For months I've been awaiting the release of Konami's Karaoke Revolution (KR) for the PS2. Being a huge Dance Dance Revolution fan, I couldn't wait to get my mitts on the next musical title from the masters of the virtual rhythm genre. Problem is, I was ignoring the fact that I'm a horrible singer but no matter! KR is a great game for the superstar in us all and is another quality gem in the world of Bemani.

While most of the world uses Sony's USB headset to trash talk and strategize with other players via the PS2 online community, Konami's put it to a different use, tossing you in the spotlight and giving you the task of successfully performing some of the world's most famous songs and the list is quite impressive, including All You Wanted, Complicated, Broken Wings, Crawling in the Dark, Red, Red Wine and my personal favorite, Girls Just Want to Have Fun. By following the lyrics on the TV and singing them into the microphone, the game measures your pitch and rhythm and scores you accordingly and there are four difficulty levels, so expect to breeze through EASY but find yourself tongue-tied while butchering REM's It's the End of the World As We Know It on EXPERT.

You begin the game by selecting from a short collection of songs and you only need to complete one to move on (five stages in total). Like DDR, the songs have tiny icons that show how difficult the song is to complete, so one mic is very easy and three will have you sucking air. The lyrics to the song move horizontally from right to left and as the words hit a Music Staff you have to sing along, building up your Phrase Meter and appeasing the crowd. Do well and they'll cheer and give you special boosts where you can gain extra points. Butcher the song and they'll boo. You don't have to perform the song word for word because it's the pitch and the rhythm that's important, and while I bombed on most of the lyrics I scored big on the choruses. In that sense KR's a little more forgiving than DDR, where missteps will send you flying off the dance mats rather quickly. However, in KR, you can squeak by sounding like a cat with its tail stuck in a door while doing your best Michael Jackson impression. Don't worry about knowing the song lyrics either. They're included in the instruction booklet!

In addition to the single player component KR has a strong multiplayer option that supports up to eight players! You can play Arcade (same as single player) or throw a karaoke competition where players can secretly rate the performers. The game also features tons of unlockables including new songs, venues, characters and outfits! There is also the option for expansion discs. Where's my rap version?

KR has some faults but they're too minor and insignificant to keep anyone from purchasing it. Since many of the DDRs feature well over 50 songs KR's track list appears small, but there's still a ton of content, and since you won't master all of the songs your first try it'll keep you and your friends/family busy for a while. The list is also devoid of other types of music such as rap, r & b and country but that's what expansion discs are for. The graphics aren't very pretty but they're not the focus of the game because as long as you can read the words to the song (and I could) everything's fine. Finally, we could argue that it's a bummer these songs aren't performed by the original artists, but it's a Karaoke game! You're the artist!

KR's fantastic and I haven't been able to pull myself away! It satisfies my guilty pleasure to sing without the glares from angry bar hops and it's the perfect game for anyone who celebrates the joys of music. Besides, you have to do something while you're resting in between DDR sessions! Buy it, play it and love it, and to Konami, if you're looking for new songs for those expansion discs, "Hit me baby one more time!"