Singstar Legends review

There are four Singstar games coming to PS2 this fall: Pop Vol 2, Legends, Country, and ABBA (dammit Sony, where’s the Bollywood pack for the US? We’re not kidding. The UK got it and we want it too). We’re going to use the same review text for all three. Not because they aren’t good – they are. And not because we haven’t played all three of them – we have. Rather, it’s because there’s just no more to say about the Singstar series on PS2 that we haven’t already said. This franchise has honed its hit-making craft for several games now and stubbornly refuses to deviate from its established formula.

If you’ve played ANY of the previous Singstar games on PS2 (Pop, Rocks, Amped, ‘80s, ‘90s, and more in the UK) you know what to expect: Karaoke, and lots of it, with the videos playing onscreen. And it’s good.

The usual bells and whistles are all here as well, with the caveat that this is a PS2, so the tech is dated. For instance, there’s no downloadable stuff, but you can swap the disc with other Singstar titles without rebooting. And the EyeToy support enables you to save low-grade video replays of your performance … to a memory card. Bleh. Especially when compared to the PS3’s giant online store of individual songs, this feels ancient and archaic. Granted, we can’t really fault the games for the fact that the PS2 is old enough to be in second grade now, but it feels like someone at Sony HQ isn’t even trying any more.

At any rate, your best bet is to choose your game by track list. Legends’ 30-track lineup is listed below. It’s fairly strong, though it definitely commits the series’ typical sin of trying to appeal to fans of too many genres. We defy you to find even a single potential buyer whose CD collection includes Barry White, Joy Division, Patsy Cline, Elvis and Biz Markie.

Barry White - You're the First, The Last, My Everything
Biz Markie - Just A Friend
Black Sabbath – Paranoid
Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse Of The Heart
David Bowie - Life On Mars?
Dusty Springfield - Son Of A Preacher Man
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong - Let's Call The Whole Thing Off
Elton John - I'm Still Standing
Elvis Presley - Blue Suede Shoes
Grateful Dead - Touch Of Grey
The Jackson 5 - I Want You Back
James Brown - I Got You (I Feel Good)
John Lennon – Imagine
Johnny Cash - Ring Of Fire
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
Madonna - Papa Don't Preach
Marvin Gaye - What's Goin On?
Michael McDonald - I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)
The Monkees - Daydream Believer
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
Patsy Cline – Crazy
The Police – Roxanne
Ray Charles - Hit The Road Jack
The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody
The Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil
Sam Cooke - Wonderful World
The Smiths - This Charming Man
Tina Turner - Whats Love Got To Do With It?
Tom Jones - What's New Pussycat
Whitney Houston - I'm Your Baby Tonight

Nov 7, 2008