Karaoke Revolution

Sing baby sing

It's a wonderful thing

Sing baby sing

You really know you should
 

Sing baby sing

Look I made up a song

Too bad for me

It's really not that good

What universal language unites us all?  Psychologists could argue for an eternity about this one, but I've got my own theory: music.  The words, although important, are not always as important as the sound.  Great poetry is just great poetry when paired with bad music.  But great music can tell a story, warm our hearts, churn or emotions, and conclude a saga without any words at all.  Still, we find ourselves more compelled to play music that we can sing along to (interact with) than anything else.

Last year my love of music led me to consider the possibility of a game that could judge a person's ability to sing.  How would this be possible?  How could a game detect actual singing versus someone who screams?  How could it decipher individual words?

As I continued to ponder such a game, Konami was busy creating it.  Maybe I had a psychic connection with Konami, or maybe it's that great minds think alike (grins).  Twelve months later and the end result is here: Karaoke Revolution.  Is it a revolution, or just a gimmicky music game?

If you could karaoke and turn it into something more than a way to make a fool out of yourself in public, this would be it.  Let me state that I had no expectations for this game.  I never spent a moment anticipating its release, nor did I ever even consider playing it.  But when the opportunity came to review it, something told me to take it.  Something told me that, at the very least, I would want to check it out.  You have no idea how glad I am that I did.

Karaoke Revolution isn't at all your typical game.  You could call it a novelty item, and when compared with Konami's other offerings that's exactly what it is.  But never before in my life have I had so much fun with a "novelty" game.

As promised, Karaoke Revolution really does measure your ability to sing along with a song.  "Hey Jealousy," a great soft rock song from the Gin Blossoms, is a perfect example of how precise the game is.  The game accurately judges your ability to heighten and lower your voice at the appropriate times.  There are times when the game goes higher or lower than you are capable of, or that you may think is inappropriate for the song, and that's where you're given the chance to see how good you really are.  The game does not expect you to sound like LeAnn Rimes or Celine Dion.  What it expects is that your voice won't break.  It sounds awfully difficult, and appears to be so at first.  But I'm not a rockstar.  I've never taken vocal lessons.  But I still was able to complete Vertical Horizon's "Everything You Want" on my first try.  My sister completed Norah Jones's "Don't Know Why" without a hitch.  Norah won a Grammy for that song!  It's not my favorite song, but that doesn't mean I can't see just how difficult a song like that would be to sing.  The game has realistic boundaries that most people should be able to stand.

The vocal rating system is not perfect though.  There are some songs that can be rambled through – like R.E.M.'s "It's The End Of The World As We Know It."  Its chorus is very fast and devoid of any vocal talent.  So if you can talk fast – even make up words – the game will let you pass.  The same is true for the chorus.  You must sing it, but as long as your vocals match, the words do not matter.

Having success with that song made me wonder if I could ramble through some of the more difficult songs, like Sugar Ray's "Every Morning."  Three minutes of screaming later and my voice was hoarse from the strain.  I stupidly tried to shout the words instead of just relaxing and singing them.  With the exception of songs that have rambling in it, Karaoke Revolution expects gamers to sing, not ramble or shout.

To my surprise, this game grew on me in the same way that some of the best music CDs have.  I only liked it at first.  Thirty minutes later I thought it was a cool novelty game.  Two hours later and I was hooked to the point where I almost risked damaging my vocal chords to continue playing!  This game isn't a health risk.  It takes no more out of you than real karaoke.  But I'm a perfectionist.  I either want to sound great or convince the game that I sound great.  There were people in the room with me!  And I didn't want to make a fool out of myself.  But I guess I can kiss that wish goodbye.

I don't love novelties, I don't recommend novelties, but there is a first time for everything.  This is one of the few party games that is a must-buy for everyone.  Everyone loves to sing, and most people love karaoke (not everyone loves to hear people sing karaoke, but that's a whole other story).  You will have so much fun with this game.  You'll laugh for hours as you and your family and friends attempt to beat Avril Lavigne's "Complicated," which, believe it or not, is a very hard song to sing.  If you've seen Avril perform live you'd know that even she has trouble singing it!  There are songs to unlock, like "One Week" by the Barenaked Ladies, and expansion discs planned for the future.

The standard $40 version (which will be available in February) comes with the standard Logitech headset (the same one that came with SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs).  Its earpiece gives you feedback; it may not help your vocal performance, but it's still an awesome feature.  The deluxe, $60 version includes an actual microphone, as well as the Logitech headset.  You don't need both mics for multiplayer games, but the deluxe mic is much better suited for them.

Gameplay: 8.5
Is it a bird?  Is it a plane?  It's certainly not a game!  Or is it?  You won't think of it is a game, especially if you're used to exploring big worlds of polygons and particle effects.  You'll see it as an interactive karaoke machine, and maybe that's the best way to convince your non-gamer friends (like that hot girl you've been trying to date) to get them to play.  My sister has not upgraded beyond the SNES.  She will not play 3D games and has no interest in trying them.  If it weren't for Mario and puzzle games she would have stopped playing years ago.  But she was hooked the minute I turned on Karaoke Revolution.  It was a totally different world for her.  It wasn't like a game she had to learn new controls to play.  She got to do something she already loved to do: sing.

Graphics: 7
If you can sing, watch the notes and the background at the same time, you'll see a 3D audience with a fair amount of cartoon detail.  But this game isn't really about the visual appeal.  You'll have more fun watching your friends than the screen.

Sound: 8
Karaoke Revolution's sound mostly depends on the singer.  All of the songs are covers; none of the original artists are present.  Some of the covers aren't half-bad, others sound quite weak.  Perhaps that's to make those of us who aren't rockstars sound even better?

Difficulty: Medium
This will take some getting used to, especially if you don't sing very often.  But there are varying level difficulties so that the game is beatable no matter how hard it is for you to hit a note.

Concept: 9
Karaoke Revolution was a brilliant idea.  You think it won't work, but it does!  The on-screen meter indicates where your voice is and where it should be, giving you a guide for how to sing each part.  More importantly, the measure of your singing ability is accurate.  It is a game, so it does expect less (or more) from you than you may perceive as being necessary for certain parts of a few of the songs.  But this is the first of its kind, and it succeeds well enough to earn my praise.

Multiplayer: 9.5

Overall: 9
Karaoke Revolution is the ultimate singing game.  It's from Konami, the makers of the best dance game, Dance Dance Revolution.  If you love to dance, chances are you love to sing.  If you hate to dance, chances are you love to sing.  This is the best party game I've ever played.  It's accessible to everyone.  You don't even have to pick up a controller.  Only point-and-click actions are required, and one person can handle that task.  The rest of the group can worry about singing their hearts out.