35. Karaoke Revolution: Glee (Video Game)

KARAOKE REVOLUTION: GLEE (Konami, 2010)

GENRE: Video Game / Karaoke

HONORS: N/A

REVIEW:

Inspired by the hit television show, Karaoke Revolution: Glee features twenty-nine of the most popular songs from season one.  Players sing along as the lyrics appear on the screen, gaining points depending on how well they sing and getting a slushie thrown in their direction when they hit a few bad notes.  From the main menu, players must choose between two modes of gameplay: Quick Play and Scrapbook.  With Quick Play, players can select any song in the game, while Scrapbook has players select their favorite character from the show and sing the songs that are within their repertoire.   In addition, players may prefer to play solo or they can go head-to-head against a friend to see which of them earns the highest score.  Adding some fun to the game, videos from the show play in the background that go along with each of the songs, including some never-before-seen footage.

OPINION:

This is the perfect video game for a Glee fan.  While it is more like a sing-along game than a karaoke game, fans will enjoy harmonizing with their favorite characters and watching previously unreleased video clips.  I played this game along with a fellow Glee fan and we had tons of fun playing against each other.  There is a mode that has players shooting stars that float across the screen while singing that seemed impossible to do unless players have a mastery of the lyrics and timing.  We ended up handing the Wii remote to another friend and assigned them with the task of shooting the stars while we sang.  Aside from that, the game is very user-friendly, allowing players to choose the level of difficulty.  However, the song list felt too limiting and, after finishing all of our favorite songs, we could not imagine wanting to continue playing to try to beat our scores.  This makes me feel that the game would be perfect to checkout at the local library, but it does not have enough replay value to recommend purchasing it for one’s personal collection. 

IDEAS:

This game could be fun to include as part of a Glee night at the library along with other Glee-themed activities, such as a Glee trivia game and a costume contest.