In it’s many years at the top of the British sales charts the SingStar franchise hasn’t really been known for re-inventing itself. With the exception of the giant leap forward taken by the PS3 edition, each successive volume has been little more than a 30 song track pack. So does the second volume of the PS3 incarnation bring with it sweeping changes? Or are we merely looking at another 30 songs to rock out with our bad selves to?

The answer lies somewhere in between. For the most part Singstar Vol. 2 looks and plays exactly like it’s predecessor. The few tweaks that have been made, while appreciated, are nothing earth shattering. Amazingly the best of these doesn’t even seem to be mentioned anywhere that might let a player know. Volume 2 introduces a feature that has been available in previous UK versions for a while now — disc swapping.

While it’s not quite the saved-to-drive backwards compatibility we were hoping for (a la Rock Band 2), you can hit the select button on the Song Select screen and swap out your Vol. 2 disc for a disc from any previous version of SingStar. In other words if you have a PS3 and want to rock out to PS2’s SingStar Country, you can do it through your PS3 edition. It’s a nice touch for those of us that want to check out the PS2 games without losing the PS3 experience. I for one am dying to try out SingStar 80’s and SingStar 90’s now that keeping the PS3 experience is an option.

But while this is a feature that ships on the disc for Volume 2 owners, it should be noted that you can update the original SingStar to version 2.20 and have the same functionality. So what else does Volume 2 have up it’s sleeve to set itself apart from the first game? Cross-compatible DLC. Any tracks I’ve downloaded from the SingStore for the first version (Pure Morning, anyone?) are instantly playable in Volume 2. It’s a relief, but it’s not really a shock. If anything, Volume 2 is replete with cross-compatibility. All of the content you have saved on your drive — audio and video of yourself acting like a jackass and whatnot (heck — it even earned an award for that) — is all at the ready. Same goes for your access to My SingStar Online. SingStar Volume 2 really showcases the forward-thinking business model that Sony has tried to create: the disc is only the precursor to the experience. While both volumes offer up a selection of 30 tracks, the experience is tied to what you play create and share. Now where have I heard that before? Oh, right.

With the experience being tied so closely to what’s off the disc, the question still remains — what’s on it? As music all comes down to a matter of taste you can’t really say with any definitiveness which version of SingStar offers the better musical experience. For my money though? Volume 2’s track listing blows Volume 1’s out of the water. Any game that offers Eminem, Radiohead, The Cure and the Mama’s and the Papa’s instantly gets my attention. Still — it’s not up to me, it’s up to you. Check out the track listings for SingStar and SingStar Vol. 2 and decide for yourself. In all honesty, it’s hard not to want both. If I had any complaint, it would be that so many quality tracks from the UK version of Vol. 2 didn’t make their way here. Common People? Summer in the City? Lithium? Keeping these songs from me is a crime against humanity.

SingStar Vol.2 offers up an experience that is very much in keeping with what came before, and if you’ve read our review of the first PS3 SingStar you’ll know that that’s a good thing. If this is your first outing with SingStar you couldn’t be bringing home a better selection of tunes. But as a 30-song track pack for previous SingStar owners? You’ll need to make that decision on a track-by-track basis.