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The actual Spy Mission was enjoyed by the group, although the person who led them round could have been a whole lot more enthusiastic. Considering the polish on the rest of the game, it's obvious where the rushed last-minute development spots are.I booked this for my son's 6th birthday party. They're entirely too dependent on precise vocals, and the payoff is minimal compared to the frustration. A little entertaining the first few times, but you won't be coming back often, and the others are worth ignoring entirely. At least initially, you only have a Pong-esque volleyball game, where your voice's pitch controls the direction of the team.
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The brand-new mini-games, on the other hand, seem like afterthoughts the team designed at the last minute. It's simple to set up and implement onto an edited character, so the bonus is painless and welcome. That's an ingenious move for character creation, and though the memory card space requirements are obnoxious, it's fantastic for thoroughly embarrassing people as they blast through some of the game's cheesier tracks. There are plenty of other additions to the traditional Karaoke Revolution formula to capitalize on the party motif, too, such as the inclusion of EyeToy support. It removes the frustration of handling both aspects at once, while allowing more people to stand up and participate in the game at the same time. In that case, the singer and dancing are dependent on each other's cooperation throughout the song, playing up the competitive aspect between players and teams alike. If you're still anxious about taking advantage of the mode, though, splitting up the jobs and creating teams of two actually works well. Karaoke's supposed to be simple entertainment, not a brutalizing mental (and physical) workout. That alone would have spelled improvement, but even then it would have been more than most casual Karaoke Revolution fans would be willing to put up with.
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Dancing and singing simply takes too much coordination, and the steps aren't timed well enough with the music to make them feel as natural as they should've. Even for those especially proficient at DDR are likely to find they ditch the mode once they've unlocked the trophies. Unless you've committed a particular song to memory, it's nigh impossible to keep tabs on the lyrics, dance movements scrolling below and wobbling feet simultaneously, and such an ideal situation is hardly common during most karaoke situations (people intoxicated during karaoke? Never!). A great idea on paper? Yeah, definitely, but it doesn't work well in execution. It's natural to dance while singing, but grading you ala DDR is an entirely different affair. Dancing and singing isn't a strange combination on its own, but it doesn't exactly first come to mind in the video-game world. Though the last few Karaoke Revolutions have steadily refined the formula without too much tampering, Harmonix's really mixed things up with Karaoke Revolution Party, fusing their own creation with another one of Konami's popular music rhythm series, Dance Dance Revolution. Between Guitar Hero and the latest Karaoke Revolution, the company once known simply for creating fan-favorite but obscure music games is suddenly creating all sorts of buzz. Harmonix is ripping the music rhythm genre a new one this fall.