Karaoke Revolution

I have a new first. My brother and I got a Nintendo Entertainment System of our own after it had been sold for almost 3 years. I actually think Sega Genesis was out by the time we got an NES. The only computer game I have ever bought was Quake III Arena. It was $10 in a bargain bin. I usually just play the demos since there's so much in them. But the time is NOW, and I JOHN W BURRIS... for the first time in my entire life, have paid full price for a video game.

That game: KARAOKE REVOLUTION PARTY!!!

It has been worth every penny. Here's the story:

Jordan and Katie recenty bought a game called Guitar Hero (read more here). Well I played it at the recent draft party and really enjoyed it. Beyond that, everyone was enjoying it at the same time. The coolest part about it was how I could tell that Jordan and Katie had spent quite a lot of time practicing. That's really cool when you think about it. They have an activity that they spend loads of time on together and having a good time. I considered buying a Sony Playstation II with Guitar Hero and 2 controllers online just so Natasha and I could play. The total cost was going to be around $195. That would have gotten me a Playstation 2, 3 controllers, around 10 games, memory card, Guitar Hero, and 2 Guitar Hero controllers. Not a bad deal... But then I started looking at what I could get for the system I already have and love playing, the Gamecube.

The first game was Mario Party 7 ($50). It is well known for being the best party game made since some girls don't like Super Smash Brothers Melee. However, it wasn't quite right. (I ended up buying one just for the microphone inside.)

Karaoke Revolution ($50) practically screamed at me when I saw it. Both Ron and Brad had mentioned how fun it was. There was no hesitation as I ran to the Wal-Mart attendant.

So here's what the game is: You sing karaoke into USB microphones. You are judged based on both accuracy in timing and pitch. The closer you are, the more points you get and the more the crowd gets into it. You can sing duets, have battles or just plain sing karaoke. The character creater is pretty good as well. This is a really, really fun game so far. I'm glad that the Simpson crew exposed me to this type of gaming.

It has 50 really cool songs. (See song list here under the title Karaoke Revolution Party) I had gotten perfect on only 2 songs: Dust in the Wind (Easiest difficulty) and That's Amore (hardest difficulty)

We will be playing this game tonight at my brother's with his friends and tomorrow night in Ruston with our dinner club. Tuesday my Mom and Dad may be coming to play. That may be interesting.... Dad's voice has never been mistaken for Andrea Bocelli.

After the successful sessions that Natasha and I had playing this game, I looked for some lists of great games. I found this list at gamestats.com and was dissappointed that Karaoke Revolution Party did not fare well. Neither did Mario Party 7. Then I noticed that Super Monkey Ball 2 was near the top of the list, so I completely dismissed it. If anyone knows of some really good games for couples, let me know. I think Mario Kart: Double Dash is in the near future. I've also considered Pikmin 2 and Lego: Star Wars but I'm not sure how fun those would be for Natasha.