SingStar 90s

Don't fear, I'm not about to pass on my personal preferences by re-living my days of being a CD reviewer. Nup, you're not about to read why you should and shouldn't like this and that band, but not the next.

Why? Because music is a subjective thing, of course. A fat 12-year-old that stays up late to secretly watch Mark Philipousis' Age of Love might love a band that a 67-year-old Country Women's Association secretary hates. But they both might just happen to love 'em too. You never know.

But what we do know is that SingStar is, when push comes to shove, a known quantity. We know it's solid, we know girls dig it, we know SingStar parties work, we know it gives us more of a laugh than watching Kyle Sandilands try and be witty. At the end of the day, the oomph of SingStar all comes down to its track-listing and whether it just so happens to push your buttons or not. So here 'tis:

ALL SAINTS - Never Ever
AQUA - Barbie Girl
B-52's - Love Shack
BARENAKED LADIES - One Week
BILLY RAY CYRUS - Achey Breaky Heart
CRASH TEST DUMMIES - MMM MMM MMM MMM
DIVINYLS - I Touch Myself
EMF - Unbelievable
GIN BLOSSOMS - Hey Jealousy
LISA LOEB - Stay
MC HAMMER - U Can't Touch This
MEREDITH BROOKS - *****
M PEOPLE - Movin' On Up
NATALIE IMBRUGLIA - Torn
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK - Step By Step
NICK CAVE & KYLIE MINOGUE - Where the Wild Roses Grow
POISON - Unskinny Bop
RADIOHEAD - Creep
REM - Everybody Hurts
ROACHFORD - Only to be with You
SAVAGE GARDEN - I Want You
SEAL - Kiss From A Rose
SIR MIX A LOT - Baby Got Back
SPICE GIRLS - Wannabe
SPIN DOCTORS - Two Princes
TECHNOTRONIC FEAT. FELLY - Pump Up The Jam
THE CARDIGANS - Lovefool
THE CRANBERRIES - Zombie
THE CURE - Friday I'm In Love
WET WET WET - Love Is All Around

The SingStar series has really ramped up its presence in the market. While there are a thousand more genres still to go (I'm looking forward to emo-punk-speed rap personally. I just can't get enooouuugh), most of the big eras are now covered.

Developers Studio London are a crafty lot, and good on 'em. They've managed to cater to everybody and each game has had that quality trademark that gamers, casual or not, should always demand. SingStar 90s is no different and my household has had a cracking time pitting its vox boxes against each other.

Some people will complain about the game being lame because it is based more on tones rather than really being able to judge the quality of voices. I agree that there is some credit to that argument, but is it really so concerning that it hinders the fun factor? As a rock star may say: it's gotta be about the music, man.

I love the entire SingStar series and would endorse it to anyone. I love fluffy games like this, and like 'hardcore' games too. Switching to SingStar 90s is easy, and any hardcore gamer that won't go near a SingStar game simply due to their hardcore-tendency-principles are simply missing out.

The main thing I would suggest though is to check out SingStar for PS3 first. This only applies to those who already have a PS3 or are seriously thinking of getting one, of course. SingStar's next-gen version is looking sweet and you'll be able to customise playlists by selecting and buying the exact tracks you're after from the SingStore. Word is that all the tracks available on any of the SingStar releases will be available too, the mics are better quality and there will be a whole online community (think Facebook and MySpace) to interact with so it's looking sweet and may be worth saving your cookies for.

Oh, and definitely don't buy it if you don't like the 90s for whatever reason. For some, like a mate of mine (he discovered his girlfriend had been 'seeing' his bro, but that's a whole other story) it was a decade to forget and it may be best to put the whole thing behind you.

Pump Up The Jam!