Written by Jason Franz
When I first heard of the Movie Karaoke idea I was surprised I hadn’t heard of anyone coming up with it sooner. With the outstanding use of the Revoice software on the Shrek DVD set, I was ready to have a blast.
Then I found out what movies were in the game
Graphics
The game looks good. It has a nice, easy to read interface and the learning curve is small due to the smart layout of the screen. It’s bright, colorful and really helps with the overall enjoyment of the g…me. The clips are not in the original aspect ratio of the movie and do cut off parts of the picture at some points, but overall, the picture quality is decent for this type of application. The clips load quickly and I found no serious picture flaws.
Audio
The sound is a mixed bag of good and average. Nobody expects DD5.1EX in a game like this, but the transition from your recorded voice to the movie clip is blunt and without the warmth the original characters voices give off. I see this as the fault of the actual movie, not the game. If it had been an animated film, like Shrek, the voices wouldn’t feel so wooden and cold. I think with different movie titles, mostly animated films, directed more at family entertainment, the sound issues would all but vanish. But don’t get me wrong here folks, it works, and it works well. I just think it’s better suited to a different type of movie. Each to their own.
Gameplay
Gameplay really ties into the graphics, which are very well done. Without the stylish interface, this game would get a zero. It’s easy to select a scene, rehearse and record within seconds. You could practice for a week straight if you really wanted to and you’re only restricted by your own imagination.
I think that’s the key to a game like this. How open are you to hearing your voice, or a voice you make up instead of the actual actor in the film. If you ask me, I’d rather hear the wonderful charming talents of Mr. Levy than my own voice, but you might like to give it a whirl with your own pipes. Again, I think with a different theme, an animated film, this product would shine. It’s proven itself a winner in the Shrek DVD set already and I would love to take a crack at Toy Story or Finding Nemo. I guess we’ll have to see what the future holds for this technology.
Replay
Well, for me, seeing the movies once, without the Revoice technology was enough, and the game only has so many wild cards in the deck. The key here is variety and having a selection of different films instead of three titles from the same series would make a big difference. Throw in some downloadable content or expansion packs with different scenes and I think the sky is the limit. But with the titles that came on the disc, it could be on the shelf pretty quick. We’ll have to wait and see what Synchro Arts and Fooseoke have in store for the future.
Final Thoughts
More scenes from animated movies, and I think this title would be a real winner. But with what we’ve got, it’s a weekend chuckle at best. It’s got the interface and the proven technology to be a really great family game, it just needs the right content.
