Karaoke Revolution

Karaoke Revolution, and its sequels Karaoke Revolution Volume 2 and Karaoke Revolution Volume 3, are Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox video games developed by Harmonix and published by Konami in its Bemani line.

Contents

1 Concept 2 Gameplay 3 Releases 4 Song list 5 External links

Concept

The games are based on karaoke singing in which an amateur singer sings a popular song while it plays without vocals. The games are able to sense the pitch of the singer's voice and award points based on how well the singer matches the pitches he's supposed to be singing.

Karaoke Revolution requires the use of a USB microphone. A microphone headset made by Logitech is available in a bundle with the games and is also sold separately; Logitech also sells a hand-held karaoke microphone. [1] (http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/US/EN%2CCRID%3D97%2CCONTENTID%3D7983) The game does not attempt to understand the singer's words; because it only senses his pitch, the singer can hum to a song or sing different lyrics without penalty. The game adapts to the player singing one octave higher or lower than the song, to accommodate players whose vocal range does not fit the song.

The songs in the game are covers (not performed by the original artists, but similar to the originals) of pop hits frequently sung in karaoke bars. This contrasts with the SingStar series from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, which features only original artist recordings along with the music videos, where available.

American versions of the game are based on a public performance style (like American Idol for example). Versions sold in Japan are basically "karaoke in a box" (just displaying lyrics and videos).

Gameplay

The player is depicted as a character on-screen performing at one of several venues, such as a subway station, a carnival, or a football halftime show. The words to the song scroll right-to-left at the bottom of the screen, above a piano roll representation of the relative pitches at which they are to be sung (the game calls these "note tubes"). At the left end of this area, a "pitch arrow" shows the pitch which the player is singing and provides feedback on whether he's hitting the notes. A "crowd meter" shows the mood of the crowd as the player sings; if he does a good job of hitting notes on-pitch then the crowd will cheer more loudly and clap in rhythm with the song, and the scene will become more vividly animated. If the crowd meter falls all the way to the lowest rating, the audience will boo the character off-stage and the game is over.

Each song is divided into approximately 30 to 50 "phrases." A meter will fill up and turn from red to green for each phrase, based on how well the player sings the right notes; if the player can fill the meter to green, he will score more points, and getting several greens in a row will create a "combo" and award a 2x score multiplier until the player fails to make green on another phrase. The game can be set at higher difficulties which make this meter larger and require the player to hit the right notes more precisely to fill it to green.

Since maximum scores for each song are normalized around 50,000 or so, overall scores on songs can be compared. To achieve the gold record for a song, 12,000 points must be achieved. To achieve the platinum record for a song, 20,000 points must be achieved. Winning records will unlock additional characters, outfits, and songs.

Karaoke Revolution Volume 2 introduces a "medley mode" which challenges the player to sing a string of short clips from various songs.

Karaoke Revolution Volume 3 introduces "duet mode" which lets two singers play simultaneously.

Releases

Many expansion discs are available for the Japanese version of the game, including an anime song collection and several volumes of J-Pop.

The North American version of Karaoke Revolution was released in November, 2003 in a bundle with the Logitech headset attachment. The game was sold without the headset in February, 2004. The European version of the game, titled Karaoke Stage, is scheduled for release in March, 2005, although this is subject to change as previous release dates have been missed.

Karaoke Revolution Volume 2 was released in North America on July 13, 2004.

Karaoke Revolution Volume 3 was released in North America on November 9, 2004.

Song list

These songs are included in the North American release of Karaoke Revolution. Also listed are the original artists on whose versions of these songs the Karaoke Revolution covers were based (none of these artists themselves are heard in the game). Some of these songs are "locked" and require the completion of goals within the game to access them.

