If you laugh at karaoke, you really need to give this a try! Not only it is amazingly fun - you can even sing duets with your friends!

We have Karaoke on the XBox and love the graphics and ability to download new songs. On the PS2, There is Karaoke 1 and Karaoke 2 which have that same song selection and venue set. With Karaoke 3, they bring in the brand new ability to sing duets.

First, the normal gameplay. You get a full new set of locations - from a garage with cars outside, to an incredibly fun music video set, to a classic 'rooftop' scene a la the Beatles.

You get a new batch of songs, and like all song sets, they are "reproduced" by professional singers. This means that sometimes they sound almost exactly the same - and sometimes there are differences that drive fans completely insane. It really depends on which particular song you enjoy and how fanatical you are about the accuracy.

There's a good selection though, from Oops .. I Did It Again to Under Pressure, from Ain't No Mountain High Enough to Respect. I have to admit, though, that there weren't any true Lisa Favorites in here. With my XBox karaoke, there are a bunch of songs that I'd gladly sing over and over again because I love them. There are 2 or 3 songs in here that I enjoy a lot, but nothing of the same level. I suppose it's always hard to choose a group of songs that appeal to a wide audience.

I suppose in a way I've been spoiled by the XBox download ability. I can just go online and grab more songs if I want with the XBox. With the PS2, I'm sort of stuck.

Once you get through the main gameplay, you automatically unlock all the original locations, which is great. The graphics are really pretty impressive, with the fans reacting immediately to your good and bad behavior. There is also a HUGE collection of characters to choose from now, from one-legged pirates to opera singers, from Indian girls to Meatloaf-looking guys. That is really something great.

Of course the main reason to get Karaoke 3 is the duets, and they are a TON of fun. You need 2 mics of course, and someone to sing with. Then each of you gets your own progress bar, one on the top, one on the bottom. There are only a handful of duet songs in here - from I Got You Babe to You're the One that I Want, from Shining Star to ABC. I like California Dreamin' myself, and it is actually a challenge to keep those harmonies going. But it's great fun!

Definitely an incredibly fun way to build up your singing skills, your tone and pitch and ability to hold notes for the proper length. An incredibly fun party game too, since just about every human sings along with songs they love, even if they won't admit to it. My only real complaint with this PS2 version is that you can't download new songs. You would think since the PS2 *is* able to go online that they'd give you some way to do it. Maybe we'll have to wait for the next generation Sony console before it catches up in this sense.

Bonus - watch the 'making of' video - they have the Badgers Badgers video running in the background on the laptop!

Buy Konami Karaoke 3 from Amazon.com