SingStar Motown

Another SingStar game! I'm telling you, after reviewing game after game after game after game after game after game, it all starts to blur together a little. Having sung so many songs over the last few years, in varying states of sobriety and inebriation, I cling to sanity with only the most tenuous of holds. It’s lucky, then, that SingStar Motown ain’t half bad.

This will be a short review, because by now you surely know the score. It’s a rare day for a SingStar title to actually contain new features or gameplay modes. You can sing solo (how many of you out there do that?) or battle with/against a friend. There’s a pass-the-mic party mode that lets you involve up to eight people. There’s an online song shop that lets you whittle your wallet away on Britney Spears and Bonnie Tyler. And now, of course, there’s also a surprisingly solid voice control feature, for when you accidentally knocked the PlayStation controller behind the couch.

The only thing I’ll bother complaining about at this point is the need to keep swapping discs over the course of an evening. I’ve gotten used to Rock Band’s song exporting feature that lets you combine your discs on the hard drive. It’s super convenient. If I could stick my entire SingStar library onto my hard drive, I would dance a jig.

However! At the least you should find Motown’s 30 songs worth popping into the CD drive, particularly if you’re a fan of classic R’n’B and Rock ‘n Roll. Motown has been the sheltering umbrella for all sorts of great songs, and a lot of them have been gathered here.

Your own personal highlights will vary, of course, but I particularly enjoyed “You Can’t Hurry Love”, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine”, “Easy”, and “It Takes Two”. You can also play in the newer Harmony mode for a number of the songs, which is highly recommended.

On the other hand, there’s a Lionel Richie song on here.

Also counting against the PlayStation 2 version of Motown is the fact that only 25 of the 30 songs are present. Seriously Sony, that’s a pretty bastardly way of pushing people into getting PS3’s.

As always, in the end it’s only your own musical taste that will decide whether SingStar Motown is worth the money. It always feels a little odd giving SingStar titles a score, but I’ve given this one a passing grade simply because Sony hasn’t cut so many corners this time. There’s less chaff amongst wheat (Lionel Richie aside), a trend I’d love to see continued.

Wavering? Here’s the full tracklist:

David Ruffin - Put A Little Love In Your Heart
Diana Ross & The Supremes - Reflections
Jimmy Ruffin - What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted
Lionel Richie - My Destiny
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Jimmy Mack
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Nowhere To Run
Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On?
Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston - It Takes Two
Mary Wells - My Guy
Rick James - Super Freak
Smokey Robinson - Being With You
Smokey Robinson And The Miracles - The Tracks Of My Tears
Stevie Wonder - For Once In My Life
The Commodores - Brick House
The Commodores - Easy
The Contours - Do You Love Me
The Four Tops - Reach Out I'll Be There
The Isley Brothers - This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)
The Jackson 5 - ABC
The Miracles Love Machine
The Supremes - You Can't Hurry Love
The Temptations - Get Ready
The Temptations - Papa Was A Rollin' Stone
The Velvelettes - Needle In A Haystack
The Four Tops - I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)
The Jackson 5 - I Want You Back
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Dancing In The Street
Marvin Gaye I Heard It Through The Grapevine
The Supremes - Stop In The Name Of Love

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