![]() ![]() This could have been intentional – an effort perhaps to increase the embarrassment factor SingStar is famous for however, it would’ve held far more long term appeal had it included more easy-to-sing tracks pitched in the mid-range. The melodies in general are more challenging this time around, with many songs requiring a generous lung capacity and some vocal gymnastics to nail the notes with an acceptable degree of accuracy. On the positive side, there’s easily enough material for another ‘80s-themed disc… or even two! Queen, Billy Idol, Bon Jovi, Go West, Crowded House, Eurythmics and UB40 are only a few of the big names from the ‘80s music scene not featured on the tracklist. Also, the omission of other artists was somewhat disappointing. ![]() For example, Duran Duran’s “Girls on Film” or “Save a Prayer” are both easier on the ears and vocal chords than “Rio”. However, as was the case with previous SingStar titles, the inclusion of certain tracks was cause for some puzzlement. On the whole there’s a strong and well-varied selection of ‘80s hits to sing, most of which will be familiar to anyone who grew up in the era. The EyeToy camera can also be used in conjunction with SingStar to take snapshots of high-scoring singers, create psychedelic visual effects or even project your image onto the TV in place of the original video clip. The SingStar titles are cross-disc compatible at the carousel (track selection) screen you can swap discs, applying all the benefits of the latest version to tracks from earlier ones. This is definitely one for the 30-plus age group. Otherwise, the younger set showed little interest in SingStar ‘80s content. While the tracks featuring rap - Run DMC’s “It’s Tricky” and Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” - were unfamiliar with the kids, they proved quite popular. One of these was Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl”, which was covered several years ago by the boy band Westlife the other was Fairground Attraction’s “Perfect”, currently experiencing a new lease on life as the jingle for a national supermarket chain. While we’re on the subject of younger (as in pre-teen) players, our playtesters were only able to recognise two of the thirty tracks. While this was hilarious for spectators and initially quite popular with our younger play-testers, the novelty quickly wore off. The idea is to use voice modulations to operate your paddle and hit the ball. One rather gimmicky addition is Sing-Song: a Pong clone mini-game – complete with blocky ‘80s-style pixels – that has very little to do with singing. Feature-wise, there’s nothing really new the rap scoring and medleys from SingStar Pop return for another outing, as do Duet and Pass the Mic from SingStar Party. However, multiplayer is by far and away the game’s strongest selling point. Single player is fine for a bit of pre-party practise. If you’re not in the mood to compete against your mates you can sing freestyle, with no pressure and no scoring. The game measures your pitch, tone and rhythm and at the end of the song you are given a score befitting your talent - or lack thereof. You are given visual assistance in the form of lyrics and pitch/timing indicators. Sony has attempted to capture the sound and spirit of the ‘80s with the fourth title their in their popular home karaoke series, and the first to feature an era-specific tracklist: SingStar '80s.īy now, most folks will be familiar with the SingStar concept: plug in the USB microphones, select one of the single or multi-player options, set the difficulty level, choose a track and start singing. Musically speaking, the decade encompassed an ever-expanding mix of styles, including new romantic, new wave, thrash and glam metal, synth pop, techno, house, and old school rap. The ‘80s saw the birth of MTV, the space shuttle program and those creepy Cabbage Patch Kids and the increasing popularity of video arcades, personal computers and the walkman – all set against a dramatic backdrop of pastel and neon fashion blunders, and garnished with outrageous hair. Global events included the fall of the Berlin Wall, the stock market crash of ‘87 and the identification of AIDS. Ah, the ‘80s… remembered locally for Rogernomics, the Nuclear Free policy and the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, it was a decade of immense change - political, economic and technological. ![]()
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