There was a time when America didn't turn to video games or movies for entertainment. No, they turned to music videos. See, there was this channel called Music Television (MTV for short). Before they invested in crappy reality television entertainment, they showed nothing but music videos -- 24 hours a day, seven days a week. SingStar 80's almost feels like a tribute to this programming, with thirty music videos plucked straight from the decade and formatted to fit with the game's karaoke set-up. For nostalgic fans that can't live without their Dungeons and Dragons or Rubik's Cube, it's heaven. To us, however, it feels like a missed opportunity.

SingStar 80's retains the same format as previous SingStar releases, with scrolling musical bars moving across the screen with the song's lyrics displayed on the bottom. Players can change the on-screen display, to either watch the utterly hilarious videos in the background (seriously, Run DMC's "It's Tricky" is a classic just because of the cameo appearance by Penn and Teller) or switching on the EyeToy and creating their own unforgettable clip. It works, but more could've been done with it to really take advantage of the 80s theme, like floating colors and objects from the era.

Music selection leaves something to be desired as well. Out of the thirty tunes, there are some memorable ones, including the aforementioned Run DMC tune, "I Ran" by A Flock of Seagulls, "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell and Wham!'s ultra bouncy dance hit "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go". (Word of advice -- do not look George Michael directly in the eyes.) Unfortunately, a good portion of the tracks lack certain party influences to keep the game's upbeat momentum going. Why was Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" chosen instead of "She Bop"? Why no entertaining song like "Rock Lobster" by the B-52's, "Twilight Zone" by Golden Earring or "Things Can Only Get Better" by Howard Jones? These omissions make the game incomplete.

Like previous SingStar releases, things work better with a friend. Two players can sing along to multiple songs, which then get rated by a virtual judge based on aspects of the performance. Unfortunately, not too much can be done outside of that. You can watch the music videos, but you can find those on YouTube for zero cost -- and with the same grainy video quality.

Although SingStar 80's offers several hours of fun, Sony missed an opportunity to create the ultimate 80s karaoke experience. For now, we'll stick to singing in the shower.