American Idol
07 Nov 2003
All releases
07 Nov 2003 - PlayStation 2
07 Nov 2003 - PC (Microsoft Windows)
Tags
Complete with a computer generated Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell, with trademark insults, American Idol is a music-based, rhythm-action game that will allow you to create, style, and train a contestant for the competition. Once styled and trained you'll see your contestant progress through the auditions, various heats, and then, hopefully, make it to the grand final. You'll need quick fingers as you match the right combination of buttons to what's displayed on the screen helping your contestant sing a sweet harmony and dance to the rhythm of the song. Get it wrong and your voice fades and goes out of tune as the judges and later the audience grow unsettled.
The main mode is competition, you play through rounds until you reach the finals. It’s over in less than an hour. My first playthrough? I had fun. But the second time around, I felt empty, like staring at the bottom of a whiskey glass, hoping for another drop that isn’t there. The song list is thin. Too thin. You’ll grow tired of them, just like I did.
It’s not exactly great, but if you’re chasing a rhythm game dripping in 90s and early 2000s nostalgia, this’ll scratch the itch. Just don’t get too comfortable, the song list is short, like a good dream that ends too soon.