| Singstar + Singstar Party review |
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Karaoke isn’t a new fad, it’s not even recent. In fact it’s positively ancient when you compare it to other forms of modern entertainment, having grown out of Kobe during the ‘70s. But its popularity is still monstrous with just about anyone who’s ever built up the pluck to have a go, from nervous-sounding groups of young girls trying to be Britney at home, to gangs of (usually drunk) revelling men in pubs screeching out Unchained Melody in the hope of wooing some of the local ladies with their serenading.
Given the popularity of this singing pastime then, and the explosion in console sales over the last few years, it was only a matter of time before someone put two and two together and came up with a version for a home console. Karaoke as a stand-alone form has been available in various guises on home machines for a long time now, think back to the WonderMega and even earlier than that with Sega’s Mega Drive Karaoke unit, but it’s been lacking a decent interpretation as a game in its own right, rather than a feature to strip vocals from your own CDs.
The first to get this right on the money was Konami with their Karaoke Revolution franchise, which graded your performance against the way the song should be sung and scored it accordingly. It was always destined to be good as it had the pedigree name of Harmonix developing it, a name rhythm game fans will no doubt know from the modern classics Frequency and Amplitude. The game felt slightly lacking though, most notably through a lack of original artists, using cover versions of popular songs instead. While the games are good, they just feel a bit odd.
Enter Sony, or more accurately Sony’s London Studio. Buoyant with the success of EyeToy, they went on to produce their own karaoke game in the form of Singstar. Singstar works on the same basic premise as Karaoke Revolution - the track plays, you sing along and get scored according to how well you sing. What really sets it apart from Konami’s predecessor though is the lavish feel and overall polish of the game. Karaoke Revolution used a system whereby the words and bars indicating the tune to be matched scrolled along the bottom of the screen, and the pitch/tone indicator remained stationary. Singstar drops this in favour of having the next two lines of the song onscreen at any one time, and the bars indicating what key they should be sung in remaining static at the same time.
The beauty is that it doesn't matter if you sing an octave below or above the song, as long as the note is the same. Although in saying that, a "Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" challenge, sung at exactly the same pitch as the original, by two grown men is funny at every level. As you sing (caterwaul, commit atrocities toward music - whatever you care to call it), a faint bar appears alongside the bars already present, and matching the two lets you know you’re hitting the notes. This system is much clearer to anyone who’s playing it, and makes it a lot easier to read the lyrics. Even with the fast songs there’s still lots of time to read ahead in readiness.
The polish is evident from the moment the game starts, fullscreen music videos and songs licensed from, and sung by the original artists replace the ropey covers and 3D rendered stages of the Konami effort. Performances can be played back, altered to make you sound like veritable chipmunks or walruses of love, and even saved to the memory card to be played back at an inopportune moment in much the same way your parents break out the baby photos when you bring a girl home to meet them. The tracklisting is long (thirty songs) and varied - from Elvis to Jamelia and everything in-between, so everyone will be able to find a song they like. Those who really feel they need to be the centre of attention will love the addition of EyeToy support as well, watching yourself croon to the amusement of the gathered mass.
The scoring works with a very simple method; you are given points as you match notes, more if you are sufficiently good enough for an entire phrase (which carries over a small multiplier to the next phrase), and Golden Notes. Golden Notes appear as sparkling versions of the normal bars, and give big points if they’re hit. The game also scores in a clever way by judging the tempo and rhythm of your voice, humming a constant note at one pitch won't win you any games here I'm afraid. Ramping the difficulty up past easy means that the judging becomes much harsher and won't let you get away with the occasional wobble or mistiming. Once you starting gunning for hi-scores you’ll soon notice how missing Golden Notes can mean the difference between being Top of the Pops, and humiliating defeat at the hand of the smug git sitting next to you.
Two-player games are played in one of two formats, either a duet where your scores are combined, or as a battle, with the highest score taking the honours. It’s this battle mode which will get the majority of playing time as there’s nothing like competition to bring the best performances from people. There is a single-player career mode for those who prefer to play alone, but make no mistake about it this is a social game, and one where the entertainment level rises by orders of magnitude once friends and alcohol are added.
The quality of the microphones included with the game is surprisingly high. They are weighty, solid bits of kit and with the inclusion of the custom USB adapter it makes you wonder how they can sell if for such a low price. This isn’t the kind of peripheral that’s going to break the second it’s dropped, and they happily make the journey to and from peoples houses stuffed in a bag with a PS2 and bottles of singing juice. The only real drawbacks in the game are the number of songs – thirty sounds like a lot but you’ll find yourself skipping a few you don’t like – the lack of involvement in the single-player game and finally the hassle of converting your less-outgoing friends to try. Everyone who plays this will suffer from ten seconds of feeling very self-aware, but after just one song most people will be gagging to have another go.
If you regularly play games with friends, enjoy singing, or maybe even just like drinking and making a fool of yourself, this game is a must have.
Singstar Party - Addendum
The game is essentially the same as the original but with a new tracklisting, and as such doesn’t really warrant a separate review. There are a few minor changes to the game itself, most notably the lack of a single-player career mode; this one’s aimed solely at a multi-player environment. The new tracks are as well done and as varied as the first, and it introduces the welcome addition of duet-style songs. In this mode, two players take turns to sing the male and female parts of songs like "I Got You Babe" and "Video Killed The Radio Star". These are fun, but the scoring on most seems weighted in favour of the female part so be aware. This may just be that it's very hard not to sing the female vocal parts in some songs; I defy anyone to sing "A Little Time" by The Beautiful South and get the ending male vocal part right without some practice.
There are a few differences between this and the original as is already mentioned. Nothing major, but things that you will notice over time. Gone is the ability to remove vocals from the tracks completely, but the game now remembers the levels you set the mic at (using the shoulder buttons) and carries it over to the next song, whereas the original had you altering it at the start of each song. More EyeToy fun is included as well, as highlights are recorded at key points and then played back at the end of the song. You can add your pictures to the hi-score charts and use fancy effects too. The disc can also be swapped in-game with the original disc to effectively boost the track listing from thirty to sixty songs, which is nice.
The new party-style play is good too, which allows lots of people to form two separate teams and take turns representing their teams in challenges such as first to five thousand points, or a mode where the microphone has to be swapped between team members as the song is playing, with hilarity usually ensuing. The one main annoyance in this game though is the fact that the players names have to be set before the songs begin, which can lead to irritation as you set a high score only to find out someone else’s name is sat in the table - the EyeToy pictures can counteract this though. In the original game you can leave the names as default and the game asks you to enter names as and when songs are done. Those bugbears aside, it’s another great game and if you enjoy the first, this demands purchase. |
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System: Sony PlayStation 2
Genre: Rhythm Action
Developer: Sony (London Studio)
Publisher: Sony
Players: 1-2
Version: European
Reviewed: Apr 2005
Writer: Adam Richards
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Pros:
- Great ice breaker and party game
- Fabulous presentation
- High-quality hardware
- Even your non-gamesplaying friends will enjoy it
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Cons:
- Only thirty songs per disc
- Not everyone will be willing to try it
- Short lifespan as a single-player game
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