Word to Yo Mutha
SingStar '90s finally taps the greatest decade for music.
Published: March 16, 2008
I mentioned it in our review of Buzz! The Hollywood Quiz, but there are certain reviews where you really don't have to launch into some kind of novel about a game because the core bits have already been reviewed. Perhaps no better example of this exists on any console than the SingStar series. Effectively unchanged beyond swapping out a new intro and another 30 actual songs by the actual artists, the core mechanics of SingStar (which include some rather nifty/embarrassing EyeToy snippets can be played back and saved for maximum drunken laughs/blackmail) are so good that the only thing that's left to grade is the new music.
Just for the sake of recapping, though, we'll at least touch on the fact that SCEE Studio London has crafted one of the slickest, simplest, cleanest bits of user interface design ever seen in games. From the rounded edges of each little section of song (which grades not only on pitch but on timing) to the stark white backgrounds and letterboxing of videos, with bits of transparency thrown around for good measure, the game just looks slick, and navigating the interface still makes the inner graphic designer in me giggle like a wee lass.
Right, but back to the tunes.
As any Gen-Xer will tell you, using the term "Generation X" is a great way to get punched in the face, but it also encompasses the demographic that largely grew up in the late 80s/early 90s, a period that arguably birthed more great music -- and in greater variety -- than any previous (or, some might say, since). The 90s are remarkable not for giving birth to the grunge movement, or to gangsta rap, or to the explosion of electronica or to the usual sea of Top 40 pop hits but because it offered all of them. Most decades were defined by a single instrument or style (synth, doo-wop, swing, big band jazz, rock and roll, psychedelic rock, disco), yet the 90s seemed to shift every couple of years.
The result is a decade so rife with hits that were intrinsically linked with major moments in my life that just about any major radio hit is going to connect with me at some point, be it jr. high-, high school- or college-era moments. Not surprisingly, I knew every single song on SingStar '90s' 30-strong list, and chances are if you're in your late 20s/early 30s, you'll know a good 20-25 way better than you think you do. With music playing such a huge part in my life during those years, it's all but impossible to level much criticism at the list here -- particularly because it's so varied. No, really, check it out:
Arrested Development -- "Tennessee"
Boys II Men -- "Motownphilly"
Chumbawumba -- "Tubthumping"
Color Me Badd -- "I Wanna Sex You Up"
Divinyls -- "I Touch Myself"
En Vogue -- "Free Your Mind"
Extreme -- "More Than Words"
Gin Blossoms -- "Hey Jealousy"
Hootie and the Blowfish -- "Only Wanna Be With You"
Jesus Jones -- "Right Here, Right Now"
Len -- "Steal My Sunshine"
MC Hammer -- "U Can't Touch This"
Natalie Imbruglia -- "Torn"
New Kids On The Block -- "Step By Step"
Nirvana -- "Lithium"
Paula Abdul -- "Opposites Attract"
Poison -- "Unskinny Bop"
R.E.M. -- "Everybody Hurts"
Santana ft. Rob Thomas -- "Smooth"
Savage Garden -- "I Want You"
Seal -- "Kiss From A Rose"
Sir Mix-a-Lot -- "Baby Got Back"
Sixpence None The Richer -- "Kiss Me"
Soundgarden -- "Black Hole Sun"
Spin Doctors -- "Two Princes"
Stone Temple Pilots -- "Plush"
Technotronic ft. Felly -- "Pump Up The Jam"
The Cranberries -- "Zombie"
Vanilla Ice -- "Ice Ice Baby"
Wilson Phillips -- "Hold On"
Now there are a few guilty pleasures that I've just admitted to knowing by heart (think Harold & Kumar xtreem truck Wilson Phillips moments here), but in the end, you're buying these games so you can scream along with 'em, and for sheer number of memorable hits, SingStar '90s spanks even the last two entries. The only complaint that I have is that the rap meter still seems to be a little off, so even when I swear I was dead on, I was dinged.
