Singstar The Wiggles PS3 review: SingStar The Wiggles PS3

When the original Singstar The Wiggles came out, we noted the fact that it was a PS2 title, meaning owners of anything but the original backwards-compatible PS3 were out of luck if they fancied a bit of pointing their fingers and doing the twist (shakey shakey!).

8.3

Singstar The Wiggles PS3

The Good

Short, simple songs. Some in HD. Features both Greg & Sam.

The Bad

SD songs stand out like a sore thumb. Lyric reading ability will be beyond the grasp of (most) three-year olds. Tracks are rather short. Many of the tracks are earworms.

The Bottom Line

The Wiggles' Singstar title makes its PS3 debut and apart from a lick of high definition paint, it's still much the same game. Little Wiggles fans will love it, but they'll probably need mum or dad on hand when they play.

Prior to The Wiggles release, most Singstar releases had come in dual flavours, with a PS3 premium version (usually with a few extra tracks and HD video) and a PS2 version release simultaneously. It's taken a while, but the PS3 version of Singstar The Wiggles is finally here. Like previous premium PS3 versions of PS2 Singstar games, there's a lot here that's undeniably familiar if you do happen to have played the PS2 original; all the same songs — along with a few extras are present, and like all Singstar games, there's the option to sing solo or in groups, competitively or co-operatively. Both corded and wireless Singstar microphones are supported, but if you're overloaded with players and low on microphones, you can also play in pass the mic mode, Hot Potato style. Even while singing Hot Potato, now that we think of it.

Being a PS3 title, there's also more focus on better quality video presentation, although this is a mixed offering. Generally speaking, the newer a track is, the more likely it is to be presented in high definition widescreen and this makes the older tracks, with their grainier 4:3 presentation stand out like a sore thumb. It's a bit of a lose-lose situation for the game, however, as the original videos were all shot largely with VHS in mind. Yes, The Wiggles have been around that long. As such, it also means that original yellow Wiggle Greg pops up quite a bit, along with his replacement Sam.

As we noted in our original review, this differs a bit from most Wiggles products in that while it's educational and fun, it's not entirely a hands-off experience. There is text, both in the menus and onscreen while singing, and very young Wiggles fans might need a bit more hand-holding by mum or dad while they play. If you were after a Christmas stocking stuffer that gave you a few hours of kidutainment while you slept off too much turkey, this probably isn't it. Then again, it's a game that encourages children to yell into a microphone, so peace and quiet isn't this game's forte to begin with.

Singstar The Wiggles, in its PS3 iteration, is yet another Singstar game, both for better and worse. At this stage, it's fair to presume that you know what you're getting out of a Singstar game. If you're a parent with Wiggles-obsessed kids, this is a sensible purchase. If you're a gamer with more of a focus on blasting-the-heads-off-zombies style gameplay, it's not.