Can I sing? Well, actually, yes, according to many evenings of warbling at the local karaoke bar. I've actually sung at a Konami function as well, taking my turn on Karaoke Revolution Party during their recent BBQ event in San Francisco. And, hey, I wasn't half bad going through "What I Like About You". Sure, there were only five people in the room, but, hey, I ruled nonetheless. Now, can I dance? Um, no. I learned that singing and dancing requires a great deal of concentration, and the fact I had a couple of beers before I started playing proved that I was no Gene Kelly. I wasn't even Gene Shalit, for crying out loud.

But I think most of the effort comes in the trying, and I had a good time trying out Party, the latest in Konami's Karaoke Revolution games. This is a series of games where your voice does the work, as you sing your way through a number of classics with the help of a microphone peripheral. As you go, a little bar runs across the bottom of the screen with the lyics and tone all set, and reads how evenly you match up with the tone on-screen. The better you do, the better you score, basically. So those who can't sing, you might want to practice up.

As I mentioned, Karaoke Revolution Party contains a sweet little mode known as "Sing and Dance", where the Konami dance pad made popular with their Dance Dance Revolution games comes into play. You have to coordinate your footsteps with the running arrows on the screen, while also maintaining the balance to the current song that you're singing. It really is a lot trickier than it looks, but it finally provides the opportunity to be a song-and-dance man, and try to impress your folks for the first time in ages. Granted, you must first have talent, which comes in handy to keeping an accurate high score.

Karaoke Revolution Party will feature over 50 songs, including a few contemporary hits as well as such classics as "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me" by Culture Club, Beyonce's "Crazy In Love", and "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond. Along with that, there will also be various modes for players to go through, including a duet mode where you can have a sing-off against a friend, as well as a vocal competition mode where you can compete against a gaggle of opponents, American Idol style, to see who's the master of the mike.

But what makes Party unique is how it offers something virtually different for every platform it's coming out for. For the first time in the series, the GameCube will see the game, allowing owners of Nintendo's system the opportunity to finally see what all the fuss is about. PS2 owners will be glad to see themselves really get into the game, as the game has full EyeToy support so you can implement yourself into the presentation. (Now you can see how silly you look singing "I Touch Myself"- how grand!). As for Xbox owners, they'll have the ability to download new songs via Xbox Live, being able to expand upon their selections and sing well through the night. Now, whether the neighbors will like that or not...well, you're on your own there.

Throw in some mini-games and a presentation similar to past editions, and you have something that will truly be cherished by the singing and dancing nuts out there. Karaoke Revolution Party is indeed a party just waiting to happen, and this October, we'll see just who's the life of it. The question is, can I really get through "I Don't Wanna Be" while trying to do a two-step? Man, I'm afraid to find out.