Average
It's natural to dance while singing, but grading you ala DDR is an entirely different affair. A great idea on paper? Yeah, definitely, but it doesn't work well in execution. 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!) Even for those especially proficient at DDR are likely to find they ditch the mode once they've unlocked the trophies. 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 have. 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. Karaoke's supposed to be simple entertainment, not a brutalizing mental (and physical) workout.
If you're still anxious about taking advantage of the mode, though, splitting up the jobs and creating teams of two actually works well. 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. 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.
The brand-new mini-games, sadly, seem like afterthoughts the team designed at the last minute. At least initially, you only have a Pong-esque volleyball game, where your voice's pitch controls the direction of the team. A little entertaining the first few times, but you won't be coming back often, and the others are worth ignoring entirely. They're entirely too dependent on precise vocals, and the payoff's minimal compared to the frustration. Considering the polish on the rest of the game, it's obvious where the rushed, last-minute development spots are.
What is fantastic, though, is the song selection. Harmonix has consistently managed to balance pop hits (Ashlee Simpson's "Pieces of Me"), classic ballads (Tears For Fears, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World") with, well, everything else with their Karaoke Revolution games, and Party is thankfully no exception. Even country, disco, and even hopeless romantics will find themselves satisfied with the inclusions this time around, though it does feel like Harmonix is starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel with some choices (did anyone actually want to sing the full version of "That's Amore?") There are even more classic duets this time around ("I've Had The Time of My Life"), which was the greatest improvement the last installment brought into the fold. The gameplay hasn't undergone any fundamental changes this time, though, for better or worse. Anything refined has happened under the hood, and people won't notice anything different when they boot up the game. If you ignore the added party elements, it's no different than the previous expansion pack-like releases.
