SingStar Vol. 2 Hands On

By Angus Deacon

There is little question that Sony and the PS2 have dominated the socially acceptable world of gaming with franchises like Singstar, Eye-Toy and Buzz!. With their unique levels of interactivity and leverage off mainstream media, these titles have reached audiences that used to be considered “non-gamers”.

Despite the PS2 still moving ridiculous numbers of units, there is a new era for these titles now thanks to the PS3. And naturally, Sony is bringing us an updated version of their popular karaoke title with SingStar Vol 2.

The second edition of Singstar on the PS3 is hitting the shelves this month and looks set to keep living-room karaoke champions happy. Vol. 2 comes with an additional 30 tracks from artists like The Killers, Eminem, Kaiser Chiefs, Nirvana, Gorillaz and plenty more. Not to mention a growing database of tracks available for download via the online portal SingStore to add to your collection.

As you would expect, the game is pretty much the standard Singstar affair with Vol. 2 except for the introduction of the promising “Harmony Duet” mode. This allows two players to sing different lines to a song at the same time, with each one at different pitches to create a harmony. Singstar Vol. 2 includes some unique tracks that utilise this tricky but rewarding mode like “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang and “California Dreamin'” by the The Mamas & The Papas.

One of the more redundant new features is the PSP Remote Play functionality that Sony have introduced to Vol. 2. Basically it allows you to use your PSP via a wireless internet connection to browse, select and start downloading new songs from the SingStore on the go. Personally anyone who needs to urgently download tracks on the bus home so they can instantly start playing when they get in the door probably needs some help. But it does show off some of the cool compatibility features of the two consoles, even if it is just a gimmicky use at the moment.

Singstar Vol. 2 has even had an over-haul in the presentation department and the menu / navigation screens are very stylish. Unfortunately though, Vol. 2 doesn’t introduce wireless microphones for the PS3 but all in all, this follow-up is sure to keep fans of the series happy for quite some time. You can expect this to be in store from the 20th June, available with and without microphones.

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