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If you look at sales data over the last year or so, two things will immediately stand out: Music games are king and Hannah Montana was one of the top-selling DS games. It makes sense then that the two would eventually converge, especially given the license’s musical ties. Though Hannah may be the game’s named star, the real fun is the ability to create your own music.
In Music Jam, you play as Hannah as she takes on rival pop star, Savannah Star, in a music jam contest. Things aren’t going well for Hannah’s alter ego, Miley, either. A new girl has shown up at school and is slowly taking away all of her friends. What’s a girl to do?
Though plot is important, it will mostly serve as a vehicle to show off the game’s rhythm-based gameplay. Music Jam lets you play a variety of instruments, including drums and guitars, which are played using the touch screen. For example, when playing the guitar, you strum strings using the stylus while switching chords with the D-pad.
Drums are played completely on the touch screen and offer a full drum set to play on. The only drawback is that the DS’s touch screen can’t handle more than one point of contact, which limits how crazy you can get with your beats -- at least when creating your own music, though I’m sure players will come up with all kinds of tricks, especially if the game catches on with a wider audience.
Music Jam features a selection of Hannah’s real-life music that you can play along with, but the real fun comes where you get to take the instruments and compose your own songs. Recording tools are built into the game and allow you to choose everything from the tempo to the chord set. You can set the tempo and chords using acoustic and electric guitars. Once you have the base beat down, you can move on to adding drums, lead guitar and a bass line.
No musical talent? No problem. Though you may need to be able to keep melody or beat, the game is friendly to several degrees of musical talent. The interface is kept simple and little things like matching chords are already done for you.
The neatest thing about the song creation suite is that it supports four-players using a wireless connection. Each player has a different instrument and all four can jam at the same time. As you and your friends play, the song is recorded to the host’s DS which can then be shared with friends.
Once your song is done, you can enter the music video creator and make your own video to go along with the song. You can select from multiple backdrops as well as multiple angles.
Hannah Montana may not be a license many have their eye on, though Music Jam is something to get excited about. For one, the concept is original, which is always great to see in a licensed game. Second, the technology behind the game is pretty cool.
Hannah Montana: Music Jam ships later this year. |
