Power Up: You, too, can be insulted by 'Idol's' Simon Cowell
With another American Idol season under way, who among us hasn't wondered what it's like to belt out a song in front of Simon, Paula, Randy and the entire national television audience?
With another
American Idol
season under way, who among us hasn't wondered what it's like to belt out a song in front of Simon, Paula, Randy and the entire national television audience?
While the odds are that neither you nor I will make it to an
American Idol
tryout, much less Hollywood, we can at least pretend with Karaoke Revolution: American Idol Encore. The new release from Konami comes bundled with a microphone, an assortment of familiar pop tunes, and passable likenesses of
American Idol's
celebrity judging crew.
As the game begins, players select either a male or female alter ego that can be dressed up and coiffed to the player's liking. Once a character is created, the game advances to the singing competition. This part can be played by the player alone, or as part of a competition against human or computer opponents. The Xbox 360 version used for this review also allows players to compete online and earn achievements on Xbox Live. Doing well in the game unlocks additional characters as well as performance videos from past seasons of
American Idol.
When competing, players use the included microphone to sing along, karaoke-style, with dozens of well-known pop tunes. I embarrassed myself, for example, with renditions of "Tiny Dancer," "Copacabana," "Can't Hurry Love" and the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction." Despite singing skills rarely called upon outside of my daily shower, I made it through the American Idol audition, receiving the virtual version of the prized golden ticket to Hollywood. Once in Tinseltown, I even advanced through several rounds before falling by the wayside to superior, albeit virtual, talent.
You don't need to have an especially good voice to advance, it seems. Playing on the game's average difficulty setting I found that timing and pitch were the most important things to keep in mind. I even managed a good score on one song just by humming along. Whistling my way through, however, got me booed off the stage.
The game's virtual judges are entertaining 3-D representations of the real
American Idol
trio. As you might expect, Randy is encouraging yet realistic; Paula, earnest and encouraging; Simon, blunt to the point of rudeness.
When the book of groundbreaking games is written someday, it is not going to include American Idol Encore. Still, the game is fun to play, especially with a group of friends or perhaps at a party.
Sony's PSP coming on strong
While the Nintendo DS seems to dominate the handheld gaming scene, Sony's PSP (PlayStation Portable) is giving the DS a run for its money. In addition to an impressive roster of games, owners of newer versions of the PSP can use it to connect to the Skype network for free voice calls to other Skype users around the world. Also on the near-term horizon is a GPS device for the PSP. If you can make free calls and find your way around town with your GPS, it suddenly becomes a very attractive alternative to the DS.
Power Up:
Grade: B+
Karaoke Revolution: American Idol Encore
Konami.
Xbox 360 ($69.99) Wii ($59.99) PlayStation 2 ($49.99)
Rating: E (all ages)
On the Web:
» READ MORE: www.konami.com