Peripherals have the ability to bring the joys of video gaming to a wider audience. While the XBOX is not the most populist console when it comes to gadgets - you can wear a headset like a real call centre worker or geek out with a full mech battle control console, the Gamecube offers games playable entirely through the medium of bongo – what could be more inclusive than that? The PlayStation boasts gizmos equally accessible, if not more so. Dance mats and EyeToy have been around a while now, and last year SCEE brought us Singstar, in which would-be popstars could karaoke it out, with their images projected onto the screen via EyeToy to boot.
The game clearly lends itself to sequels and Singstar Party quickly followed, with new songs to sing along to. Now SCEE are bringing us a third installment: Singstar Popworld. Using the same technology that pop producers use to tweak their stars’ often less than perfect voices, Singstar analyses your vocal performance and rates it based on pitch, tone and rhythm. As well as the Pass the Mic and Duet modes from earlier iterations, Singstar Popworld also includes a ‘Rap Scoring’ mode to rate your spitting as well as your singing, and a Medley mode which blends one song into another and another – you’ll have to react quickly to the changes in key if you are to avoid making a complete mess of things. Performances can be played back and you can even distort and enhance your recorded voice with all-new playback features.
It’s no secret that another branch of the Sony behemoth makes the records for a fair few recording artists, and while other similar games want you to make do covers of your favourite songs, Popworld offers original hits from stars like Robbie Williams, Jamelia, Keane, Avril Lavigne and the Black Eyed Peas. Loads of fun, Singstar Popworld will have the whole family singing and rapping along in no time.