Game Review - Hannah Montana: The Movie

First there was "Hannah Montana", then there was "Hannah Montana: Music Jam" and now there’s "Hannah Montana: The Movie".

The Nintendo DS game made as a tie-in for the movie was released a couple of months ago. Though it is an alright game I don’t think its worth it’s sixty dollar price mark.

The game puts you in the role as Miley Stewart as she makes her way around her hometown Crowley Corners, helping out her family and chatting with the locals, as well as familiar faces from the television series such as Jackson, Robbie Ray and Lily. Oliver is the only character from the television series to not appear in this game. In between running errands for Miley’s family you perform as Hannah Montana (and sometimes as Miley) in "dream performances". It’s usually introduced when Miley thinks to herself "I wonder what it would be like if Hannah Montana performed here". The performances consist of five tasks, which you must do to fill your meter and get the crowd pumping. There’s guitar, drums, keyboard, singing and dancing.

In guitar you have to strum your stylus as directed on the guitar on the touch screen, in drums you have to hit the indicated drum in time with the music, in keyboard you have to play the correct key as falling notes fall on the touch screen, in singing you must move notes with your stylus to a constantly moving microphone and with dancing you must touch the indicated dance move with some combinations. If you find special items during gameplay you can unlock special effects for the stage.

A great element to the performances is that not only does it include Hannah Montana favourites from the past such as "The Best of Both Worlds" and "Rock Star" it also includes new tracks from the film’s soundtrack including "The Climb", "Hoedown Throwdown", "Don’t Walk Away" and "You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home". All songs featured are originals and not sung by cover artists.

Another great aspect of the game is that you can dress Hannah and Miley in clothes that have been seen in promotional photoshoots for the film and series such as Hannah’s famous pink and blue "shapes" dress.

Although the game has stunning graphics and the walk-around areas are pretty good to look at (it’s as if it’s been taken from a Wii version of the game and simply shrunk down to size) the game is way too short. If constantly played it would only take a few hours to complete. The performances are great fun as you walk around as Hannah or Miley but two performances are normally done back to back. The game would have benefited more if there were a longer story and individual performances to create more longevity.

Despite its shortness, the game will be a favourite among young fans. If you are a fan but not overly excited by Hannah Montana I would recommend you hire the game. It’s fun to play, but there are only three mini games to play once the game has been completed and although the performances are fun their appeal will fade.

Rating: 5.5/10