SingStar Review

There's nothing quite like heading down to the local institute of imbibable beverages, depleting their stock of fine consumables by a litre or so, and then showing the world exactly how great your performance of George Michael's timeless "Careless Whisper" is. Sony's gambling that that same instinct of public exhibitionism and all-too-public ridicule will play a big part in people opting to pick up its latest peripheral-come-game, SingStar.

The concept of Karaoke on a console isn't a new one -- Xbox owners have been able to make fools of themselves for some time with the Xbox Music Mixer -- but Singstar's take on Karaoke is an interesting one, primarily because it's not just a dumb music-sequencing terminal. It grades you as you go, so anyone fancying themselves as the new Elvis can get either approval from their beloved PS2 or derision from their mates when it not-so-gently lets them know that they've got a singing voice more like a drowning kitten in a bag full of thumbtacks. One factor that will strongly affect whether or not it's worthwhile for you to pick up will depend largely on whether the track listing you get with SingStar appeals particularly to you. So let's get that out of the way. The Australian track listing for SingStar is as follows:

Now, if you've just perused that list and the simple thought of even crooning along to any of those tunes makes the bile rise in your throat, then don't even continue reading this review -- SingStar's not for you, at least until they release the SingStar: Growl Along To Death Metal expansion pack. It's in the expansion packs that Sony will either make or break SingStar; if they're sensible enough to price future expansions at roughly CD music prices, though, they should be able to sit back and watch the dollars roll in.

SingStar offers a single player mode, called Star Maker, where you have to literally 'Sing' your way to fame, but to be honest, single player SingStar isn't just a reflection on your lack of social standing, it's also one of the least compelling things we've ever seen on any game console. Realistically, you're sitting in a room, singing to yourself while a processor somewhere judges exactly how crap you sound. Call us crazy, but in a solo setting, that's just weird, at best.

Add in extra singers, however, and like EyeToy before it, SingStar becomes a completely different experience, especially if you've had a few throat-lubricating drinkies beforehand. The package ships with two microphones, so most of the game modes revolve around duets or competitive singing, but it's possible to involve up to eight players in Pass The Mic mode -- or as many as you like if you couldn't give a toss about what the actual scores mean.

The scores are at the heart of what makes SingStar work in a social setting. Aside from just playing back your crooning at you from your TV speakers -- a surreal experience at the best of times -- the software within SingStar also rates you according to how well you hit each note, based on pitch, tone and rhythm. It allegedly doesn't care about key, so those with Barry White-style voices can still attempt squeakier tracks, although we found it still tends to score overall more generously if you stay within your normal vocal limits. At the end of each song, you'll be given a score to indicate if you should really give up your day job, and in a competitive sense, that's a great thing. Sure, there will be some Divas (both male and female) who may be a bit miffed to discover that they aren't in fact music's next great hope, but if you've prepared with the aforementioned throat-lubricating ales, being told that you've just missed that phrase completely can be quite hilarious, especially when you know that it's all too true.

SingStar is EyeToy compatible, so you can record your musical antics, but to be honest this is the least impressive part of the package, simply because in any reasonably bad Karaoke contest, you'll move outside of the camera's scope, have bad lighting, and often not want to go back over past renditions anyway. For the more recent tunes, video clips are offered to sing along to, and with SingStar's emphasis on making you the pop star, we suspect most players will opt to belt out tunes with the visual aid of the original artists.

Singstar's microphones are solid enough, although we did often feel that we had to hold them a little close compared to many other mikes; if you've got friends with poor spit control, it may be worthwhile investing in a cleaning cloth.

Like EyeToy before it, SingStar is undoubtedly a gimmick game that rests on the quality of its supplied songs. If the prospect of pretending to be Rick Astley excites you -- and we'll be frank here, it thrills us to levels previously unheard of -- then, at the price of a regular game, it's not a bad purchase as long as you've got plenty of like-minded friends with a Karaoke bent.