PlayStation Pub Crawl In NYC: Singstar PS3 & How I Fought Fantasia Barrino
Sony hosted a great pub crawl here in the Big Apple last night, and yours Tinily got a chance to do what he loves best: get drunk and play games whilst on public record. So when I wasn't pouring a nice summer wheat beer down my throat or gobbling mini-burgers, I got the chance to play two very fun party games that both lend themselves to drunken tomfoolery: PS2's Buzz! The Mega Quiz and SingStar for the PS3.
Buzz! (which has been wildly successful in Europe and Australia since 2005) is a cute and silly quiz show that's part Jeopardy and part drinking game. At least, it's part drinking game when I play. Packaged with four wired buzzers, the game runs through an easy-to-difficult range of interactive game show play styles that work great with a group of friends before or after a night out - or for a nice sit-down alternative to Wii party action.
Choosing from a wide range of subjects from animals to history (and sports, yecch!), the game gets truly fun when you see your big red "buzzer" button light up in your hand - the other buttons let you cycle through options or answer a multiple choice question. The North American version of the game drops October 30 and helps prove that the PS2 is by no means a lame duck console!
For a brief rundown of SingStar PS3 and some horribly-taken pictures, make the jump!
SingStar looked amazing. Its interface was crisper than crisp and seemed to run flawlessly. Almost all of the songs included the official music video running in the background, which is an enormous pleasure - as anyone who's suffered through tampon-commercial-quality generic videos while playing regular karaoke can tell you.
The vocal guide is much the same as in the original version, and handily shows you how far off pitch you are. Thankfully, a bunch of women from Oprah's magazine were there (why? I dunno) to help illustrate the visual indication of horrific pitch. Not that I would have fared much better, mind you. Unless it's Reba's "Fancy" - that's one song I can make happen.
The surprise awesomeness to SingStar came from the unlikely use of the PlayStation Eye, which records your performance so you can post it to SingStar's YouTube-style song sharing setup. While one of Oprah's blondes wailed away to Jane's Addiction, some of us managed to cover our eardrums and enjoy a pre-recorded video some other SingStar-player had made - both the visuals and the karaoke audio came through crystal clear, to my astonishment and the performer's chagrin, no doubt.
So SingStar PS3 rocks. If you're into a karaoke game, I can't imagine that it won't give you everything you want - even a Boogie-style vocal-assist option, which replaces your homebrewed vocals with the original track, provided you keep on singing.
Lastly, the story of how I defeated Fantasia Barrino, who was at the venue for some reason I still haven't quite figured out. It was a karaoke joint, and I don't think she was performing. Anyway, her retinue of enormous black men kept me from going to the men's room - and when Tiny has to go, Tiny has to go, y'all. Luckily, a plucky waitress was there to face down the giants and open the way to Ye Olde Mensroom. So technically, I didn't fight anyone, which makes me a lying liar.
Of course, when I emerged from the powder room, all the bodyguards asked me about the games. Somehow, I doubt they'll be following the URL to GayGamer like I suggested. But you never know...
It was dimly lit and wonderful inside - my camera did not notice.
Downstairs there was some Fantasia going on, but we were hotter.
Sony's Brian Keltner and Sheila Bryson caper around MTV's Tracey and Jesse.
For some reason, a gaggle of girls from Oprah's magazine were there. They liked the bar.
Not long after they liked the bar, they loved Singstar.
They kept on loving Singstar, much to our amusement.
Fantasia Barrino was there, so security was super tight. Nobody steals Fantasia's weave, y'all!
I am either impressed by someone or drunk enough to pretend to be impressed by someone.
This is the ultimate in closed-circuit YouTubery: Singstar PS3 lets you record your performances and share them online - you are forewarned!
tiny dancer
Posted to Hot Stuff, Miscellany, Video Games on 29 August 2007
· Comments (3)
Other stuff like this: buzz! mega quiz, fantasia barrino, nyc, playstation, ps2, ps3, pub crawl, singstar, sony
I would have run rings around that Fantasia chick. I don't know who she thinks she is, or why she thinks she can take me in a game of SingStar ... but it's on.
Man, I had so much fun. It was great to see you, as always!
I envy you and your connections. Damn i wanna party and get wasted all i did was have man on man on man fun. lol