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Developer: Blitz Games
Publisher: Konami
Genre: Music
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 02 Jan 07
User Rating
8.5 (2 votes)- Preview
- Review
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- Konami adds the massive American Idol license to their already huge music franchise, and it's the closest you can get to the real thing. A must have for karaoke lovers.
Overview
Konami has been on a roll as of late with their music titles, which have taken the gaming industry by storm. In fact, much of the Konami lineup for 2007 consists of their music lineup of games that seem to really have some flavor. Konami's first music title of 2007 is from their own Karaoke Revolution franchise, which is really favorite of the Konami lineup and has been extremely successful as well. This time around however, they have the American Idol tag thrown on it, to give Simon some more time in the spotlight. So is Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol worth belting your lungs at? Read our full review to find out!
Gameplay
One of the things that you have to get over right away with any Karaoke Revolution is that you're going to be singing, and for some that can be a huge fear, one in which took me quite a good deal of time to get accustomed to. Once you do get over the fact that the whole purpose of this game is to sing, you will then have a pretty fun time ahead of you. One of the big questions I raised when I heard Konami was going to use the American Idol license was how it will fit in their already successful franchise.
As I already mentioned the goal of Karaoke Revolution has always been and remains to be a game that judges how well you sing. The game, for the most part, judges how well your pitch is and how well you hit the right lyrics. For those who don't have any experience in the field of singing, or have not played a Karaoke Revolution game, there is a pretty steep learning curve on this game. It's not all that likely that you will just step up sing your first song and receive great praises from the judges. However, this is a game that the more you play the more you will get the timing and the pitch right and thus the more successful you will be.
The addition of American Idol has brought some changes to the game most significantly the judges, who are for the most part the same three from the Idol many of us know and love. Simon is of course the head honcho, with Randy Jackson throwing in some color commentary, and finally instead of Paula Abdul who did not make an appearance in the game, you do have the easy one of the three Laura who is basically a remake of Paula with a new name. The three pass judgment on your singing, and it is really a lot like what we saw on the show. You have Simon who is rarely happy, Randy who is kind of medium, and the Laura who is the easy pushover.
The game allows you to either just go up and attempt a song, or go through the American Idol routine by going through some early try outs and making your way up the ranks to hopefully becoming the next American Idol. As you progress you have to be careful about song selection and the difficulty as the judges not only want you to keep trying new songs, but become more and more difficult to please. This will be frustrating for some, but if you really have that drive to beat this game it can be done.
In the end, Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol is successful in what it is attempting to do. The game manages to bring the feel of American Idol and successfully blend it with the heart and soul of the Karaoke Revolution franchise. There could have been more depth to the progression of the game, but even with that being said this is still a good solid outing.
Graphics
Visually this game has looked about the same since the induction of the first title a few years back. That is not necessarily a bad thing, as you do see some new touches here and there, but for a music game that's about all you really do need. The character models are starting to become a bit dated and when you get some close ups you start to see that maybe the game could have used a bit more life to them. Either way, the game still manages to do enough visually to warrant a good score, but still leaves some room for improvement.
Fun Factor
The Karaoke Revolution games have been very successful at making a very enjoyable and easy to enjoy game that you can either spend a lot of time with or just pick it up and play whenever you get the urge to sing. The addition of the American Idol label actually added a lot more to the game then I particularly thought it would. I am not the biggest Idol fan, but the trio of judges actually was intelligently placed into the game, and although their advice can be a little off at times, they still manage to be realistic and enjoyable to sit back and enjoy. If nothing else, when you got a group of friends playing and Simon just totally slams your performance, it makes for some great laughs.
Overall
Once again Karaoke Revolution has scored highly with me by continuing to add more music, more customization and now the American Idol license. Although there have been some attempts to compete with the franchise, Karaoke Revolution continues its success here with Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol. This is the closest thing to actually getting on the Idol stage, and is a perfect game to start your year off with.
- Gameplay
8.0 - Graphics
7.0 - Fun Factor
8.0 - Overall
8.0