1. Addicted - Simple Plan
2. All You Wanted - Michelle Branch
3. Are You Happy Now? - Michelle Branch
4. Believe - Cher
5. Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
6. Bizarre Love Triangle - New Order
7. Broken Wings - Mr. Mister
8. Celebration - Kool & The Gang
9. Chain of Fools - Aretha Franklin
10. Complicated - Avril Lavigne
11. Crawling in the Dark - Hoobastank
12. Don't Know Why - Norah Jones
13. Every Morning - Sugar Ray
14. Everything You Want - Vertical Horizon
15. Girls Just Want to Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
16. Hey Jealousy - Gin Blossoms
17. Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar
18. How You Remind Me - Nickelback
19. I'm Coming Out - Diana Ross
20. It's the End of the World as We Know It - R.E.M.
21. Kiss Me - Sixpence None The Richer
22. Ladies' Night - Kool & The Gang
23. Like a Virgin - Madonna
24. One Week - Barenaked Ladies
25. Red Red Wine - UB40
26. Save Tonite - Eagle Eye Cherry
27. Science Genius Girl - Freezepop
28. She Talks to Angels - Black Crowes
29. Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson
30. Son of a Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield
31. The Power of Love - Huey Lewis and the News
32. Waiting for Tonight - Jennifer Lopez
33. When a Man Loves a Woman - Percy Sledge
34. Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler
35. You Really Got Me - Van Halen
36. You're the One That I Want - Olivia Newton-John

These songs, also covers and some of them locked, are included in the North American release of Karaoke Revolution Volume 2.

1. Baby One More Time - Britney Spears
2. Born to Be Wild - Steppenwolf
3. Cry - Faith Hill
4. Drift Away - Uncle Kracker
5. Every Breath You Take - The Police
6. Friends in Low Places - Garth Brooks
7. Genie in a Bottle - Christina Aguilera
8. Heartbreak Hotel - Elvis Presley
9. Here Without You - 3 Doors Down
10. Hot Stuff - Donna Summer
11. I Believe in a Thing Called Love - The Darkness
12. I Hate Everything About You - Three Days Grace
13. I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
14. Irresistible - Jessica Simpson
15. It’s My Life - No Doubt
16. I’ll Make Love to You - Boyz 2 Men
17. I’m With You - Avril Lavigne
18. I’ve Got You Under My Skin - Frank Sinatra
19. Jesse’s Girl - Rick Springfield
20. Lady Marmalade - Pink, Christina Aguilera, Mya, and Lil Kim
21. Let’s Get It On - Marvin Gaye
22. Miss You - Aaliyah
23. My Girl - The Temptations
24. Papa Don't Preach - Madonna
25. Perfect - Simple Plan
26. Rich Girl - Hall and Oates
27. Rock and Roll All Night - Kiss
28. Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding
29. Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
30. The First Cut Is the Deepest - Sheryl Crow
31. The Joker - Steve Miller
32. Toxic - Britney Spears
33. Virtual Insanity - Jamiroquai
34. We Are Family - Sister Sledge
35. White Flag - Dido

These songs are included in the North American release of Karaoke Revolution Volume 3.

1. ABC - The Jackson Five
2. Against All Odds - Phil Collins
3. Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye feat. Tammi Terrell
4. Beat It - Michael Jackson
5. Burn - Usher
6. California Dreaming - The Mamas & the Papas
7. Careless Whisper - Wham!
8. China Grove - The Doobie Brothers
9. Come Clean - Hilary Duff
10. Don't You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds
11. Flashdance... What A Feeling - Irene Cara
12. Hold On - Good Charlotte
13. I Got You Babe - Sonny & Cher
14. If I Ain't Got You - Alicia Keys
15. In the Midnight Hour - Wilson Pickett
16. Joy to the World- Three Dog Night
17. Killing Me Softly - The Fugees
18. Leave (Get Out) - JoJo
19. Love Shack - The B-52s
20. Meant to Live - Switchfoot
21. My Immortal - Evanescence
22. New York, New York - Frank Sinatra
23. Oops!... I Did It Again - Britney Spears
24. Respect - Aretha Franklin
25. Shining Star - Earth, Wind & Fire
26. Snake Eater (from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater) - Norihiko Hibino feat. Cynthia Harrell
27. Someday - Nickelback
28. Take My Breath Away - Berlin
29. Thank You - Dido
30. The Reason - Hoobastank
31. Twist & Shout - The Beatles
32. Unchained Melody - The Righteous Brothers
33. Under Pressure - Queen feat. David Bowie
34. Waiting For You (from Silent Hill 4: The Room) - Akira Yamaoka feat. Melissa Williamson
35. When I'm Gone - Three Doors Down
36. Why Can't I - Liz Phair
37. You're the One That I Want - Olivia Newton-John feat. John Travolta

External links

• GameFAQs entry on Karaoke Revolution (http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/data/36450.html)
• GameFAQs entry on Karaoke Revolution 2 (http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/data/920443.html)
• KaraokeRevolution.net fan site (http://www.karaokerevolution.net/)