27 out of 27 people found this review helpful.
Keep your day job.
Date of Review: Jan 16, 2008
The Bottom Line: Just like karaoke. Fun for groups as long as they know the words to the songs.
We originally purchased the Singstar Pop game and although I loved playing the game I did not recognize many of the songs. The next day I made a special trip out to get the Rock version which is a much better choice for me. Not only did I recognize the songs, I knew all of the words to the songs.
Playing the Game
In this game the player is basically singing along with the music video. The lyrics scroll across the bottom of the screen. Player 1 is in blue and player 2 is in red. The original music video plays in the background and there is a gray bar across the screen (on top of the music video). This indicates that pitch of the notes and how long to hold them. It resemble the musical stave (like sheet music). When the singer sings, a red or blue line goes across the the the gray bars. If the player is in tune the color will go right on top of the gray bars, otherwise it will show how far off the player is. At the end of the phrase the score will blink for that particular line such as good , bad or awful . High or really long notes are considered golden notes and earn bonus points. The singer's overall performance bar and score is at the top of the screen.
Modes of Play
The game can be played solo or with up to 8 players. Party games are really fun. Some options are: pass the microphone, team singing, keep the tune on key (like hot potatoes), battle or duet. When two or more players are playing, the individual will wait for the words to be highlighted in their color. Green words mean all players sing.
How to Sing
There are three levels to choose from: easy, medium and hard. Player one and player two can sing on different levels.
The score is calculated by the pitch, timing, and how long the note is held. Just because you're a good singer doesn't necessarily mean you're going to be instantly singing on the hard level of Singstar. The computer does not recognize fancy singing and actually penalizes the player for any deviations. Singing monotone is the best way to boost your score.
If you're in a battle with someone and you don't know the words the best thing to do would be to hum. Reading the words for an unfamiliar song lowers the timing score.
Microphones
This game requires at least one Singstar microphone, a USB converter and a Playstation 2 memory card. The game is sold by itself or packaged with the microphones. I have never seen the microphones sold separately so I would recommend the game be purchased as a bundle unless you already have Singstar microphones. The PS2 Logitech microphones are not compatible with this game.
I was surprised with the quality of the microphones. The microphone is comfortable to hold and the top of the microphone has a hard plastic on it so it shouldn't get damaged in storage. The length of the microphone cord is just a little longer than the controller cord. Since the microphone is connected to a cord there's not too much freedom to bounce around but that's okay because this game isn't played like a stage performance.
We never get any static in our microphones and have never had problem with the microphones picking up any background sounds.
Optional Camera Upgrade
The EyeToy camera is an optional add on for this game and costs approximately $30. The camera is specifically for the PS2 and can would be used in place of the second microphone. The camera would project the player's performance on the screen rather than the music video.
Rating
This is rated for ages 10+. It has suggestive themes and tobacco reference.
We have the Rock and Pop version of Singstar. I think the lyrics and videos in the Rock version is more appropriate for children then the Pop version is. The problem is, my kids don't really like the songs on here and certainly don't know any of the words.
List of Songs
Gwen Stafani Cool
The Cure Friday I'm in Love
Fall Out Boy Dance, Dance
Aretha Franklin Respect
Coldplay Speed of Sound
D.J. Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
The White Stripes Blue Orchid
Naked Eyes There's Always Something There to Remind Me
B52s Love Shack
Dusty Springfield Son of a Preacher Man
Joss Stone Super Duper Love (Are You Diggin on Me?)
Elton John Rocket Man
Blur Song 2
Gloria Gaynor I Will Survive
Jet Are You Gonna Be My Girl
Marvin Gaye I Heard it Through the Grapevine
KT Tunstall Black Horse and the Cherry Tree
The Police Every Breath you Take
Scissor Sisters Take Your Mama
The Rolling Stones Paint it, Black
Bloc Party Banquet
Thin Lizzy The Boys are Back in Town
The Offsprings Self-Esteem
Lynard Skynyrd Sweet Home Alabama
Keane Everybody's Changing
Scorpions Wind of Change
Good Charlotte Girls & Boys
Hole Celebrity Skin
The Killers Somebody Told Me
The Hives Hate To Say I Told You So
There is a variety of slow and fast beat songs on the disc. Some are female and some are male artists.
There are a few song collections where there are bits to many different songs which may be useful for someone who can't make up their mind what to sing. It is also a good choice for group singing.
Singing
Just because you can sing a song when it's on the radio doesn't mean you can will sound like a Rockstar because the screen may throw you off your game. Even if you know the words, it's likely that you'll still read the words at the bottom of the screen. You will also be watching your performance bar. I find when I miss the note I start thinking about that. The singer is reading the words, staying on beat, looking a the video and following the notes on the screen. If you're playing with others you also have the pressure of being watched by someone else and worrying about beating the other singer.
Musicians usually stand when they're singing. We found standing is the best way to perform these songs. Taking breaths in the correct place can really boost your score. You can jump with your arm in the air if you want, but you don't get any special points for that.
We have different hight TV's. I prefer a higher mounted TV because it's difficult to see the words if I'm standing looking down at them. I usually stand as far back from the TV as the microphone cord will allow.
The Singstar difference
There are several different singing video games that require microphones on the market. I think we chose the right one for an adult party themed game because it has a mature feel to it, but it's not a very good choice for the kids. We figured it would be interesting to all members of our family. For instance, my daughter asked for High School Musical but who in the world would sing with her? The Singstar game is definitely more fun with 2 players.
One thing that this lacks over brands is the Rockstar feel to it. In other games, the player is able to choose an Anime character and then they choose the outfit that the character wears. There is no stage feel to this game. There is no cheering or booing. On the other hand, there's no half-naked characters on the screen with green hair and nose piercings.
Another thing that is different than other musical games is that you don't have to meet a certain score to have access to more songs. That's a great benefit for someone like me who can't sing very well.
The player is singing with the actual artists are on the game. When the song is played back you can hear the artist and the player's voice at the same time.
One thing I don't like about this game is that only one song can be played at a time. You can't program a list of songs like a concert. It wastes time to constantly select and setting up the songs with the controller.
In playback mode, the status bar is not shown so there's no way of seeing where the mistakes are being made. The mistakes may be audible but seeing the status bar would help me a lot more.
Overall
This is very similar to karaoke. It's an excellent choice for parties if the people you hang out with would recognize these songs. This game probably won't help you become a great singer, but it will be fun if you like to sing.
