Say, You Want Another Revolution?

Mid riff: In <i>Karaoke Revolution</i>, girls just wanna be Cyndi and boys just wanna be Mr. Mister.

Mid riff: In Karaoke Revolution, girls just wanna be Cyndi and boys just wanna be Mr. Mister.

A new karaoke video game puts pitch above perfection.

One day Konami will be made to stand trial for its many atrocities against human dignity. Following up Dance Dance Revolution -- the game that inspired countless bad dancers to flail wildly about -- the ruthless video game company has released Karaoke Revolution (Konami, PlayStation 2, $59.99) to the unsuspecting public.

Equipped with a Britney-esque (or is that customer-service-representative-esque?) headset, you sing your way from the living-room karaoke party all the way to the "Enormobowl" stadium where a blimp flies overhead with your name on it.

After selecting a character to represent you on the screen and dressing said character in one of a number of flashy outfits that you would look terrible in, you are ready to rock, or, more likely, you are ready to warble, screech and shout. See, the PS2 magic microphone can only measure your rhythm and your pitch. If you can produce a sound that matches the pitch of the song you're singing, then you get tons of points, never mind that you may be making a noise similar to a bag of dying kittens.

In this way, the usual rules of karaoke are reversed: A complicated song like R.E.M.'s "It's the End of the World as We Know It" is easy, since basically you're just rapidly hitting the same note; on the other hand, a power ballad like "Broken Wings" requires a variety of notes. Our attempt at this Mr. Mister classic ended with the character being booed off the stage. You can also sing an octave higher or lower than the original, as long as you have the correct pitch. Picture a very deep, tuneless rendition of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."

Despite the fact that playing Karaoke Revolution could result in an eviction notice, it's embarrassingly fun. You can compete against up to eight real-life players, or just use your PS2 as a regular karaoke machine. The drawback is that your party will quickly feel limited by the relatively small selection; there are only about 35 songs to choose from. How many times could you stand to hear a mangled version of the Gin Blossoms' "Hey Jealousy"?—Debra Auspitz

Hard Castle

Since its 1986 debut, one constant has remained in the Castlevania series: When a problem comes along, you must whip it. Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (Konami, PS2, $49.99) serves as a franchise prequel by introducing the stylishly coifed Leon Belmont, first in the line of his legendary whip-cracking, vampire-hating clan. The risky leap back to 3-D after a popular 2-D return on the PlayStation isn't flawless -- bosses occasionally wind up offscreen with no easy way to focus on them, and some perspective issues frustrate during tricky jumping puzzles -- but would it really be Castlevania without a few jumps that made you want to throw an axe through your TV screen? On the plus side, the graphics and character design are terrific and nostalgic nods to the series' past abound, from the exploding holy water to a giant flying Medusa head. If you're OK with some Evil Dead-like geysers of blood, Lament of Innocence nails the heart of what makes Castlevania fun, and there are enough hard-to-find secrets to add some life to a somewhat short play time. —Bob McCormick

Orc in the Road

Button-mashing and Orc-slaying are the soup du jour in Return of the King (Electronic Arts, GameCube, PS2, Xbox, $49.95), the third installment from the Tolkien literary trilogy turned movie franchise turned video-game series. As Frodo (or Gandalf, or Aragorn, etc.), you begin your adventure at the climax of the Battle of Helms Deep and fight your way across Middle Earth. It's a rush. Electronic Arts has accomplished what so few have before, delivering a compelling gaming experience -- one that is satisfying intellectually and visually -- based on a movie.—Chris Newborg

Silent Warning

Everybody wants to be Resident Evil but nobody knows how. Like all the other RE knockoffs, Silent Hill 3 (Konami, PS2, $49.99) is a horror/adventure game that lacks both horror and adventure. After you drag yourself through an irrelevant opening dream sequence, the game calls you "Heather" and tells you to run around a shopping mall. Christ, a shopping mall. The monsters, which look like sausages loosely tied together, lurch around trying to add you to their meaty filling. Unless you're the type to run screaming from the butcher section in the supermarket, this game won't scare you. Though the controls are easy, the soundtrack is appropriately ominous and the graphics are noticeably improved from previous Silent Hills, the familiar plot twists and settings (ooh, another subway) will bore a regular gamer into doing his household chores. Adam Schuler

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