musical note : - this review reflect the single player mode of the game only , but if you have 2 microphone or headset you 'll be able to sing duet and access more mode of the game and thus have even more fun playing . you can also use the EyeToy camera to add you face to the game . - the single player mode , though fewer , be still enough to keep you busy and entertain for month while you be try to constantly better you score , unless perhaps you be a very good singer who can get the top score easily , even on the hardest level of difficulty . - for a listing of the 40 song that be include in the game , just click on the Amazon forum at the bottom of the first page or read the back of the game box which also list they all . none of the real artist sing they song but the sound-a-likes be pretty good for most of they . as well , I sometimes leave the game on while I be work on my computer , so that it keep play the various song in its demo mode . it be just like have the radio on , play top 40 song . WARMUP : this be the first ever Karaoke game I play , and be very surprised to find myself addict to it after just 30 minute of singing . so much so , that I have to scramble around to find the older version of the game which I also love . although the country version have many boring song with only average male sound-a-like singer , I still like the female sound-a-likes and they song in the game , which be enough to still recommend it , even though I play it the least . I start off with a terrible voice but after many day of practice , I be probably much closer to be a average -lrb- once my voice be warm up -rrb- male singer . no , I still can not remember most of the word to the song until I see they pop up on the screen , but my singing have improve enough to get several Diamond record -lrb- highest you can get -rrb- on the easiest of the 4 difficulty level , for some of the easier song like ` Piano Man ' , ` can not help fall in Love ' or ` Breakaway ' -lrb- I be surprised they do not have some big hit song like : Kelly Clarkson 's ` since U be go ' , or James Blunt 's ` you be beautiful ' , and once again there be no abba song include , but maybe some of these song will be in the next version -rrb- . even with only 40 song , it be fun to try to better you high score , and if you have all the other 5 Karaoke Revolution game , you 'll have over 230 song to sing , so repetition be less of a problem . there be also 100 unlockable in this game , include about 24 video -lrb- some fullscreen and some widescreen -rrb- from the american Idol tv show . none of the clip be for entire song and generally only run 90 seconds or less , but they do feature Kelly Clarkson , Katherine McPhee , Clay Aiken , Taylor Hicks , etc. , -lrb- singing song only from this game -rrb- and sometimes join 4 different singer splice together sing the same song . there be also some funny audition include , like William Hung 's ` she bang ' and the Wasp guy . it be too bad the singing clip be so short but it be better than nothing . of the 40 song in the game , only 4 need to be unlock and it be easy to do . to unlock ` Flying without Wings ' , you just need 500,00 total point . to unlock ` Piano Man ' , earn 4 platinum record . to unlock ` Straight up ' earn 6 platinum record . to unlock ` the real thing ' , just get 1.5 million total point in the game . graphic : the cartoony character be basically the same -lrb- if not identical -rrb- as in the previous version and be still nice enough to look at , although until you learn the song melody well enough , you 'll be spend most of you time stare at the pitch arrow and the note tube to see how accurate you pitch be . then of course there be always the lyric to learn , if you want to sound even more authentic . Paula Abdul be miss from the game , replace by she cheaper but still effective counterpart Laura . however , only Simon be really necessary anyway . Simon and Randy look close enough to they real life self and some of the background venue have nice touch , but I think all of they -lrb- other than the american idol stage -rrb- , be in the previous version with sometimes just slightly different thing go on . for instance , here in the beach venue you see a airplane in the background , which have a banner trail behind it which show you name on it and it say , ` happy spring break with -lrb- insert you name -rrb- on the mic . ' ; whereas in Kar . Rev. Party from last year , the plane 's banner say , ' -lrb- Insert you name -rrb- will you marry I ? ' , which be much funnier . the Central Station venue with the subway train go by you be still nice and look basically the same . also , if you sing poorly , you crowd meter go down and you 'll notice there be fewer people in the crowd because people be walk out on you and some will hold they hand over they ear . occasionally , I sing poorly on purpose , just to watch all this and other various thing happen . the various clothing choice be cute , and it be always fun to create a fatso or a skin and bone starlet , and the better you do , the more stuff you 'll unlock . GAMEPLAY : just like before , the game grade you on how accurately you pitch match the singer . a on-screen pitch arrow rise or fall as you raise or lower you voice , try to match it up with the note bar that appear on screen . the more you fill you