Karaoke Revolution? That's a bold claim. Just how different can a karaoke game possibly be? In the case of Konami's latest singing title, the answer is "not very".
In fact, the revolutionary aspect appears to be its compatibility with the PlayStationEye, which allows the player to copy their image into the game. It's a neat enough touch but revolutionary? Hardly, particularly when elsewhere it's all business as usual.
On the plus side, Konami's title does reward decent singing. Blowing on the microphone scores poorly, getting the pitch and timing right scores highly. You won't get rewarded for Mariah Carey warbles and your own jazz interpretations, but hit the marks and your points will soar.
There is also a decent range of songs here, although it's slightly biased towards the younger market/current chart hits, with the likes of Katy Perry, La Roux, Lady Gaga (costumes optional), Pink and the larynx-threatening Kings of Leon making up most of the 75. However, they rub shoulders with the likes of Bowie's Space Oddity, Chris Isaak's Wicked Game and A-Ha's The Sun Always Shines on TV – although the latter two feature falsetto moments which older gentlemen may wish to remember before they make their selection.
On that level, Karaoke Evolution is a good value crowd-pleaser for those who like that sort of thing. There are other positives too, with slick character and venue creation modes. It's relatively easy to vary the existing characters or create your own, for example, middle-aged, chunky, bald, beardy journalist-turned-rock god, or build your ideal combo of speaker rigs and lighting effects.
Unfortunately, it's also clear that Konami spent more on these aspects than they did the main menus – which we'll charitably call functional – and the actual animation. When you're up against tidily observed rivals such as Lego Rock Band, out-of-synch Zippy-esque open mouth / close mouth animation doesn't really cut it.
Career mode isn't terribly impressive, either. While it's more all-encompassing than you might fear and doesn't rely on improving your singing ability – which probably makes it quite realistic – the odd challenges aren't particularly compelling.
In short, then, Karaoke Revolution works best when it turns your console into a karaoke machine; much like its various rivals in fact. It's not great but it's certainly not awful and, at £30 or below for 75 songs, it is, at least, reasonable value. Karaoke Revolution? Hardly, but then Karaoke Same Old Same Old probably wouldn't shift as many units.
