SingStar Rocks! (gamezone)

- gamezone -

Girls, ranging in age from 10-18, gathered in front of the television, SCEA’s Singstar Rocks! planted in the PlayStation 2 console system.

After several hours, an impromptu sticker was attached to the exterior of the case by this writer …

WARNING: While obviously fun, this game is extremely hazardous to those with any true love of music sung on-key. If you are averse to some screeching, some lyrical wailing and seemingly endless repetitions of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” avoid this game at all costs.

Yes, this is a karaoke title that has 30 songs, from The Rolling Stones “Paint it Black” up through Gwen Stefani (“Cool”) and Coldplay’s ‘Speed of Sound.” Other artists featured include Aretha Franklin, The Cure, Fall Out Boy, DJ Jazzy & The Fresh Prince, The White Stripes, Naked Eyes, B52s, Dusty Springfield, Elton John, Joss Stone, Blur, Jet, Marvin Gaye, KT Tunstall, The Police, Scissor Sisters, Bloc Party, Thin Lizzy, The Offspring, Lynryd Skynryd, Keane, Scorpions, Hole, The Killers and The Hives. In short, if you can’t find a song here – from a list that spans four decades, then you simply don’t listen to much music.

Whereas other karaoke games feature cartoonish backgrounds, Sony has stepped it up with music videos or band montages underneath the note layout. The screen itself has the words across the bottom, the notes that need to be sung (if you are sharp or flat, it shows on the screen), as well as the video behind it.

Each attempt is scored (you can choose the normal song length or a short song length), and if you break into the top five, you can add your name to the list of top scores for each of the songs you achieve a ranking in. Scoring is judged in three areas – pitch, timing and sustain (how long you hold the note as determined by the song).

The game comes with two microphones to facilitate the single and multiplayer aspects. The game also has three difficulty settings that will determine how tough the scoring is. Game modes include singing solo and party modes. In the latter, up to four people can participate in a team game or two can go head-to-head for the top score. One of the team games is Pass the Mic, which is broken into five parts and picks random songs with different challenges like battle, medley, first to the post (first player to reach 5,000 points), duet, keep it up ((keep the performance bar above the designated marker for as long as possible), or micro medley. The contests are chosen at random.

Plug in an EyeToy and you can replace the music video with the images of you, or those that are doing the singing, performing.

In short, this is a lot of fun, but even as there is a lot to like about this game, there are some downsides to it as well. Some of the artists featured … well, are not exactly rock, more along the lines of pop. And while the microphones do an adequate job, excessive movement did disconnect one of them on one occasion and they have to be held a certain way and a certain distance from the mouth to pick up clear sound. Try to eat a mic and you get garbled noise. Still, for microphones that transmit through the television, and only activate at certain times (they are not always on), they are merely adequate.

The game’s video portion is serviceable and the PS2 controller easily navigates the game’s content, making for a title that is very accessible.

Singstar Rocks! is a title that is of moderate entertainment when played alone, but the game’s value increases in a group setting. It is enjoyable and can whittle away several hours, though repetition will play a factor – as in, if you start hearing “Once I was afraid, I was petrified …” in your sleep, you will only have yourself to blame.

Review Scoring Details for Singstar Rocks!

Gameplay: 7.8
Accessible controls help players jump right in and play. The only thing that could have been improved would have been the quality of the microphones.

Graphics: 7.7
Nothing overly innovative here but what is presented does a solid job of supporting the game’s aim.

Sound: 8.0
A solid soundtrack that comes through bright and clear.

Difficulty: Medium
There are songs you know, songs you don’t but will, and vocal challenges across the board.

Concept: 7.0
This is a karaoke game that does not add much to the genre itself.

Multiplayer: 8.4
So much more fun than the single-player experience, the modes presented for multiplayer may not be that deep, but they are fun.

Overall: 7.8
The microphone sensitivity may be adequate for the mass marketing of the game, but these microphones are not that good. There are some suspect songs that likely should not have been on a collection like this, but hey – an argument over what should have been here and what should not could last long past the next installment in the series. The multiplayer fun easily outshines the single-player mode, and the game’s sound quality and visual provide an enjoyable experience.