meter up , the higher rating you get for each phrase . String several good or great rating consecutively together for each phrase and you 'll get a combo bonus and also increase the crowd meter and soon double you score . you 'll soon start to glow and the crowd will cheer more . you do not have to sing the word correctly , but if you sing the phrase -lrb- that be sparkling -rrb- well enough -lrb- pitch-wise -rrb- , you 'll also get a crowd boost . if the crowd meter go to the bottom red part for too long , you 'll be boo off the stage before the song even finish . unless you stop singing , or be completely tone deaf , this will never happen to you so do not worry about it . this be basically the same game as the previous version , except with the american idol contest add , that you can play as either a 8 , 13 or 18 round game . it be easy to win on the easy difficulty level . just save the song you be good at -lrb- for the closing round , once you sing a song it be remove from the list and you can not sing it again in the contest -rrb- , till the last 3 round or so and you 'll do fine . for more of a challenge , let the game randomly choose what song you sing in each round or try the harder difficulty level , which will have larger meter to fill , so it be tougher to get `` good '' and `` Great '' rating for each phrase . as well , try singing without the note bar or the singer , to see how good you really be . some people think this game be tougher than the previous version of the game , but they all seem about the same to I . in the 18 round american idol contest , only in the first 4 round do the judge decide if you advance . after that , the fan voting come into play . you only hear Ryan Seacrest 's voice , but never actually see he . nor do you see or hear the other contestant . you just see they name and yours and how many star each of you get for you song . in round 5 , four people be eliminate and 20 stay . then from round 8 onward , only one person be eliminate . after you win there be a dull screen say you be the american Idol Champion and you also get to sing you encore without be judge of course . also , you can save after each round so you can quit and resume the contest at anytime . also , if you lose , they let you retry the song or pick another one right away . you can even play the american Idol Quick play mode which let you sing one song and then hear what the judge think of you . you high score will still be save in this mode as well . the problem with the judge be that they sometimes get the fact wrong . once , during a contest , while I have over 20,000 point and singing well enough , the judge be cover they ear and at the end say my pitch be not good and that I should not have sing this song again because it be even worse this time around . not only do I not remember singing that song in the previous 7 round -lrb- although I might have ? -rrb- , but more important , be the fact that I get my highest score and a platinum record for this song which then unlock some stuff . so obviously I sing it better this time -lrb- even if Simon be right that I have sing it before ? -rrb- . most of the time however , they get it right and even though they sometimes repeat much of they dialogue , they have enough different variation to keep it interesting and give you a chuckle or too . once you have hear it all , you can always just skip they comment anyway . there be also a Medly mode , again , where you can sing part of three , four or five song string together , but since you score be not save in this mode I do not play it much . I suppose you could write down you best score but I be too lazy to bother . I also like use the Karaoke mode -lrb- there be no judge -rrb- , with the lyric and note bar set to ` off ' , just to watch and listen to my character sing the song . I usually decide not to sing along in this mode because it be then easier for I to notice all the animation and thus enjoy the graphic and sound-a-like singer even more . SOME COMPARISONS with the previous version : this game save you high score -lrb- even the date -rrb- and separate they among the different difficulty level you sing they in , and whether or not you sing the long or short version of the song . unfortunately , you song score be list alphabetically by song name , so if you want to see what song you be best at , -lrb- on a specific difficulty level -rrb- , you 'll have to scroll through the entire list of song to compare . however , I prefer the first three Karaoke Revolution game ' high score listing , because in those one , you score be list from highest to lowest , so it be much faster to see which song you get you highest score on , and which one you need to practice more . although , in the these earlier version , there be no diamond record give for a perfect score , so you never see the word ` Perfect Combo ' on the screen , while you be singing , to help let you know you be on you way to a perfect 50,000 point score . as well , in the older game when you beat you previous high score it say so on the screen . but in this latest version and last year 's country and Party version , it do not . instead , you have to remember you score and then check to see if it be now in the high score section or list as you new best score in one of the song selection screen . sure all you