SingStar Rocks! for PlayStation 2 Reviews & Ratings by IGN

While Karaoke Revolution has been the singing franchise of choice in the U.S., SingStar has been rocking gamers in foreign lands for years. With SingStar Rocks! the singularity is here as SingStar makes its debut stateside. While we know that the Karaoke Revolution games kick ass for parties, just how good we had it wasn't clear until SingStar Rocks! came along. In short, it's behind in several ways and won't be doing any dethroning anytime soon.



SingStar Rocks! looks to have a lot going for it at first. The game is generously packaged with two microphones so that gamers can jump right into two-player action. It also includes the original versions of the songs and, when it's available, the accompanying music videos. It also sports a decent song list with 30 tracks (though most aren't "rocking"). That's the first sign that something is amiss.



"I Heard it through the Grapevine" is a classic and a little Marvin Gaye always improves our day, but at no point in the song does any rocking happen. The same goes for Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man," Joss Stone's "Super Duper Love," or DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince's "Summertime." The Killers, The Hives, The Offspring, Blur, The Rolling Stones, and others fill out a rock set, but there are way too many mellow tracks for the title to be genuine.



Even if the tracks and videos are the originals they help to dampen the fun of the game. The vocal track can't be dropped out so you just hear just yourself singing. The licensed tracks mess up the option to sing a shorter song. These versions are crudely done and are often just cut off abruptly. As for the videos, it's already punishment enough that "Friday I'm in Love" has been included as a Cure track, but do we really need to revisit the image of Robert Smith in puffy sneakers, oversized shirt, and a makeup style that resembles a clown who fell inside a bakery?



The other problem with the video is a little less definite. They hurt the ability to really get lost in the song. Instead we're forced to see the same video every time and think of the original singer and the way he jumps around a room. This makes it harder to try and re-imagine the song your own way. It becomes too literal. This is made worse when there isn't a video for the song. "Sweet Home Alabama" simply shows pictures of Lynyrd Skynyrd slowly moving by. As happy as the song is the graphics feel like they're better suited for some video eulogy. I couldn't stop thinking about how the band died in a plane crash as I stared at their unblinking faces. Party on.



The gameplay itself is nearly identical to the Karaoke Revolution games and just as effective in its scoring of singing ability, but once again it's all about presentation and it's a little wobbly here. The lyrics appear on screen in typical karaoke form along with the pitch and timing bars that look like glowing gummy worms. These help with pitch, but the timing is completely up to you. There's no line to indicate the current time and the feedback on what your current pitch is has a slight delay to it.



Compared to Karaoke Revolution's scrolling timeline the SingStar presentation is a crude hacked together system without much thought put into it. Truly scoring well with either game requires memorizing the song and practicing, but Karaoke Revolution is much better at providing some training wheels. And to make things worse, the timing bars are in front of the video which can be a distraction to say the least. When the strobe lights hit in "Friday I'm in Love" you have to wonder how well this game was tested.



The multiplayer action extends the gameplay, but in no way does it save it. The same problems are here as well and only the competitive urge will make you want to sing more. This can help provide entertainment for a party, but really not much more than any other karaoke system.

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