SingStar on PS3: Karaoke at home?
May 29th, 2008 Posted in Games, Reviews
During my time in Japan, I frequented many a karaoke box. In fact, I was quite the karaoke whore, and found myself at a different karaoke joint at least once a week in my ‘on’ months, and once a month in my ‘off’ months. I loved it, and I still do. I think on occasion I can hold a tune, but I’m no singer; it’s more that I enjoy singing with friends for relief and fun. And with alcohol. So what the hell did I do when I moved back to Oz?
Well, at first, I cried, and reflected over my losses. Then (after waiting some time for it to FINALLY be released), I bought SingStar on the PS3. At first, I was happy to be singing in my spare time. But that happiness died away quickly. With less than 50 songs on the disc (and none available online at release) — many of which were not songs I would have listed amongst my favourites — it was nothing compared to the karaoke experience that is to be had in Japan. But then again, what was I expecting?
That was months ago now, and times have changed.
For one, I’ve gotten over the fact that I’m not in a sound-proofed room. It kind of still sucks, but that’s life, and the neighbors can only hear it if they are outside (well, I hope that’s the only time!). We just choose the time to have a sing more carefully. Also, although there is a certain charm in the mistaken lyrics and the terribly low-budget videos that can be enjoyed in Japan, singing the proper lyrics to the original recording while watching the video clip is something pretty special. And although I can’t pick up the phone and order drinks to my room, there’s always plenty of beer in my fridge. PLUS! There are now quite a few songs available for download from the SingStore- I’ve gone from less than 50 songs, to over 70 now, so things are definitely improving. And there are regular updates, which means it’s only gonna get better. But what of the game itself?
Yeah, it’s pretty much karaoke at home. Whichever way you look at it, karaoke is singing a song and enjoying it, and that’s what you do in SingStar. It’s a lot of fun if you get enjoyment from singing, especially when drinking with friends (although it is arguably much better to go out and do it- just saying!). Personally, I’m not a big fan of the scoring system, and prefer to use practice mode, but that’s just me- I think it’s a more pure karaoke experience. The only problem is that I don’t have the choice I had. I could go from Sinéad O’Connor to Guns ‘n’ Roses to Marilyn Manson to Rick Astley to Gnarls Barkley without any trouble at all (except for the complaints from my friends), now I find myself singing the same songs over and over again. But it’s just gonna keep growing for me- I plan to continue adding to my song list for some time…
Then there’s the JoySound WiiWare title… Fingers crossed it crosses the oceans… If it does, sorry SingStar…