score be still save , but I want to know right after the song if I improve my score . it be no big deal I guess , since the loading in between screen , be very fast , but still I prefer the older way of show thing . this american Idol version have no dancing or minigame option that Kar . Rev. Party have , but that be no big deal since it be hard for most people to sing and dance at the same time without lip-synching -lrb- hello , Ashlee Simpson -rrb- , and the minigame get dull fast . the two basic minigame -lrb- there a extra one if you play with other people -rrb- from Kar . Rev. Party be a okay way to practice singing note , but the game themselves be too basic to be fun for more than a day . another problem be that you score for the minigame be not save , so unless you write they down , you will not know if you improve . if you only want to buy one of these other version , then just pick the one with more of you favorite song in it . however , if you want to be able to sing duet with a friend , DO not buy the first one or volume 2 . as well , all of the other version have about 35-37 song in they , except for Kar . Rev. Party , which have 50 song . MY SO-CALLED SINGING TECHNIQUE : I use the ps2 Konami brand microphone -lrb- which come in this game bundle pack and it have a 15 foot long cord -rrb- , and even after adjust the in-game various setting to change my microphone level , the CPU singer or music volume level , I still find it best to turn on my stereo so I can better hear my voice come through my larger stereo speaker and enjoy the music more . if you do not have you ps2 hook up to you VCR , which be in turn hook up to you stereo system , you be miss out on a bit of the fun factor . however , at night , I sing without the stereo because I do not want to wake anyone up . I still have fun singing either way and can still hear my voice through the regular tv speaker , even with the music and singer set to full or to about two-third of the maximum setting . however , I just recently discover that if I hook up my fairly cheap Sony discman head phone to my stereo -lrb- I still use the hand hold microphone for singing -rrb- , I can greatly improve my score . get perfect 50,000 point score -lrb- easy level -rrb- now happen more often for I . it be obviously because I can stay in tune more easily since it be easier to concentrate on the singer 's voice and match it . I do not think use the game 's usb headset microphone would work as well as my regular head phone and hand hold mic . combination because I have hear that the headset microphone be not as good as the hand hold one that come with this game . also , the headset mic . only have one speaker . the other ear only get a piece of plastic , so it would be like listen to the song in mono . since all the song be in wonderful cd quality stereo -lrb- unlike the mono song of Singstar pop -rrb- , it would be foolish not to have both ear wire for sound . try use either ear phone or head phone -lrb- with a head phone extension cord if necessary -rrb- like I do and you score should also improve . at first I be sing too loud and screech out the high note too often which give I more of a gravelly voice and I could barely ever hit the low note anymore , so I have to rest my voice and sing softer , till I eventually get my full voice back and be then able to more easily sing a high note and then a low note immediately after . avoid strain you voice by singing softer until you have better command of you voice . be patient . on the easy difficulty level , the phrase meter -lrb- use for point -rrb- be smaller so you can miss many of the note and still score a gold -lrb- 12,500 point -rrb- or platinum record -lrb- 20,00 point -rrb- by quite easily fill this meter often enough , especially if you know or learn the melody of the song . Diamond record -lrb- 50,000 point -rrb- be difficult for lame singer like I but it be exciting to see the word `` perfect combo '' on the screen during a song , because I know if I keep get `` great '' rating for each phrase I 'll get that Diamond record . just one phrase that be less than the `` great '' rating , end the chance for that coveted Diamond record . get the word wrong do not affect you score but you 'll feel more satisfied the more word you get right . summary : this be a great game for lousy singer -lrb- hello,k-fed -rrb- who want to improve to at least a bad or average singing level , and even if you be a already good singer , you can use this game to show off to you friend and even learn some of the lyric to 40 song . of course , this also make a even better party game , but because the game show you how much you unlock and how much of the 100 unlockable be still leave to unlock , you 'll probably have trouble stop yourself from singing . you 'll say to yourself , `` just one more song , and then I 'll go to bed '' or perhaps , `` Uggh , I just miss the platinum record by 185 point , I have gotta try one more time ! '' so , do you need this game if you have already play one or more of the previous version but have now lose interest in Karaoke ? the answer of course be no. . however , there be a nice mix of song in this version as well , so if you check out the song list in the Amazon forum post at the bottom of the first page and if you like some of they , Simon say ... `` buy it !!! ''