Sony have been busy working on their latest additions to the popular Singstar franchise. These are the new Singstar Vol. 3 and Singstar ABBA Edition, which make public karaoke a thing of the past. Singstar games started back in the PS2 era and have been continually spewing out of the Sony headquarters since, with 3 volumes now available on the PS3. However with newer and fresher franchises now cementing their place on consoles, this particular game may be facing up to a fight it never imagined. The main competitors being Guitar Hero, Rock Band and of course, Singstar’s nearest rival: Lips. So it appears the music genre of gaming is expanding hugely and games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero: World Tour are offering instrument peripherals as well as microphones. It looks like Singstar is one of the least likely to stand when the dust finally settles.
Singstar is clearly now following a distinct pattern in each of its games: a disc with a list of songs to sing along to. This is an important aspect for any company to abide by when they’re meddling with the casual market of gamers. Too many functions and confusing navigation could spell the end for its past domination, and right now Sony will be taking as little risks as possible. They’ve stuck with simple game mechanics set to appeal to the less technologically-minded of us and provided the game with an accessible menu system identical to previous titles. This means you don’t have to explain to any older relatives which buttons to press making it one of the easiest titles to play!
The actual gameplay of Singstar is admirable though, complete with backing music videos while you belt the notes out. The duration and pitch of each note is shown on the screen, making easy reference to anyone who’s clueless to why they’re failing to reach Superstar status after each song. As said, you’ll be graded on your overall performance once the song has ended, complete with your placing in the High Scores chart. Also, if you truly wish to embarrass yourself, you could listen to the audio playback of your previous performance which is guaranteed to have you questioning yourself!
One thing the Singstar franchise has proved many times, is that it knows how to put together a good track list. Volume 3 is no exception to this either and is complete with tracks appealing to all music fans – young or old. A few examples of said tracks are “This Ain’t A Scene It’s An Arms Race” by Fall Out Boy, “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson, ” Shut Up And Let Me Go” by The Ting Tings and “Killer Queen” by Queen. But you’re collection doesn’t hit a roadblock at the set tracks because that’s where the Singstore comes in. It’s basically a store where you download extra songs from, so you can further expand your track list if perhaps, it’s not all your cup of tea. Each song is playable in all of the available modes; solo, duet and battle and come with a choice of difficulty.
The ABBA Edition track list features their very best songs, including “Mamma Mia”, “Dancing Queen”, “Thank You For The Music”, “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!”, “Money, Money, Money” and “Waterloo”. I’m not the biggest fan of Abba but I can safely say that this particular game features some of the most catchy and memorable tracks that exist.
A newer, more recent feature added to the Singstar franchise is My Singstar. This allows you to upload your own videos, view others, share content and get involved with the community. But it has to be said that it doesn’t do much in the way of promoting the game, no matter how easy it is to operate.
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