Toronto Thumbs

REVIEW
SingStar ABBA

“Can you hear the drums Fernando?”

This is the beginning line to ABBA’s  super hit “Fernando”, the first song I attempted to belt out when I popped in SingStar ABBA.  To give you an indication of how things went, I didn’t even know this line, let alone the rest of the song.  This is fundamentally the problem with a a game like SingStar that thrives in a party environment, being focused on a single group.  That being said, the game mechanics themselves haven’t changed (for better or for worse) and SingStar ABBA still makes for an entertaining experience overall.

Everything we have come to love about the series is present in this latest iteration, although there have been no changes to the tried and true formula at all.  Much like SingStar vol. 2 for the PS3, no additional functionality is made available by purchasing the disc.  What you do get is 25 of the Swedish pop group’s biggest songs (only 20 on the PS2 version), a number that falls slightly shy of the 30 tracks per disc that we’re used to up to this point.  This really is a testament to ABBA’s success over the years though, as there are few bands that could fill a disc with that many well known hits.

All the band’s original videos play behind the words players need to sing, and are essentially untouched by today’s technology.  This makes for some seriously grainy visuals, though it also adds to the charm of the whole experience.  In stark contrast to the video quality, the game sounds great.  Each track comes through nice and clear, and the game allows the player to raise and lower the main vocal track to better hear the voices of those trying their hand at sounding like a Swedish pop star.

As I mentioned off the top, the main problem with SingStar ABBA is the fact that only people really into ABBA will know the songs they are trying to sing.  Casual fans like myself will find themselves struggling when trying out most of the tracks on the disc.  Even the ones you think you know turn out to be a nice shot to the ego when you step up into the spotlight and just can’t remember how they’re supposed to sound.  None of this can be held against the game of course as not everyone will know every song from every disc, but I found that at least in my experience, we ended up switching the disc in and out often throughout the evening rather than making it the focus of our night.

SingStar ABBA is defiantly an asset to any SingStar junkie’s library, it just isn’t the title to revolve the entire night around.  Some classic tunes can be found and will keep making it back into the rotation time after time.  With the online store still somewhat lacking in the content department however, it might have made sense for these tracks to have been made available for download instead of a retail release.  That being said, you can never go wrong with adding a  little “Mama Mia” to your night now can you?

Posted in Holiday Hints, Music, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Reviews |