The videos have that standard-def, fuzzy feel even if you're playing the game in your PS3, you'll need to use the low-quality EyeToy and not the PlayStation Eye and no features have been added to the franchise. 2 doesn't mean you won't love them, but you have to admit that this sequel seems a bit out of place you already have this brand of sugar-laced music if you have the original Pop.Īnother issue I have with this title is that it just feels old the second you open the box. Just because I don't dig the songs in Pop Vol. Of course, good music is one of those "in the eye of the beholder" things. I've never heard "Get it Shawty " you have to love them, but Duran Duran and the Dixie Chicks seem forced into this set list and although I love Michelle Branch in ways I can't explain to my wife, "Breathe" is probably among the weakest Branch tracks that SingStar could've picked. it's packed with tracks I just don't care about. 2's additional dose of Simpson crap, but that's this disc's M.O.
Sure, everyone needs an Ashlee Simpson track in their karaoke library so that the party can mock its digitally retouched beats and inane lyrics, but the original Pop already delivered that guilty pleasure. However, SingStar Pop came out a little more than a year ago, and now, we're getting it again with SingStar Pop Vol. To me, that wealth of content justifies buying each title so that you have a rounded music library - you want to have something for everyone when the party gets going. We've had rock, '80s, as well as '90s and will be getting country and legends in just about a month.
See, SingStar on the PS2 has made a name for itself by cranking out games that features different genres of music. 2 stumbles for me because it feels like we've been here before.
I don't have an issue with that underlying thread of the series - I love making an ass out of myself and singing off key - Pop Vol. Make a fool out of yourself with your buds.
Are you in the right key? Who cares - there's nothing to fail and no one to let down. Sure, other vocal games provide a more accurate way to scope your singing, but SingStar wants you to just sing and have fun. Sony wants you to invite a bunch of friends over, choose some songs, and belt out the tones. See, SingStar focuses on one thing - awesome multiplayer. It's a good system - not the best because you can't see your voice on the screen before you're supposed to be singing so finding the right key is something that has to be done on the fly - that's launched millions of these discs and made a core audience croon with delight.
This is how SingStar has always played, and that's great. At the end of the song, your score is broken down and you're given a rank like "Amateur" or "Hit Artist." If you've got other SingStar discs, you can swap them in or out at the song selection screen without having to restart the console. At the end of every verse, you get points - as well as a written critique like "cool" or "awful" - depending on how well you paint the lines. All the while, the original music video or EyeToy camera feed is playing on the screen. The words pop up at the bottom of the screen, your voice appears above those words as colored lines, and you have to modify your pitch to get your colored vocals to fill in blank bars on the screen. The short version is that you or you and a friend choose from a few gameplay options (sing solo, duet, and battle), select a difficulty, and then pick your track from one of the 30 songs or six medleys. If this is your first foray into the SingStar scene, you might want to double back to my review of the original SingStar Pop where I broke down the nuts and bolts of just what SingStar is in tiny, digestible detail. Yes, it's a ton of fun to get together with friends and try to hit the high notes in "Your Love" by The Outfield, and "Young Folks" by Peter Bjorn and John is a catchy tune, but all of this feels like well-worn territory that doesn't add anything to the SingStar legacy. 2 marks my fifth SingStar review on the PlayStation 2 in about a year and a half and I think it's safe to say that this last-gen side of the series is running stale - or at least this installment is.