It’s a kind of magic
There’s nothing new about Singstar; it’s been around in one form or another since 2004. Along the way there’s been Singstar 80s, Singstar Rock Ballads, Singstar Summer Party, Singstar ABBA and now there’s Singstar Queen
As a newbie to the gaming scene, however, it’s all completely new to me. And having finally been introduced to its melodious delights I’m beginning to wonder: WHERE HAVE I BEEN ALL ITS LIFE? I love karaoke. I love singing. I simply can’t believe that Singstar has eluded me for five whole years.
The concept for Singstar Queen on the PS3, like all the Singstar iterations, is a simple one. Pick a song, sing the song and then get rated. Before I could even get started though, I had the small problem of setting it all up (yup, I’m really that rubbish). Thankfully, it was fairly simple even for a technophobe like me. After plugging a pair of Singstar Microphones into the USB port on my PS3 I was ready to rock.
Under Pressure!
The first decision you have to make on Singstar Queen is which mode you want sing in: Solo, Duet, Practice, Pass the Mic or Battle. The second decision is whether you want the easy option or the difficult option. The third decision is which song to select from the in-game jukebox. With 25 tracks to pick and choose from, this is an almost impossible task, particularly as you are almost guaranteed to get distracted by the frankly hilarious Queen footage playing in the background. We are talking 80s hairdos and skin tight lycra here.
I eventually settled on a solo version of The Show Must Go On.
Let the Singstar Queen party begin
If you’re a sucker for punishment, the Audio Playback allows you to listen back to your performance.
Singing on Sony Playstation’s Singstar Queen is pretty much like karaoke. The biggest difference being that the Singstar microphone reads and rates your voice as you sing and displays your pitch, tone and rhythm on-screen. The secret is to try and match your own pitch, tone and rhythm with Freddie’s. Tricky, tricky, tricky!
Another difference between Singstar and karaoke is that you are not singing to a soundtrack; you are essentially singing alongside the legendary Freddie himself, something that grated for all of – what – three seconds?
Don’t stop me now …
If I’m honest, I thought I’d done pretty well with The Show Must Go On, until I’d finished and it cheekily ranked my performance as ‘hopeful’. Eat your heart out Simon Cowell. In fact, it doesn’t even wait until you’ve finished the song before it starts judging your performance, throwing out random comments like Cool, Okay and Awful. By the time I’d finished We Will Rock You, Bohemian Rhapsody and Don’t Stop Me Now however I’d stopped caring. I was having way too much fun.
Play the Game
If you’re a sucker for punishment, the Audio Playback allows you to listen back to your performance. A whole lot more fun can be had if you have a Playstation USB camera set up, which enables you to record your performance, save it to My Media Gallery and watch it back any time you fancy a giggle.
If you’re feeling really, really brave you can share your video with the rest of the world by uploading it to My SingStar Online (a social networking site). And why not? Singstar Queen today. X Factor tomorrow. A global Number 1 hit next Wednesday. And who knows what next year; world domination?
My verdict on Singstar Queen is that if you like singing (regardless of ability) it simply can’t fail to rock you. It’s not a hardcore game by any means; it’s just good old fashioned fun that's guaranteed to get everyone singing along!
Note: I used the official Playstation cordless microphones and was pleasantly surprised. Rather than amplifying your voice, they just give a nice echo effect. And because they’re cordless, you have more freedom to prance round the living room like Freddie Mercury, without getting tangled up in any wires.
GAME's Verdict
- Brilliant selection of Queen hits.
- Option to share your performance with the whole world.
- Download tonnes more songs in Singstore.
- Has potential to annoy the neighbours.
- Doesn’t come with a fake Freddie moustache to wear while belting out his hits.
- Not got quite the same fun factor as Guitar Hero.
Review by: Corrinne - Fat Bottomed Girl - Garstang
Version Tested: PS3
Review Published: 27.03.09