Karaoke madness continues to run rampant on the PlayStation 2 with SingStar 80's and SingStar Amped. While 80's suffers from a mediocre song list, Amped earns plenty of style points, mostly due to its excellent soundtrack. Players tempted to belt out a few lyrics can enjoy the thirty tunes, picked from alternative and classic rock backlogs.

Amped effectively mixes these two styles together, with only the occasional oddball standing out. (We're looking at you, David Bowie.) Fans of more traditional rock songs can sing along with Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild" or "All Right Now" by Free, reliving their finest moments from their older rambling days. Those more prone to 80's hair metal will impress their imaginary groupies with the likes of Quiet Riot's "Cum On Feel the Noize" and Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". Last but not least, Amped has an impressive list of alternative tracks, ranging from such favorites as Sublime's "Santeria" and Stone Temple Pilots' "Vasoline" to more current radio hits, including The Killers' "When You Were Young" and the current rock anthem by Fall Out Boy, "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race". As stated above, it's a very impressive list to choose from.

SingStar Amped follows the same format as previous entries in the series, with scrolling bars and easy-to-read lyrics appearing on the bottom of the screen. Players can either select music videos to play in the background or take a chance at humiliation and turn the attention on themselves with the EyeToy camera. Upon conclusion of each performance, performers get rated by a virtual judging system and then move onto the next song. It's pretty basic, really. Other options become available, such as singing along with a friend or being able to save certain performances to watch later, but nothing really amazes here outside of the song list.

The music videos do make the game more fun, though. It can be a real trip watching members of these bands jump along with endless energy while attempting to successfully belt out the chorus. Perhaps that's what makes SingStar Amped stand out over previous releases -- a manic energy that cannot – nor shouldn't – be denied. If you need to pick up any game in the series, whether for party purposes or your own guilty indulgence, make it this one.