I won the uber-version that comes with the USB microphone ($55 MSRP)... and the bonus t-shirt is pretty sweet too.
What I did not expect was that KR is finally producing games that feel like full, genuine releases. The first game just trots out the songs, a few unlockables, and a handful of player characters. Even more egregious, the second game was virtually identical, aside from a new song list.
The American Idol edition has a Springfield flaming tire pile of unlockable content, mostly circling around clothing sets for the greatly increased choice of character models... but also heavy in short videos from various years of American Idol itself.
But the coolest/most bizarre addition is the EyeToy support (which other Kakaoke Rev games have done, but this is my first experience with it). Visually, it's hilarious to see live footage of your living room pumped into the digital recreations of the now-famous American Idol sets. But beyond that, KRPAI (hah) lets you make a 3D model of your head that you plop on top of a customizable body.
Predictably, the results are monstrous. But in a good way.
It's good enough that Clark instantly recognized Virtual Daddy, but still weirdly creepy. You need bright, saturating lighting, or else your face will end up tattooed with odd shadows and colors. Amps the fun quotient up into the stratosphere, tell you that. There's sort-of-me, pumping my fist and running through a set list of Taylor Hicks motion capture. Hilarious.
I brought the gear over to Tony's last night - game + memory card + USB mic + USB headset (for duets!) + EyeToy - and we brought the sexy back. We had a room full of people, most of whom actually performed. You know, I don't actually DO karaoke in the traditional bar/company party sense... but place it inside a video game metaphor and I'm there.
Just to give you an idea of how ridiculous the face thing looks, here's me and Tony celebrating a victory in a heated duets competition.
Tony's character is illegibly dark because of the lighting and the intense YouTube compression. Mine is passable at best. Still, you could do worse things with your EyeToy.
I know you're thinking that is the worst thing in the world, but it's not. For reasons unknown, Paula Abdul did not grant permission for her voice and likeness for the game. So you get Randy... Simon... and Laura. I'll bet there was some deep corporate meetings at Konami about whether or not to go through with this project with only 2/3rds of the judges signed on.
So big thanks to GameSetWatch for their contest! Very cool and very free.
