SingStar Amped [PS2]

Fans of Sony's singing game that prefer their music to rock a bit harder than most should take a look at this release. If you haven't played SingStar before, it's basically a karaoke game where you sing along with music videos and get graded on your performance. As in previous versions, players can sing solo, duets, or battle it out by singing a song at the same time or passing the mic. The game also uses the EyeToy camera to take pictures of you during your performance.

The interface remains the same as before, so veterans will know what they're doing from the get-go. It's slick and easy to follow, offering up a jukebox-style rotisserie of album covers for you to select songs from. The tracklist (see below) spans a wide range of hard rock and heavy metal from the past few decades. Anthems such as Judas Priest's "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" and Quiet Riot's cover of "Cum on Feel the Noize" are offset by more mellow tracks like Nirvana's "Come As You Are" and Blue Öyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper".

There aren't many tracks here that rock fans are going to pass over and the only additions that I would make would be almost any of Queen's hits and maybe Joan Jett's "I Love Rock N' Roll". It should be noted as well, that these songs are all sung by male vocalists, so guys who find too many "chick songs" in the other SingStar releases should have an easier time with this one. The high end of your voice will still get a workout during Yes's "Owner of a Lonely Heart" though. This is the best Sony's done so far at sticking to a genre, and it's good to see a collection that's on the harder end of the rock spectrum.

9/10

Tracklist:

Alice in Chains "Would?"
Audioslave "Cochise"
Blink-182 "I Miss You"
Blue Öyster Cult "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"
Boston "More Than a Feeling"
Cheap Trick "I Want You to Want Me"
David Bowie "Changes"
Fall Out Boy "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race"
Foo Fighters "Best of You"
Free "Alright Now"
Iggy Pop "Real Wild Child (Wild One)"
Judas Priest "You've Got Another Thing Comin'"
The Killers "When You Were Young"
Motörhead "Ace of Spades"
Nickelback "Savin' Me"
Nirvana "Come As You Are"
O.A.R. "Love and Memories"
Pearl Jam "Alive"
Poison "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"
Queens of the Stone Age "Go with the Flow"
Quiet Riot "Cum on Feel the Noize"
Radiohead "Creep"
Ramones "Blitzkrieg Bop"
Steppenwolf "Born to Be Wild"
Stone Temple Pilots "Vasoline"
Sublime "Santeria"
Talking Heads "Burning Down the House"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Gold Lion"
Yes "Owner of a Lonely Heart"
ZZ Top "Gimme All Your Lovin'"