Pop Culture Reviews

Singstar Queen – PS3 Game Review

Platform: PS3 (PS2 version soon to be released)
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: SCE
Rating: PG
Players: 8
Website: http://www.singstargame.com

Who could forget the popstar phenomenon that was Queen? And much as I enjoy most of the Singstar games, I am thrilled to finally see a Singstar tracklist that doesn’t have a single bad song on it! Of course, if you’re not a fan of Queen (and I’m not entirely sure how that could be possible) you won’t be on the same wavelength here, but I’m betting there won’t be very many fans of music in general that won’t like at least one song of Queen’s. And that’s what makes this game particularly appealing to a wider audience.

That said, Freddie Mercury’s vocal range is probably going to be a real challenge for most of us social crooners to deal with. If you’re a Queen fan then you’re probably already wondering how you’re going to hit most of those notes without breaking something in the process. I know I am, but hey, that’s half the fun! What’s a good Singstar game without the challenge?

After having played most of the Singstar games,one of the standout factors of Singstar Queen is the presentation. The menus have had a serious facelift and look extremely polished. With video clips of the band playing in the background and the songs easily accessible via the main menu, you’ll be away and singing in no time at all, even if you’re new to Singstar.

For those of you unsure of what Singstar is, Singstar can be classified as a simulation game that is suitable for all ages and requires game peripherals as well as the game disk to play. You will need a set of Singstar microphones (which can be purchased from almost anywhere that stocks video games for retail) and an adapter to connect your mics to your Playstation console. Once you’ve got the game and the peripherals you’re set to begin your Singstar singing career.

The scoring system for Singstar integrates several levels of difficulty which are Easy, Medium and Hard. The object of the game is to hit the notes on time and on key by following the words from the song onscreen in time to a pattern that displays for each song. If you hit the notes correctly, you gain points.

Singstar Queen follows the same basic structure as all the previous Singstar games so you won’t have to learn anything new. The only thing you’ll need to do is sing in tune. The fantastic thing about Singstar Queen is that it features all the hits Queen were made famous for and includes all of their music videos (up-scaled to High Definition) as well! This is definitely one of the coolest aspects of the game. I was very happy to see so many of my favourite Queen songs featured accompanied with music videos I had never seen before.

Singstar Queen includes some of their greatest hits such as “I Want it All”, “Killer Queen”, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “I Want to Break Free”, “Under Pressure” and “Who Wants to Live Forever”. It’s hard to find a song that you won’t want to try and playing duet on some of these songs, in particular “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a whole heap of fun, especially when attempting some of the more difficult ‘harmonising’ portions of the song. If you’re looking for a way to strain your voice, you’ve certainly found it!

I was thoroughly impressed with every aspect of Singstar Queen and like the previous Singstar Abba, if you’re a fan of Queen, you will more than enjoy this addition to Singstar. If you find yourself wanting to add to your Singstar collection but you’re not quite sure what to buy, I highly recommend Singstar Queen as a very solid purchase.

Buy this game