Singstar Party review: Singstar Party

As most PlayStation 2 owners know, Singstar is the party game to have. On the original version of the game you get 30 songs, along with two microphones, and the chance to sing like a pop star - or sing like you are murdering a cat in my case, but that's another story.

Basically, you have to sing along to your choice of song while the game measures the accuracy of your pitch and timing, scoring accordingly. When two players go head-to-head simultaneously Singstar evaluates both performances.

Link up the Eyetoy camera and you can watch yourselves sing and add in some cool visual effects. If you have friends over, you can let one person pick up the camera and let their video clip cinematography skills shine. After the singing battle you can pull up your golden moments, which in some cases is watching yourself sing so badly that your neighbours actually put 'For Sale' signs up at three in the morning.

If, however, you are in the mood for being as one, then I can always suggest the Duet mode where you and your back up vocalist double-up and compliment each other's beautiful voices.

What people really want from this latest instalment of Singstar is updated songs. A small problem lies within the fact that some songs that you think will transfer over well, turn out to be duds, and other songs that you never thought you would see yourself singing turn out to be sheer classics.

There are some great tunes on it such as Bob Marley's 'No Woman No Cry' and Spandau Ballet's 'Gold' but there are also some tracks that should never have been released on the pack such as 'Tutti Frutti' and 'Just Like a Pill'. Some of the tracks added seem to have been added with no rhyme or reason especially the virtually unknown Elvis song 'Way Down'. Stick to the ones you know and enjoy yourselves.

One problem remaining from the original is the fact that you don't actually have to sing the song. You can hum away to yourself on the mike and manage to beat someone who is singing their little heart out. However, to prevent this from happening you should establish some rules before commencing the drunken tournament. Perhaps that anyone caught cheating has to clean the house in the morning.

Tracklist

Artist	Title
Alicia Keys	Fallin'
Ashford & Simpson	Solid
Bill Withers	Ain't No Sunshine
Blu Cantrell	Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)
Bob Marley	No Woman No Cry
Buggles	Video Killed The Radio Star
Busted	Year 3000
Cyndi Lauper	Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Destiny's Child	Survivor
Dido	White Flag
Duran Duran	Hungry Like The Wolf
Elton John & Kiki Dee	Don't Go Breaking My Heart
Elvis	Way Down
Franz Ferdinand	Take Me Out
George Michael	Faith
Jamiroquai	Cosmic Girl
Javine	Real Things
Kylie Minogue	I Should Be So Lucky
Little Richard	Tutti Frutti
Maroon5	This Love
Natasha Bedingfield	Single
Pink	Just Like A Pill
Scissor Sisters	Take Your Mamma
Sonny & Cher	I Got You Babe
Spandau Ballet	Gold
Spice Girls	Who Do You Think You Are
The Beautiful South	A Little Time
The Foundations	Build Me Up Buttercup
The Police	Every Breath You Take
Tiffany	I Think We're Alone Now