Chances are at some point you’ve seen at least one SingStar title in the aisles of your favorite video game retailer. After all, there are a slew of these games out there: SingStar, SingStar Rocks, SingStar Pop (volume 1 & 2), SingStar Country, SingStar 90’s, SingStar 80’s, SingStar Amped, SingStar Legends… heck, they even have a SingStar ABBA. (Seriously… they do!) Now we are treated to SingStar Volume 2, putting the current library at At 30 tracks per volume, you almost have a full Karaoke Bar’s selection of different songs. Thats roughly 330 song, plus the ever growing online catalog of songs available through the Sony SingStore online.
The tracks included in this title include:
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Aerosmith – Dude (Looks Like a Lady)
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Bad English – When I See You Smile
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Bobby Brown – My Prerogative
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Boys Like Girls – Hero/Heroine
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The Bravery – Believe
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The Cure – Pictures of You
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Elton John & Kiki Dee – Don’t Go Breaking My Heart
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Eminem – Without Me
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Gavin DeGraw – In Love With A Girl
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Gnarls Barkley – Run (I’m a Natural Disaster)
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Goldfrapp – Happiness
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The Killers – When You Were Young
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Lit – Miserable
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The Mamas & The Papas – California Dreamin’
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Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten
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The Offspring – Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)
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Panic! At The Disco – Nine In The Afternoon
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Paramore – CrushCrushCrush
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Phantom Planet – California
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P!nk – Just Like a Pill
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The Police – Don’t Stand So Close To Me
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The Proclaimers – I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)
Radiohead – Street Spirit -
Rise Against – Prayer Of The Refugee
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Sara Bareilles – Love Song
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The Shins – New Slang
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Tone Loc – Funky Cold Medina
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Weezer – Beverly Hills
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Yael Naim – New Soul
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Young M.C. – Bust a Move
Let’s talk about tracks for a moment. In more genre specific releases of SingStar games, you typically see a bunch of songs you’ve heard (provided that you enjoy that particular genre). In
the more generic SingStar titles, there is a cavalcade of different content. The good thing about such a diverse lineup is that you’re more likely to find something you really enjoy… but the bad news is there are more likely fewer titles you know or enjoy depending on how diverse your taste in music is.
While I would consider my musical tastes diverse, I still had trouble really enjoying the full library in this title because it was so sporadic. Moving from Eminem one minute to The Mamas & The Papas the next just didn’t really fit for me.
If this is your first SingStar title, it may be a good disc to start with. You can bring it out at parties and it’s almost sure to have something for everyone. You can also add to your SingStar collection by purchasing additional content at the SingStore online. If you already have a few SingStar titles in your collection, weigh whether or not you would get your money’s worth out of this disc. If you were to purchase these tracks online you’d pay about $2 each. The MSRP on this disc is $39.99, so you’d have to want to purchase 20 of the 30 songs before you’d break even.
Another minor complaint I have is the popularity of the songs on this disc. While it can’t be argued that some of these really are amazing songs, others seem like B sides which got thrown on. Gnarles Barkley is known for their song “Crazy”, but this disc has their lesser known “Run (I’m A Natural Disaster)”. Likewise Radiohead was most notable for their singles “Creep” and “Karma Police” but we get the lesser known “Street Spirit”. This isn’t to say that these aren’t good songs, but the appeal of a Karaoke game is to be able to sing along to your favorites… not to learn new songs by familiar artists.
In addition to just singing along, you can now share your performances online with the SingStar community. Or, if you prefer, you can save recordings for your own enjoyment. While this feature is neat, it’s not something I would use a ton… (while I really enjoy singing, I don’t like knowing how badly I butchered some of my favorite songs!)
Those gripes aside, you can read my other reviews and see that I am an absolute fan of this series. I think it stretches the definition of what a video game has to be, and opens up a much more diverse potential for the PlayStation gaming systems. The SingStar games continue to be a very fun series targeting a large crowd with replay as valuable as the replay-ability of your favorite songs to sing along to.