SingStar 80's
Score: 94% ESRB: Teen Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment America Developer: London Studio Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 8 Genre: Rhythm/ Party
Graphics & Sound: Another few months pass by and, like clockwork, another iteration of SingStar is released. The latest is targeted at fans of the music of the 80's titled simply SingStar 80's - and what a collection of tunes it is! Several songs, like Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time and Madonna's Material Girl, we've seen already on Karaoke Revolution, but not by the original artists, so that's a treat. Then there are other tunes that are a real treat like Nena's 99 Red Balloons and Wham's Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go and of course, Jefferson Starship's We Built This City, which is a complete and total blast to sing as a duet. Hey, there's even Run DMC's It's Tricky if you want to get your rap on. The backgrounds are, once again, the original videos and this blast from the past is a lot of fun. Some are a little distracting and seem to wash out the pitch bar interface, like the above mentioned Wham tune, but overall, it's manageable and really fun to see these old vids. I found myself wishing a few songs were on there that didn't make it, but how can you argue with a karaoke game that has Soft Cell's Tainted Love on it? Good stuff all around.
Gameplay: Well, it's karaoke and if you are reading this review, you've probably already played SingStar before. Basically, the song comes on, words flash across the screen and you sing into the microphone to fill the blue pitch bar. Sing on pitch and you earn points. Sing really well and you can earn the ranking of SingStar. Game modes include Sing Solo, where you simply select a song, either Normal or Short in length, and build your personal high score by performing well; Pass the Mic, a party game with rounds where you must complete various challenges like Battles and Duets; then there's Freestyle, for the true bar type karaoke experience. If you have an EyeToy camera, you can even watch yourself perform on TV. If you are a tweaker, you may enjoy Playback, where you can play your performance back and add various sound effects, making your voice sound like a baby's or deep like Barry White. It's definitely good for a few laughs.
Difficulty: You can choose to play on Easy, Medium or Hard difficulty and this will determine how strictly you are scored. Even on medium, they judge fairly hard, but what I do like is that you can't get booed off a stage like you can in Karaoke Revolution, at least on Easy mode. So maybe you're not the next greatest singing sensation, but you still want to have fun and play. With SingStar, you can play along, even if you can't carry a tune in a bucket. Your score may be really, really low, but the game still encourages you, giving you the rank of Hopeful or something like that. It's cool that even the tone deaf can play along and have a good time.
Game Mechanics: Now, first off, let me say that SingStar is growing on me. Having been a hardcore fan of Karaoke Revolution, I had a hard time getting used to the SingStar interface. But I am getting used to it and finding it far more fun than I used to. What's great about SingStar is seeing the actual videos and having the original artists singing the songs, not some phony-sounding reproduction. Not only that, but you have more of a bar room karaoke experience, so it's great for parties. The blue pitch bar that appears in the middle of the screen tells you where you need to be, range-wise. If it appears too low, go up a notch. The length of the pitch bar lets you know how long you need to hold that note. The words are there to help you along if you don't know the song by heart. Tricky, by Run DMC, also includes a rap meter, since the bulk of that song is a rap and you score well and keep your meter in the green zone by timing your words correctly. SingStar 80's is a great addition to your SingStar collection. It includes a wide variety of 80's songs from various genres and is just plain fun to play. Everybody has a favorite song or two from that era and you're sure to find it included here. Pick this one up and party 80's style at your next karaoke event.
-Psibabe, GameVortex Communications AKA Ashley Perkins
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