline %26ndash; Crazy
The Police %26ndash; Roxanne
Ray Charles - Hit The Road Jack
The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody
The Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil
Sam Cooke - Wonderful World
The Smiths - This Charming Man
Tina Turner - Whats Love Got To Do With It?
Tom Jones - What's New Pussycat
Whitney Houston - I'm Your Baby Tonight

Nov 7, 2008