Video Game Review: “SingStar Country”

Game Rating: T for Teen
Game Publisher: Sony Entertainment
Platform: PS2
Release Date: October 28, 2008
Buy this at: Amazon for $29.99

I am probably the biggest Country Music fan in my house and on most days that isn’t saying a whole lot. Some of my favorite Country artists include Garth Brooks, the Dixie Chicks, Mindy McCreedy, Colin Raye, The Charlie Daniels Band, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Carrie Underwood, and Trisha Yearwood among others. These people all have one thing in common. None of them are present on the SingStar Country game!

The fact that Garth Brooks was not on here just floored me. The fact that the Dixie Chicks made one of the mainstream discs, but not the Country was also quite a surprise. Still, the thing that surprised me the most was not some of the missing artists that have defined Country music. It was the artists that did make the cut. In my opinion there were three categories here.

-Good Artist/Good Song (this one was pretty rare)
-Good Artist/Unknown or Less Important Song (we knew who they were but were surprised by the song choice)
-Why are they on here in the first place?!? (a few of the singers felt kind of unnecessary)

Part of the first and second group included artists like Johnny Cash, Alan Jackson, Taylor Swift, Kellie Pickler, and Rascal Flatts. The third group included names like Jewel (I like her, but don’t know if I would classify her as Country), Jessica Simpson, and Miranda Lambert. Likewise, while I like people like Alan Jackson and Trace Adkins I don’t see how they made the cut more than once when other big names were not represented, at all. I had high hopes for Country, but felt slightly let down by the selection. Of course, I realize that true blue Country fans may be more comfortable with this selection that has been offered.

Like the other SingStar titles, Country is fun. It was not as fun for us as the other titles because it’s missing some vital Country performers and we weren’t as familiar with the genre. If you’re a big Country fan this is going to be highly recommended. If not, you’re going to want to tread lightly and read the track list before making the final decision on whether or not to purchase this.

Enjoyment/Fun Factor:

Features:
As with all SingStar, titles you have the same basic features. You are able to play the game using online or offline components. If you own a Playstation Eye you can make music videos of yourself. If you don’t own an Eye, but want to see other videos that people have made, you can go online and rate the videos that others have created.

Other than that, the main feature is going to be the music. In the case of the SingStar Country game, I have to say I was excited about some songs and not about others. When I think Country, I immediately think certain names. While some of these names are here, many of them are not. Granted, I am not a huge Country music fan, so this disc may be better suited for fans of the genre, but there is plenty of Country songs and artists that I like that just weren’t here.

Nevertheless, I still had fun playing though and wouldn’t hesitate to look up the second volume for Country when/if it comes out. Hopefully, if it does it includes some of the Country music staples that fans and non-fans of the genre can both enjoy.

The titles included in SingStar Country are:

Alan Jackson: Chattahoochee
Alan Jackson: Good Time
Big & Rich: Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)
Blake Shelton: Home
Brad Paisley: Online
Brooks & Dunn: Boot Scootin’ Boogie
Brooks & Dunn w/ Reba McEntire: If You See Him/If You See Her
Bucky Covington: It’s Good to be Us
Faith Hill: Red Umbrella
Gretchen Wilson: Redneck Woman
Jessica Simpson: Come On Over
Jewel: Stronger Woman
Johnny Cash: A Boy Named Sue
Johnny Cash: I Walk the Line
Josh Turner: Another Try
Keith Urban: Days Go By
Kellie Pickler: Red High Heels
Kenny Chesney: Big Star
Lady Antebellum: Love Don’t Live Here
Martina: McBride: A Broken Wing
Miranda Lambert: Kerosene
Montgomery Gentry: My Town
Montgomery Gentry: What Do Ya Think About That?
Rascal Flatts: Bless the Broken Road
Sara Evans: Born To Fly
Taylor Swift: Our Song
Terri Clark: Girls Lie Too
Trace Adkins: Honky Tonk Badonkadonk
Trace Adkins: You’re Gonna Miss This
Willie Nelson: Pancho and Lefty

The great thing about SingStar is the compatibility of all of the discs. If you own a PS3 these should still play in your player, assuming you bought one with the backwards capability intact. Another nice thing is that you can interchange the discs during your game. Just hit the switch disc button and you can put in a new disc and continue to play the same game. This helps to make sure that everyone gets to play with the disc that they like the most (assuming you have more than one). SingStar is one of those rather addicting titles that offers at least a few good songs, if not more, per disc. That being said, if you buy one game you will end up buying more. That’s just how SingStar works.

There are a few mainstream Country songs here, but not enough to satiate the person that isn’t a big fan of Country. In the next release, Sony might want to consider adding more Country that all people will enjoy and be able to recognize, as that can only lead to a more successful title for them and for SingStar.

Replayability:

Controls:
The controller is used sparingly here, so people that have a problem playing games because of all the various options and buttons will feel right at home. The only time you even use the controller is to select a song, choose how you are playing (battle, solo, or duet), or to switch a disc. You can also use the controller to deal with online functions of the game, but those are completely optional based on your own interest in them. This is going to be one of those rare games that just about anyone will be able to handle in terms of using the controller.

Ease of Use:

Visual Quality:
I have yet to encounter a SingStar with flat out bad quality and you won’t hear me say anything different here. The quality is excellent. The videos are on the new end for many and the old ones still aren’t that old, so the quality remains good. The important part is the lyrical karaoke text, as well as the music bars that show you where the golden notes are and how long you need to hold the notes. Even when the video is of a lesser quality the text and bars are easily able to be seen and read. It’s never a problem when it comes to that.

Visual:

Audio Quality:
SingStar Country may not have my favorite music, but what is here sounds good. I would have loved to hear a better mix of music, but all of the music was static free and sounding as good as it could under the circumstances. The sound made everything sound new as it was free of any distortion or audio problems that occasionally plague video games and movies. All in all, it’s a good set for the Country loving SingStar crowd.

Audio:

Replayability:
This is the one SingStar title that we play sparingly. I have considered going online and purchasing extra tracks to make this more enjoyable, but haven’t checked to see what is available and don’t know how much I want to shell out to make this game more enjoyable for me. At present, I play it enough to make it worth paying for, but not enough to be considered one of my favorite games.

Replayability:

Bottom Line:
SingStar Country is probably one of my least favorite SingStar titles. The logic here is simple. If you do not like Country, this game is not going to change your mind about the genre. Unfortunately, some bad music choices made sure that a mainstream audience wouldn’t have much love for this particular title. On the other hand, huge Country fans should really enjoy this.

If you’re a fan of Country this is definitely the SingStar for you and I highly recommend that you pick it up. However, if you’re not a raging fan, you might want to stay cool and wait for the second volume to come out in hopes that it has some better songs for a wider range of people.

Overall Rating:

Technorati Tags: Sony, PS2, SingStar Country, Music Video, Sing, Battle, Video Game, Console, Karaoke, Sing Star

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Written by Ashtyn - Visit Website
Ashtyn is definitely the casual gamer in the family. A game fan since she owned an Atari, Ashtyn can remember when her brother rigged the television so he wouldn't lose his Super Mario Bros. game. That is, until the power went out! A fan of all things Mario, Ashtyn is a Nintendo loyalist. She digs playing Mario-style RPG games, watching others play violent shooters (because she sucks at them), and playing casual PC games (like Wedding Dash and Cake Mania). As of now, she is into the Wii and Nintendo DS, though she's certain the games for PS3 and Xbox 360 are more appealing.