Gaming Trend

Gaming Trend Review

SingStar Queen

1. Official Site
2. Platform: ps3
3. Publisher: Sony America
4. Developer: Sony Europe
5. Release Date: 08/04/09
6. Genre: Sim

by Laura Burke

SingStar Queen is the 4th PS3 release in the SingStar line up. It has a great selection of some of your favorite Queen classics such as “Another One Bites the Dust” and “I Want It All”. Its August 18th release in the US brings with it a whole new appreciation for the vocal prowess of the notorious lead singer Freddie Mercury. This is not a beginner-level SingStar. The range of Freddie Mercury’s songs is huge and his control was amazing so have fun massacring the songs at first!

Freddie Mercury, originally known as Farrokh Bulsara, became the lead singer of the group Smile after then lead singer Tim Staffell left for the band Humpy Bong-probably not his best decision ever! He suggested the name change to Queen because it sounded “regal” and “splendid” and was very aware of the potential interpretations it would illicit. I believe this was actually appealing to him because it would allow them to be big and fantastic on stage, and they were.

Queen did not release an album till ’73, three years after Mercury joined the group, due to various issues including finding John Deacon, the bassist. That self-named album had the single “Keep Yourself Alive,” which is not in the game list. This is not terribly surprising since it was not well received as a single. Queen II broke huge in the UK and the group was on their way. It wasn’t until their third album Sheer Heart Attack where “Killer Queen” went to number 12 on the Top 40 in the US that the band had a taste of global success. All the gloves came off after that and the group made a plethora of radio friendly songs that were bigger and better than the previous. The rest is musical history. 

SingStar makes an attempt at bringing “A Kind of Magic” to the audience with a look at the classic videos of Queen and indulging the singer in vocalizing with Freddie Mercury. This is not a feat easily attained. If you know anything about Queen, you know that they harmonize.  A lot.  For some reason, multiple voices overlapping has posed a problem for vocal software to pick up a single vocal to map for the player. We end up with some odd middle of the harmony that the singer is trying to match, unsuccessfully, until it's over. For those glory hounds who want that high score, myself being in this category, this is terribly frustrating. There are songs where Freddie’s voice rings out more in the harmony and it seems the software is able to hone in on this better making it easier for the player to stay on track. There are also songs where the vocals are broken into lead and backup so two players can harmonize, if they so choose. But again I warn you, Queen is not for the casual singer or even the intermediate. These men know their harmonies and even the divided parts don’t make it any easier if you don’t know what you are singing. I personally suggest that if you don’t know Queen that you pass on this one till you pick up a CD or some iTunes of the tracks because you will not have any fun getting booed off stage.  

The controls to this game are the same interface as the others. The PS3 has the online element and a few added tracks the PS2 doesn’t. In addition, the PS3 version also has a voice controlled carousel that allowes players to select songs with their voice. Simply speak the name of the song and the carousel will automatically go to the song instead of flipping through manually with a controller. It is also usable in the Online Menu in the SingStore, so if you know what new song you want to buy there is no need to flip through the ABC’s - just say it and viola!  

So how is the selection of songs they picked? I am happy with 70% of the songs so I can’t complain. There are some in there I was surprised to see over others but over all some of my favorites are in there so that was enough to appease me! My two all time favorites “Who Wants to Live Forever” and “The Show Must Go On” had to be in there or I would have coastered it for my own personal selection. Them's the breaks. You will have to look at the list and see if it covered your favorites or if you don’t know enough of them to justify the $39.99 PS3 price point or $29.99 PS2 price point which does not include those last 5 tracks! Sorry PS2 owners, I think that it might be time to upgrade so you can take advantage of the online perks and extra tracks.  

Another One Bites the Dust
Bicycle Race
Bohemian Rhapsody
Breakthru
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Don't Stop Me Now
Fat Bottom Girls
I Want It All
I Want to Break Free
Innuendo
One Vision
Play the Game
Somebody to Love
These Are the Days of Our Lives
Tie Your Mother Down
Under Pressure
We are the Champions
We Will Rock You
Who Wants to Live Forever
You’re My Best Friend

Exclusive tracks for the PS3 version:
A Kind of Magic
Hammer to Fall
Killer Queen
Radio Ga Ga
The Show Must Go On

This is a great edition to the SingStar legacy and I look forward to the next edition of Motown hits coming in September for US release. Cha’Mon! 

Gaming Trend Score

88

1. Graphics: 90
2. Audio: 95
3. Controls: 90
4. Gameplay: 85
5. Value/Replay: 85
6. OVERALL:88