Official Website
Platform: PlayStation 2
Genre: Karaoke
Number of Players: 1 - 8
Peripherals: USB Headset

Over the past few years, Konami has certainly had quite a few titles on their hands that have been tremendous hits. That's not to say that they haven't always, and games with the name Castlvania or Contra on them will always sell, as will the Metal Gear games, but Konami has put some new blood into the mix. First, there was Dance Dance Revolution, a game that started out on the import scene in the arcades before becoming a full-fledged epidemic. It's appeared cross-platform and in numerous versions and is far beyond just being a mild hit. Right behind it is yet another game that I'm sure some thought wouldn't attract gamers, at least not in the United States, and that game is none other than Karaoke Revolution.

The release of the first karaoke game for the PlayStation 2 proved to be just the thing for karaoke enthusiasts here as well as in Japan. As of this writing, Japan as no less than eight different entries into the series covering everything from love songs to J-Pop and even anime theme songs. Although these are never going to see the light of day in America, save for those lucky (or impatient) few who have an import PS2, Karaoke Revolution isn't going to sit idly by here either. It was only a few months ago that the first game was released to rave reviews and enthusiasm, and already we've got Karaoke Revolution 2.

The game itself remains unchanged for the most part, much like the case has been with the DDR titles. Just hook up your USB microphone (there's the headset version made by Konami, Sony, and third parties or a new handheld mic from Logitech) and you're ready to go. After selecting your character and you're song (there are 35 included) you're job is to sing as accurate as possible. Like karaoke, you'll see the lyrics on screen, as well as some rather entertaining antics from your selected character, but how you sing is how you score points. Pitch and accuracy are the keys here, and if you're just too horrible for words, you'll get booed off the stage. Rock the house however and not only will you score good, perhaps even earning yourself a gold or even platinum record, but there's the chance that you might just unlock something a little extra.

Like DDR, Karaoke Revolution also has combo scores. Should you manage to get in some good vocals, your combos will grow and eventually you'll get a crowd boost. Since you really don't want to get booed off the stage (too bad this usually doesn't work with karaoke in a bar) those boost are the most helpful thing of all and can help you increase your level.

The songs themselves range from old standbys to things that you probably wouldn't have expected to find in the game. Of course, these usually aren't the real versions of the songs, but a very close imitation. From the selectable tracks you'll find hits like The Police's "Every Breath to Take" and even the KISS classic "Rock and Roll All Nite." Elvis hasn't left the building either, and in fact, his hit "Heartbreak Hotel" is right here. Even Brittany and Christina are here with "Baby One More Time" and "Genie in a Bottle." And, even if you're the gangster or love or a space cowboy, you'll be grooving when you try and sing along with "The Joker." Just like before, the game also will show you just how complicated the song is in terms of signing it, but as usual, there is always some debate about the ratings with those playing it.

The only issue that I have with the songs is really the same as last time, and things that are more "fringe' are sadly left out. I'm still hoping to see a version that has heavy metal hits included. Seriously, who wouldn't enjoy singing a bit of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" or even Twisted Sisters "I Wanna Rock." I'm going to throw the title out there right now and hopefully someone at Konami will listen, but some of us want Karaoke Revolution Extreme with nothing but metal, hard rock, punk, and industrial. I know even in Japan you can hit karaoke bars that have tracks from Pantera and (god forbid) Metallica in the playlist, so why not here as well?

While the overall gameplay hasn't changed, there are some new additions that make KR2 better than ever. Let's say you really don't feel like singing an entire song, or you've got a big party going on and everyone is ready to take their turn. You can go into short song mode, ensuring that the game moves quickly and everyone has his or her moment to shine in the spotlight. You can also select medley mode to link songs together, and this is useable not just in single player mode, but multiplayer as well, and now you can have up to 8 players, but you've still have to share that microphone.

If you're playing alone, you have three different modes that you can choose from. Aside from the previously mentioned medley mode, you can also select your run of the mill karaoke version (featuring no score) or Showtime. Showtime is where scoring comes into play and allows you to continue advancing until either get booed off stage or hit the height of karaoke glory. The game will put you (or your character rather) in a number of locations in this mode from a dank and dirty garage to a royal hall. Multiplayer mode pushes the medley version of the game up to between 2 and 8 players and is based on high score, and the same is true of the arcade mode. The games regular Karaoke Contest on the other hand eliminates score and instead bases victory on contestant votes. Also in multiplayer mode, you can set the songs up to be randomly selected, either by what you have chosen ahead of time or just sit back and let the computer do it for you.

Aside from some of the more outrageous songs from the world of music being absent once again, I'm a bit surprised that the hard drive wasn't utilized this time. You've got plenty of space to begin with, even if you have Final Fantasy installed, and there have already been other games, DDR for example, on other systems (Xbox) that allowed downloadable content. Hopefully though, this will become an option later on with the series. (Besides, I'm told that even with the option to download on the Xbox, DDR still isn't nothing compared to the PS2 version.) Also, unlike games like Dynasty Warriors, the game lacks backwards compatibility with the previous game. I'd really like to see some of the old songs performed by the new goth character that's on KR2, but that's not to be.

Even though it doesn't have some of the features that I'd like to see included, and I won't bring myself to actually play the game (I leave that up to guests in the house) Karaoke Revolution 2 offers the same fantastic gameplay with new songs and is one of those games that is perfect if you're throwing a party. (It becomes much more entertaining after a few drinks as well, assuming of course you're of legal age.) Not everyone should sing, and there certainly are those that shouldn't, but the advantage here is that if you're not happy with the skill level of the vocalists, you can just find something else to entertain your guests, something that is impossible in a regular bar or karaoke setting. But, KR2 is a fantastic addition to expand you're existing library or works fine to purchase even if you don't already own the first game.

It's Showtime once again!

- mike -