Singstar Pop Vol 2 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. Pop Vol 2’s 30-track lineup is listed below. It’s strong, though we’d suggest it commits the series’ typical sin of trying to appeal to fans of too many genres.

3Doors Down - When I'm Gone
Lloyd - Get it Shawty
Ashlee Simpson – Boyfriend
Maroon 5 - Makes Me Wonder
Avril Lavigne - My Happy Ending
Matchbox Twenty - Far We've Come
Boys Like Girls - The Great Escape
Michelle Branch – Breathe
Cartel - Lose It
Nelly Furtado – Promiscuous
Colbie Caillat – Bubbly
Norah Jones - Don't Know Why
Dixie Chicks - Not Ready To Make Nice
P!nk - Who Knew
Duran Duran - Ordinary World
Peter Bjorn and John - Young Folks
Evanesence - Bring Me To Life
Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah
Fall Out Boy - Thnks Fr Th Memrs
Rihanna – Umbrella
Fergie - Big Girls Don't Cry
Santana feat. Chad Kroger - Into The Night
Gwen Stefani feat. Akon - The Sweet Escape
Steriogram - Walkie Talkie Man
Jennifer Lopez - Jenny From the Block
Sum 41 - Fat Lip
Lifehouse - First Time
The Hives - Tick Tick Boom
Lily Allen - Littlest Things
The Outfield - Your Love

Nov 7, 2008