SingStar

"Will this be "the one" or is it "better best forgotten""

Introduction

After releasing the Eye Toy last year London studios have gone one better by releasing a Kareoke game, but will this join the Eye Toy as a great party game or is it better if we just look away and deny all knowledge of this ever existing.

Gameplay

The gameplay is simple SING, it really doesn't get any simpler than that. When you play you get some small bars on the screen the idea of the game is to get your pitch and timing right to hit these bars. If you do a whole line well you are awarded bonus points and some hard to hit notes or notes you have to hold for a long time have even more bonus points and a special effect (more on that later).

The single player mode sees you going around the city singing in clubs and having to meet certain challenges this could be to score a certain amount of points or to keep a bar above a certain level. Later on you have to do this over 2 songs in one night.

When you have finished a song you then have the option to play it back with your singing over it. You can also make your voice really high pitched or low pitched.

The mutiplayer modes are great you an either go head to head or sing a duet or for the ultimate in party fun have a team battle with up to 8 players.

The game comes with 2 good quality microphones and all the stuff you'll need to connect them to your PS2. The good thing is this is all you'll need for up to 8 players.

Sound

When i play the sound is usually awful mainly because im tone deaf. The songs on the game are all very different they range from Elvis to The Darkness and there will be something for everyone.

Graphics

When you are in a song the music video plays in the background or if you have an Eye Toy it replaces that with what the camera sees (which is usually you). Now about those special effects, when you hat a golden note it does a special effect with the eye toy this could range from making the colours flash or splitting the screen up, it's not really necessary but its nice to have anyway

Good Points
- It's way too much fun
- Single player is actually pretty good
- Multiplayer is fantastic

Bad Points
- Only limited to 30 songs
- Some songs are hard to keep up with
- It gives you a sore throat???

Final Thought
It looks like they've done it again. Now all you need for a party is this and the Eye Toy just make sure you take those singing lessons first.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/02/04