SingStar Pop Edition

Wireless microphones are good for two things when it comes to SingStar. The first is bringing SingStar PS3 to people's attention again - trading in 15 SingStar games and a PS2 at EB for $12 off the price of a second hand PS3 might be more likely now.

The second is the decreased possibility of tripping over a microphone cord because you're trashed and someone just challenged you to Boston's More than a Feeling. And it ain't going down like that.

The second bonus is clearly the only one which effects PS3 owners and it's an awesome bonus indeed. SingStar Pop Edition is more than just a pair of wireless microphones and 31 new high def film clips though. It's not a lot more than those two things - they're not reinventing the wheel - but it does have some substance to it.

Specifically, I'm talking about the new Voice Control feature. It speaks for itself - you talk into the blue mic and it follows your instructions. It works using a pretty simple voice system with only about 10 different commands available - "Select", "Go Back", "Go Left" etc along with song titles and artist names - but it's surprisingly effective.

The real gem is that it works with previous games, so you can load up SingStar Pop Edition, hit the select button to switch discs, throw in SingStar Volume 3 and say "Space Oddity" "Select" "Select" and moments later you'll be desperately trying to reach Major Tom. The other bonus is that you can ask the game questions like some sort of Magic 8 Ball and it will answer it with song titles. The answers don't really make any sense, but it's a pretty good distraction.

The track list itself is hit and miss, and it inadvertently highlights one of my pet peeves about the game. In the sidebar you can scope out the full track list from the Aussie version of the game - there are some real gems like Livin' On a Prayer (Bon Jovi)(why isn't Blaze of Glory in a music game yet?), Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen), Human (The Killers) and Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (The Police).

Still, too many of the songs chosen are essentially runners up to the real choice picks from each artist. Lauper's inspirational True Colors could have been the epic Time after Time. Robbie's Take That-esque Angels might have been the Robbie Williams-esque Sexed Up. Kings of Leon's Sex On Fire should have been any other song by any other band ever. It's almost a trait of the series to deliver either songs from bands with better songs available (Spandau Ballet's True is on SingStar PS3, Gold is not) or songs from people other than the best option (Sway by Bic Runga is bloody terrible, Sway by Dean Martin is not).

The pet peeve I mentioned earlier specifically comes into play with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody - buying songs on the SingStore can be a risky move thanks to the decision to make discs featuring songs you might have bought. My enthusiastic jump to purchase the Queen Song Packs the day they came out blew up in my face both with this disc and with SingStar Queen - obviously it wasn't money well spent. Salt to the wound is the decision to not have the two songs share a spot in the song carousel - so I have two Bohemian Rhapsodys with two different high score charts. It's a bonus when playing the randomly selecting party mode (twice the chance to sing Bohemian Rhapsody is cool) but it's annoying when you sing the disc version of the song and it doesn't compare with your previous efforts.



It might seem like I'm pretty unimpressed by the latest iteration of SingStar, but realistically that couldn't be further from the truth. SingStar Pop Edition is awesome - the wireless mics are awesome, the voice control is awesome and the track list isn't terrible. The fact is - Studio London got the formula for SingStar so right on its first go that it's hard for them to do anything different without ruining it completely, and yet they've added some absolutely amazing things to the game this time around.

What I haven't mentioned above is the fact that SingStar Pop Edition still delivers on the same fantastic karaoke experience it always has - the points scoring is well done, the PlayStation Eye features are beautifully realised and the party mode is still a work of genius. It's the same SingStar you'd already know and love - you sing and it scores you, nothing more, nothing less - but now it has the added features mentioned above. Certainly I have my gripes with the game, specifically with song choice and the annoying flaw with the SingStore system, but song choice is subjective and the double up flaw could really go either way (if my purchased songs didn't exist, imagine the outrage!).

SingStar Pop Edition is a fantastic addition to the SingStar series, and more than a worthwhile purchase for any PS3 owner with a mind for parties. Wireless microphones certainly won't be enough to convince people to buy $700 worth of console, but for those thinking about getting a Blu-Ray player plus a games console, this might be the proverbial straw.

BigPond Music competition to win SingStar Pop + Playstation 3 and more (entries close 14 June 2010)