Singstar

There’s no doubt that the SingStar series is pretty huge in New Zealand. It’s fun, accessible, and really ties in well with the Kiwi tradition of drinking far too much and making complete fools of ourselves. So it’s only natural that the game would make the transition to Sony’s shiny new console at some point.

The question is, why shell out a lot of money for a PlayStation 3 when you already have a PS2 and a lot of SingStar games already? Could it be that Sony are actually – gasp – adding in new modes and features to this version of the game? Well, yes and no. While there won’t be any new singing modes as such, there will be something that sounds pretty darn interesting: namely, the SingStore.

If you imagine an iTunes-like place where you can download songs of your choice for a nominal fee, you’re on the right track. The SingStore will let you choose from a catalogue boasting hundreds of songs that you can then sing along to. All of the songs from previous SingStar’s will be there, along with an ever-growing amount of new tracks. For me, the most exciting part of this is that I’ll finally be able to pick and choose only my favourite tracks – sorry Eric B and Rakim, your time is up. Of course, downloading too many songs could leave a seriously large hole in your wallet – and Sony has been staying mum on the pricing of songs.

Other new features include the ability to record yourself with the EyeToy camera and upload your performance to a myspace-like SingStar community hub. This sounds like it could be absolutely terrible, but there’s sure to be a few people out there who end up recording hilarious videos of themselves.

And that’s about it, really. Come November, SingStar fans will have the choice of sticking with their current PS2 SingStar games, or investing in a PS3 and getting access to all of the above. It’ll be interesting to see how many people make the jump at the end of the year. In the meantime, check out the list of songs that will actually be included on the game disc:

• Blink 182 - All The Small Things
• Blur - Coffee & TV
• Britney Spears - Toxic
• Coldplay - Fix You
• Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc.
• Gwen Stefani - Cool
• Junior Senior - Move Your Feet
• Macy Gray - I Try
• Musical Youth - Pass The Dutchie
• Ne-Yo - So Sick
• Orson - No Tomorrow
• OutKast - Hey Ya
• Primal Scream - Movin' On Up
• Pussycat Dolls - Beep
• Radiohead - No Surprises
• Razorlight - America
• REM - Losing My Religion
• Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman - Something Stupid
• Scissor Sisters - I Don't Feel Like Dancing
• Supergrass - Alright
• The Automatic - Monster
• The Cardigans - Lovefool
• The Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger
• The Killers - Mr Brightside
• The Stone Roses - She Bangs The Drums
• The Zutons - Valerie
• Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna Take It
• U2 - Beautiful Day
• Weezer - Buddy Holly
• Wolfmother - Love Train