SingStar Pop Vol.2

Posted 4 years ago By - Jay Acevedo

After reviewing SingStar 90’s and SingStar PS3 in the last 6 months, reviewing SingStar Pop Vol.2 isn’t a hard task since it’s basically the same game only with different tracks but I realized this isn’t the best compilation of SingStar songs. Is it because we’ve been saturated with too much PS2 SingStar games? Is it because I can’t download and choose my own songs?

Mixed feelings on this one...here’s our review.

As always, the SingStar games are simple and pretty straight forward. You start to sing into one of the microphones by following the horizontal grey bars, which function similar to a musical stave, with corresponding lyrics displayed at the bottom of the screen. From there, the game recognizes your pitch, tone and rhythm and will then be able to give you a score depending on how well you performed. At the end of the song, your score is broken down and you’re given a rank like "Amateur" or "Hit Artist."

If you have played previous versions of SingStar, you will find the same modes: Pass the Mic mode which allows you to share mics with your party of friends (up to eight people), so you can all sing at the same time, Duet Mode where you and a friend (or significant other) can sing different parts to the same song and Battle Mode where you can compete one-on-one to see who can sing the best. Once again, this SingStar game is compatible with the EyeToy camera allowing players to see themselves singing and take screenshots for later viewing. If you’ve got other SingStar discs, you can swap them in or out at the song selection screen without having to restart the console.

Here’s the list of the tracks featured on Singstar Pop Vol.2:

While the track list of the last SingStar PS2 game I’ve reviewed (SingStar ’90s) included some iconic songs from the past to sing along, SingStar Pop Vol.2 features more recent songs but none of them can be labeled as "classics" or even fun to sing, except maybe Fall Out Boy’s "Thnks Fr Th Memrs" or Nelly Furtado’s "Promiscuous"...but that is it, at least for me. Frankly, the rest of the track list isn’t that interesting and won’t appeal to everyone but since SingStar on the PS2 lets you switch discs without resetting the console, having all the games on hand will give you a nice variety of songs if you’re throwing a party with the family or friends. If SingStar Pop Vol.2 will be your first SingStar game, this might not be the most interesting version to pick up.

Conclusion

If you have all the SingStar PS2 games at home and you’re a fan of the series then this game will surely find it’s way into your game collection - but don’t expect anything other than 30 new songs to add to your collection. But seriously, I’m starting to ask myself how long the SingStar franchise will continue to sell copies when SingStar on the PS3 offers downloadable tracks and a far more complete experience, especially now that PS2 owners are starting to upgrade slowly to the Playstation 3. And to think that SingStar Legends and SingStar Country are coming in the next couple of weeks...