Review: Singstar Vol. 2

Rated PG for PlayStation 3

SINGALONG: Sir Paul McCartney in Singstar Vol 2.

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With a good dozen SingStar titles now available on the PlayStation 2, I suppose it was only a matter of time before Sony started releasing sequels to the PlayStation 3 iteration. Having said that, they're not likely to be nearly as frequent thanks to the SingStore, so if you're not into downloading songs, you'll be wanting to read on to find out how this one fares.

SingStar Vol.2 is largely just a collection of 35 new tracks, but it's not as bad as the churned out versions on the PS2. It sports a couple of new features, one of which actually adds something to the game! But first, the tracklist: it's your usual blend of clashing music styles and genres, with songs lumped together in a somewhat eclectic collection to appeal to as broad an audience as possible.

So Aerosmith's "Dude Looks Like a Lady" sits alongside Shakespears Sister's "Stay", and Panic! At The Disco's "But It's Better If You Do" shares room with, er, Paul McCartney & the Frog Chorus' "We All Stand Together". We had to build up a lot of courage to try that last one out - search for it on YouTube and you'll see what I mean.

For someone like me, who appreciates a healthy amount of rock, there were a number of songs that were fun to sing. While there is a lot of variety in the song list, I actually suspect teeny boppers, or those who like their Britney, may feel a bit disappointed. But that's okay, because they need to learn timeless drunken classics like "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" at some point anyway.

Unlike previous SingStar games, this one comes with a whole new singing feature. A few of the songs in the list are made to be played in Harmony Duet mode, which has both singers performing different lines at the same time. This is makes a surprising amount of difference from the usual duet mode, which simply has you taking turns to sing parts of a song.

Now, words for one player will appear at the top of the screen, and work to its own timing, while the other player will still see their words at the bottom. Once you've figured it out, it's a lot of fun, albeit a complete mess. Let's hope this is the beginning of a new trend for Sony, and we keep seeing new modes added in.

Overall, SingStar Vol.2 is a step in the right direction, if only because it's slightly better than your average sequel on the PS2. As always, whether you check this version out will come down to what you think of the track list - but for my money, it's not a bad attempt.

The Tracks
Aerosmith - "Dude Looks Like A Lady"
Blur - "Country House"
Bobby Brown - "My Perogative"
Eminem - "Without Me"
George Michael - "Freedom 90″
Gorillaz - "Dare"
Gossip - "Standing in the Way of Control"
Hot Chocolate - "You Sexy Thing"
Kaiser Chiefs - "Ruby"
Kool & The Gang - "Celebration"
Joe Cocker - "Summer In The City"
Maximo Park - "Our Velocity"
Morrissey - "Suedehead"
Nirvana - "Lithium"
Panic! At The Disco - "But It's Better If You Do"
Paul McCartney & the Frog Chorus - "We All Stand Together"
Pulp - "Common People"
Radiohead - "Street Spirit (Fade Out)"
Shakespears Sister - "Stay"
Spandau Ballet - "True"
Suede - "Metal Mickey"
The Cure - "Pictures of You"
The Killers - "When You Were Young"
The Libertines - "Can't Stand Me Now"
The Offspring - "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)"
The Police - "Don't Stand So Close To Me"
The Proclaimers - "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)"
Tom Jones with Mousse T - "Sexbomb"
Tone Loc - "Funky Cold Medina"
Young MC - "Bust A Move"

P.S. I would have given this game 5 stars if they had included William Shatner's version of "Common People" instead of the original.

- NZGamer.com