Larynx Hero

We have become a nation of legendary guitar players and rock bands, if only in our imaginations, or at least in our living rooms. But long before plastic Stratocasters became a videogame staple, karaoke (Japanese for "empty orchestra") was a popular techno-pastime, and not just for inebriated Asian businessmen.

Liberating the frustrated vocalist languishing within all of us, right in the privacy of our own homes, a game like SingStar is an indulgence, perhaps a goof, certainly one of the great entertainments that the mighty PlayStation 3 (PS3) is capable of delivering. Presenting the original music videos as a backdrop to each of the songs provided, the game highlights the lyrics on screen, with simple icons to indicate the notes we should be hitting, the proper pitch and for how long. The simple microphone folds our voice into the music, while the ratings system continually shares its estimation of our performance, a sobering rollercoaster of "Cool!," "Awful!" and other encouraging/discouraging reviews. Afterward, we're given a final numerical score and judged to be a "Rising Star," or "Tone Deaf" and so on. We can customize the experience in subtle ways—add a photo or other icon, change the background theme—while ratcheting up the difficulty makes the game less forgiving when we go off-key or forget a verse.

The game is available with or without a pair of hefty, high-quality wired microphones and their USB adapter, in case you already own a set from one of the several different PS2 SingStars. The main difference between this new PS3 edition and previous ones is the ability to add individual tunes to your repertoire without having to buy the entire game over again, via the embedded SingStore. Unlike Guitar Hero III, which offers supplemental tracks via the PlayStation Store, the commerce portal here resides within the game itself, and new videos can be downloaded to the PS3's hard disk drive for $1.49 each. At press time, some 220 titles were available in standard-definition files in the neighborhood of 60 megabytes—and a couple of dozen of them were from bands I've actually heard of. The shopping experience is quick and enjoyable, with little audio/video preview loops for every song. If you find a brave partner, certain tunes even lend themselves to duets.

Some of these videos will reportedly be in HD, someday, but not so at launch; and none of the clips on the Blu-ray disc looked all that high-resolution to me, even with my PS3 set at 1080p. We are given fun little animations, sparkles on the pitch and timing indicators if we're doing a particularly good job for example, but the crisp in-game text and icons come the closest to showing off the high-def, as they are indeed razor-sharp.

Interestingly, the Dolby Digital logo does not appear on the back of the box, which is probably best since everything I heard was two-channel—full, clear, powerful two-channel mind you, with ample bass reinforcement, but I was never in danger of mistaking my home theater for the stage at The Fillmore. A clever audio lag calibration feature allows players to compensate for any synching issues with any given TV, although setting it perfectly can be tricky.

SingStar also plays well with the optional PlayStation Eye camera, a remarkable plug-and-play device that works with certain other games too. Standard-def and idiot-proof, it can snap a quick photo or put our image up on the screen to accompany the vocals. Thanks to that roomy honkin' hard drive, we can capture our best performances (and our worst), audio-only or plus-video if we really want to ham it up. And because the PS3 has a high-speed Internet connection, we can then upload our songs, videos, and snapshots to the My SingStar Online community. Better-looking, more talented (and more sociable) people than I might want to check out this non-stop listening, watching and otherwise sharing party.

Like drinking, this game is best with friends and family. Yes, you can do it alone but it just doesn't feel right. For those who have never partaken in karaoke—with real equipment that is, singing into your shampoo bottle doesn't count—you are in for a real treat. SingStar makes getting started easy, and belting out familiar tunes in any of the competitive or non-competitive modes is tremendous fun. My one criticism is that SCEA needs to provide better songs from better artists—soon, not just to satisfy the varied tastes of its players, but also to make the SingStore a destination worth visiting, setting this best-yet game apart from its less-enabled predecessors. Until then, if you'll excuse me, my public is demanding an encore.

us.playstation.com/singstar