With the looming release of SingStar PS3 and the built-in SingStore download service, the days of themed disc-based releases may be numbered, but if Sony can continue to load up their track lists like they have been with the last few PS2 releases, the American SingStore is going to absolutely murder our company credit card. In the mean time, SingStar '90s, some buddies and some shot glasses should be your next purchases.
Just for the sake of recapping, though, we'll at least touch on the fact that SCEE Studio London has crafted one of the slickest, simplest, cleanest bits of user interface design ever seen in games. From the rounded edges of each little section of song (which grades not only on pitch but on timing) to the stark white backgrounds and letterboxing of videos, with bits of transparency thrown around for good measure, the game just looks slick, and navigating the interface still makes the inner graphic designer in me giggle like a wee lass.
Right, but back to the tunes.
As any Gen-Xer will tell you, using the term "Generation X" is a great way to get punched in the face, but it also encompasses the demographic that largely grew up in the late 80s/early 90s, a period that arguably birthed more great music -- and in greater variety -- than any previous (or, some might say, since). The 90s are remarkable not for giving birth to the grunge movement, or to gangsta rap, or to the explosion of electronica or to the usual sea of Top 40 pop hits but because it offered all of them. Most decades were defined by a single instrument or style (synth, doo-wop, swing, big band jazz, rock and roll, psychedelic rock, disco), yet the 90s seemed to shift every couple of years.
The result is a decade so rife with hits that were intrinsically linked with major moments in my life that just about any major radio hit is going to connect with me at some point, be it jr. high-, high school- or college-era moments. Not surprisingly, I knew every single song on SingStar '90s' 30-strong list, and chances are if you're in your late 20s/early 30s, you'll know a good 20-25 way better than you think you do. With music playing such a huge part in my life during those years, it's all but impossible to level much criticism at the list here -- particularly because it's so varied. No, really, check it out:
Arrested Development -- "Tennessee"
Boys II Men -- "Motownphilly"
Chumbawumba -- "Tubthumping"
Color Me Badd -- "I Wanna Sex You Up"
Divinyls -- "I Touch Myself"
En Vogue -- "Free Your Mind"
Extreme -- "More Than Words"
Gin Blossoms -- "Hey Jealousy"
Hootie and the Blowfish -- "Only Wanna Be With You"
Jesus Jones -- "Right Here, Right Now"
Len -- "Steal My Sunshine"
MC Hammer -- "U Can't Touch This"
Natalie Imbruglia -- "Torn"
New Kids On The Block -- "Step By Step"
Nirvana -- "Lithium"
Paula Abdul -- "Opposites Attract"
Poison -- "Unskinny Bop"
R.E.M. -- "Everybody Hurts"
Santana ft. Rob Thomas -- "Smooth"
Savage Garden -- "I Want You"
Seal -- "Kiss From A Rose"
Sir Mix-a-Lot -- "Baby Got Back"
Sixpence None The Richer -- "Kiss Me"
Soundgarden -- "Black Hole Sun"
Spin Doctors -- "Two Princes"
Stone Temple Pilots -- "Plush"
Technotronic ft. Felly -- "Pump Up The Jam"
The Cranberries -- "Zombie"
Vanilla Ice -- "Ice Ice Baby"
Wilson Phillips -- "Hold On"
Now there are a few guilty pleasures that I've just admitted to knowing by heart (think Harold & Kumar xtreem truck Wilson Phillips moments here), but in the end, you're buying these games so you can scream along with 'em, and for sheer number of memorable hits, SingStar '90s spanks even the last two entries. The only complaint that I have is that the rap meter still seems to be a little off, so even when I swear I was dead on, I was dinged.
With the looming release of SingStar PS3 and the built-in SingStore download service, the days of themed disc-based releases may be numbered, but if Sony can continue to load up their track lists like they have been with the last few PS2 releases, the American SingStore is going to absolutely murder our company credit card. In the mean time, SingStar '90s, some buddies and some shot glasses should be your next purchases.
