With eighteen number one albums, eighteen number one singles and ten number one DVDs worldwide notched up under their belt, Queen is quite arguably one of the world’s most influential and successful rock bands. No surprise then that Sony would think to bring their classic rock ballads into gamers’ livingrooms. And with so many people from all around the world being fans of the band, some without even knowing it, who would blame them in thinking they had stumbled upon a successful formula.

While most of you will know at least a handful of Queen songs, even more of you will be surprised at how many Queen songs you recognise that you didn’t even know the band sang. Whether it be the chilling lyrics of ‘Who Wants to Live Forever,’ the hysterically accurate video of ‘I Want to Break Free’ or the powerful emotions in ‘Somebody to Love,’ you will find yourself singing along to the band’s 25 iconic songs included on the disc.

There’s also a fair share of fun, upbeat songs for you to enjoy, including ‘Crazy little thing called Love,’ ‘A Kind of Magic’ and ‘Radio Gaga’ and I challenge you not to sing along to the cult-like anthem ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ And I haven’t even mentioned the real show stoppers like ‘Another One Bites the Dust,’ ‘We are the Champions,’ ‘We will Rock you’ and ‘Under Pressure.’

However, as excellent as some of these songs may be, if you are not a fan of Queen please don’t buy this game thinking there will be other songs in the tracklist because there aren’t – its 100% Queen baby! Just as you might steer clear of SingStar 80’s if you are not a fan of that era’s music, rather invest in SingStar Pop Edition if you would prefer a selection of new pop and rock hits as well as a couple of golden oldies thrown in for good measure.

A quick note on how the game works for those who are new to the SingStar scene. The way that SingStar works is quite simple, after selecting a song, sing along with the on-screen prompts and the game will score you against the notes the real artist sings by measuring the pitch of your voice. Points are awarded for singing in tune (the difference between a Hit Artist and a Wannabe), singing phrases in tune and hitting golden notes. The game boasts different modes, so you can sing alone or rope in a couple of friends to sing a Duet or try out Battle, Pass the Mic or Medley modes.

You can also download more of your favourite tunes from the SingStore and even record yourself singing in a sequined Freddy Mercury outfit and upload the video if that idea tickles your fancy.

SingStar Queen is a great tribute to a great band and serves a valuable role in delivering these immensely popular songs to another generation. Even though Freddie Mercury has long left our shores, it’s clear that the show does go on and that it will continue to do so to many generations into the future.

The full tracklisting follows below. SingStar Queen is also available on the PS2 but before you make your console choice, take note that there are five PS3 exclusive tracks included on the PS3 version, and they are biggies!

- Another One Bites The Dust
- Bicycle Race
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- Breakthru
- Crazy Little Thing Called Love
- Don’t Stop Me Now
- Fat Bottomed Girls
- Hammer To Fall
- I Want It All
- Innuendo
- One Vision
- Play The Game
- Somebody To Love
- These Are The Days Of Our Lives
- Tie Your Mother Down
- Under Pressure
- We Are The Champions
- We Will Rock You
- Who Wants To Live Forever
- You’re My Best Friend

PS3 exclusive tracks:

- A Kind of Magic
- I Want to Break Free
- Killer Queen
- Radio Ga Ga
- The Show Must Go On

Purchase: