The popular talent show American Idol is a ratings juggernaut for Fox Television, and Karaoke Revolution is a successful game series for Konami that has a fan following that regularly snaps up new versions of the game despite only marginal changes with each release. So it should come as no shock that Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol is a great amalgamation of these fan favorites creating a game that gives you a good taste of what it's like to compete on the big stage in front of the likes of Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell. Sure the game isn't spot on and sometimes the judges' comments don't mesh with your performance, but the end result of this game created by Konami is still a pretty solid and polished American Idol experience that wanna-be idols will actually enjoy.

At it's heart, American Idol is the same game as last year's Karaoke Revolution title with a few nice touches. The most notable difference is the American Idol veneer which consists of a new virtual season mode and the ability to be judged in some of the existing modes. Before we go into that, there's the whole laundry list of last year's modes like one and two mic parties, head to head modes, duets and the usual settings like long and short song competitions. As usual you'll have to sing along to the words and keep the right pitch as you did last year, scoring the most points and getting silver, gold and platinum album points that unlock everything from songs and new outfits to new pre-made characters.

The presentation level remains pretty much the same as last year, which isn't a knock on American Idol at all - there's just not enough changes here worth noting. Luckily the game features 40 or so classic and new pop tunes to sing along to including "Piano Man, "More Than Words," and "Build Me Up Buttercup," along with American Idol-inspired hits like "Do I Make You Proud." It's a nice mix-up of both old and new so there's something for everyone to sing along to. Many of these tunes are unlockable so you won't get them right away without some work but what's there is pretty nice. As is the case with songs in Konami's games, these are sung by no-name sound-alikes so it takes some getting used to how this changes the actual vocal texture - which can trip you up when you are playing. Hearing someone other than Billy Joel belt out Piano Man can really throw a person off.

Once you get passed the usual stuff -- including the excellent tutorial that explains how the game's various mechanics work - you'll get your chance to shine on the American Idol stage. You can run through a virtual season complete with virtual competitors or up to seven real players and have your performance analyzed by Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell and .. Laura?!? Who the heck is Laura? Apparently Paula Abdul wasn't available to participate in this game but did allow her hit "Straight Up" to be included in the mix. Weird. Despite the sappiest soft speaking judge being excluded from the game, the judges do add the flavor you'd expect in an American Idol competition. Randy gives you his usual urban infused diatribe and Simon is as combative as ever slinging insults like cowboys sling six-shooters.

The judging is pretty interesting but it's not perfect. Sometimes you'll get a nice response from judges when your singing has been pretty awful. This is due more to the way the game evaluates performances based on pitch and accuracy and less on your vocal skills. Just because you can score well within the game doesn't mean you can actually sing.. That aside, the judges also aren't always right in their evaluation, but it ultimately doesn't matter beyond a certain point (you know, where they say "you're going to Hollywood"). The only other complaint I could lodge against these judges is that their material is repeated ad nauseam after awhile because it is obviously limited by what was recorded. All of that aside, the game ties the judging and the virtual TV battles in nicely to make it fun.

The only other thing worth noting about American Idol is your ability to create your own character, using what's in the game already or via the EyeToy USB camera. The EyeToy allows you to put your face in the game, which can be pretty entertaining all on its own. It's kind of satisfying and disturbing to see a virtual version of yourself dancing and grooving to tunes on stage. But if you don't have an EyeToy you can still use the stock characters and outfits to create your own special look. Since the way you look doesn't affect how the judges react to you, players can feel free to ham it up and dress as ridiculously as they please.

One final note on American Idol - it works great on the PlayStation 3 along with all of the PS2's peripherals. I have to give Sony credit for offering real backwards compatibility for games being developed for the PS2. I plugged in all my peripherals, popped the disc in and had no problems playing this game right out of the box. So for those of you that own a PS3, the good news is that you can buy this game and play it without any technical problems...