SingStar Anthems review

It’s time for another Karaoke party event thanks to our friends at Sony London and their seemingly neverending string of SingStar games. In my previous reviews of the previous 5 (count em) SingStars, they have all achieved a widely respectable 8 or 9 out of 10, mainly due to the integration of new features, the terrible decision that was dropping the Star Maker (single player campaign) mode and my own personal opinions of the tunes on offer. While my friends and I often enjoy an alcohol fuelled revisit to the old games, whenever a new one comes out, we set aside a night purely for that version to get to grips with the new songs, and annoy the neighbours.

Tonight was very different to normal.

While the developer has in the past added the odd new feature such as duet modes, medleys, and rap songs to keep the franchise interesting, Anthems shows a decisive lack of imagination. Instead of anything new, there is merely a new (forgivably amusing) introductory video and another set of new songs. Apparently those classic anthems we all like to sing, the track list includes Cher - If I Could Turn Back Time, Queen – Radio Ga Ga, Take That Featuring Lulu – Relight My Fire and the almost obligatory The Weather Girls – It’s Raining Men.

Definitely aimed more at the female audience, there are a couple of questionable inclusions such as Steps and Girls Aloud with Deeper Shade of Blue and Biology respectively. How they managed to appear while we still haven’t heard Mrs Robinson in any SingStar is far beyond me. The biggest shock to the system is not to do with which tracks they have included, because as a selection, it seems rather solid. The problem lies with the content of this expansion pack.

Utterly Despicable

Every other SingStar has contained 30 songs, whereas for some reason Sony figured that this time around, punters wouldn’t mind paying the same amount but for just 20 songs. I feel an incredible frustration over how this seemed fine in the minds of whoever okayed this idea. The aforementioned evenings of SingStar that my friends and I indulge in were met with quizzical faces as we found ourselves growing tired of these songs by the end of the night, opting for a game of SingStar Rocks to conclude. When it is merely a rehash of an everlasting Karaoke concept, to need to play another SingStar on the first outing of Anthems is a problem with the game.

Anger at how much we seem to be ripped off here, for a reason I can’t imagine brews in my mind, and my apparent love for the series has been shaken for the first time in its history. Were these songs more expensive to license? If so, does that suggest that the good folks at SingStar HQ deemed they were better than the previous songs and justified the lack of further content? If this was the case, then why not use half of these songs and fill up to the standard 30 songs with cheaper alternatives, leaving the rest for SingStar Legends.

Restrain yourself from shouting

While the track list instantly jumps out as a good selection of songs (once again I repeat, for the female singer), features seem to have been removed. The odd songs that have rap moments aren’t scored in the same way as in previous games, opting to return to the standard pitch, rhythm and tone scoring that all have used primarily. Occasionally during duet modes a nice harmony is required to be sung by one singer, but more often than not you won’t know whether or not you’re singing correctly until it’s too late.

Fortunately there is no Jamiroquai or alternative song that seems to choose random pitches for the singer’s indecipherable pitch, so all are singable, with the slight exception of Pussycat Dolls – Don’t Cha which occasionally stretches to confuse the avid singer.

Thankfully, there are a few great songs that are a pleasure to sing. Queen return again with a slightly better choice in my eyes, Radio Ga Ga, and no-one is going to complain about the sheer karaoke-ness of Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse Of The Heart and Gloria Gaynor – I Will Survive. Seriously though, has anybody ever heard Charlene - I’ve Never Been To Me before this disc?

It remains SingStar

Us consumers should not let them get away with it. Despite the lean track count, the game is still fun while it lasts, but that is where the problem lasts; the durability of the game. It may in fact be worth the asking price, but we are so used to the same price for 30 tracks that it will never sit right with my friends or me. The price may be one thing, but it still retains the classic SingStar charm that is easy to return to over and over again. Perhaps instead of having two rounds of each disc, Anthems will be limited to one round, but it is still a welcome inclusion in the series and will be played again.

Don’t let this be your first viewing of the SingStar universe, because you will not be getting comparative value for money unless every one of your favourite songs are contained within these 20. The actual game is very good, but most of us not growing money trees in our back garden won’t want to fork out full price for this money-grabbing attempt at an expansion pack unless the OCD completionism kicks in. As a present for the experienced SingStar collector, it would stand out well, but for the value, Anthems is by far the weakest of the bunch, and I still prefer Rocks or 80s.

Track Listing:

• Queen - Radio Ga Ga
• Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart
• Take That feat. Lulu - Relight My Fire
• Cher - If I Could Turn Back Time
• Steps - Deeper Shade of Blue
• Dead or Alive - You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)
• Candi Station - Young Hearts Run Free
• Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive
• Bananarama - I Heard A Rumour
• Pussycat Dolls - Don’t Cha
• Leann Rimes - Can’t Fight the Moonlight
• Donner Summer - I Feel Love
• Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up
• The Weather Girls - It’s Raining Men
• Ultra Nate - Free
• Scissor Sisters - Laura
• Kim Wilde - Kids in America
• Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody
• Girls Aloud - Biology
• Charlotte Church - Crazy Chick