Anyone with even the slightest urge to sing a tune to an adoring crowd should check out Karaoke Revolution, the latest music simulation game from Konami. A singing simulator might sound daunting to some, but Karaoke Revolution makes it all very easy to get into and simple to understand. You just sing out the scrolling lyrics to the correct rhythm and hit the right pitch to complete a song. How harshly you’re judged is fully adjustable, as are the volume of the music, your earphone level, default vocals, and your own vocals. The main modes—Showtime, Arcade, and Karaoke—allow you to unlock extras like costumes and stages, go through mini-challenge levels, or just sing for fun with no judging parameters. The game’s voice recognition works great and enables you to switch from a low baritone to high falsetto without confusing the judging. Unfortunately, it doesn’t distinguish whether you’re actually singing the correct lyrics, so you can get by with just “na, na, na’ing” it when you’re in trouble. Still, the important factor is that the technology works in a way that’s fun and you don’t feel cheated. The 36 songs included cover hits from the 1970s to present, and the choices are all quite good. Although the songs are licensed, they are not voiced by the original artists, but that isn’t a big deal as the star of this show is…you! Even so, you run out of tunes fairly quickly and the replay value consists of achieving higher scores, raising the judging difficulty, and just singing casually with friends. There is an eight-player mode where you can take turns jostling for better scores that can be great for larger gatherings. Karaoke Revolution is great fun, and you’ll do well whether you’re a closet pop star with a great voice or an average couch crooner with questionable talent.
