The Hannah Montana DVD Game
Score: 70% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Walt Disney Home Entertainment Developer: Disney Interactive Media: DVD/1 Players: 1; 2 - 4; Team-based Play with Unlimited Players Genre: Family/ Themed
Graphics & Sound: It is often hard to review a game for which you are not the target demographic. That was the case when I began reviewing The Hannah Montana DVD Game, so I called for back-up in the form of my 6 and 8 year old daughters. Feeling comfortable that I now had the right troops at my disposal, I set to work, err... play. Based on the hit Disney channel television series of the same name, The Hannah Montana DVD Game offers players a chance to participate in a series of mini-games which include songs, trivia, characters and themes from the show. The Menu graphics, while nothing spectacular, do a good job of conveying the feel of the game. Both of my girls liked the glitz and glamour and were easily able to identify the characters and set locations. However, the in-game graphics were a bit on the boring side, especially when playing games that included text-based questions. The background music, taken from the show's soundtrack, gets repetitious very quickly. While admittedly not an avid watcher, I am familiar enough with the series to know that there is a substantial amount of music, so the lack of variation here is a bit confusing. Katie Massa Kennedy does a nice job narrating the game. Many of the games include voiceover prompts, as well as a few video snippets, and while there is no groundbreaking technology on display, both are handled equally well.
Gameplay: Once you pop The Hannah Montana DVD Game into your player, and after plowing through the obligatory trailers for other Disney merchandise, you are greeted at the Menu by Katie. Here you are given four options: Quick Start, How To Play, Sneak Peeks, and Credits. The "Quick Start" option allows players to move immediately into the games (see below for details). "How To Play" gives a step-by-step narrated description on how to play each game. This description is also offered before you start each game, so the inclusion here is a bit of an unnecessary overlap. "Sneak Peeks" gives access to 11 trailers for various Disney products and "Credits" is, well, the credits. The game itself is broken into 11 mini-games. Of these, 8 are designed for 1-4 players while the other 3 are specifically meant for 4 or more. The main game, "Trivia Challenge", consists of players taking turns answering trivia questions based on the series. These questions are presented in both text-based and video clip form. The game is fairly slow-paced and each participant must answer 20 questions. While my co-reviewers could answer almost all of the questions, they did have some difficulty reading a few of them, so younger players may need some help from adults or older siblings. Other games for 1-4 players include a dance-off, in which players are taught a series of dancing moves to songs from the show, a memory challenge and several personality quizzes. The favorite in my household by far was the "Pop Star" game, which was a karaoke-style sing-a-long featuring 7 songs from the series. The three games designed for 4 or more players are stylized versions of the classic board games Taboo, Charades and Pictionary.
Difficulty: The Hannah Montana DVD Game is generally very easy to play. Several of the games offer varying levels of difficulty, yet even the most challenging difficulty should not prove too problematic for most players. The hardest part really comes when deciding what demographic this game was directed towards. As previously mentioned, my 6 and 8 year old were able to play through most parts with limited issues, the exception being some of the text was beyond their abilities. Yet, they were quickly bored with all but the dancing and singing games. Older players, those who will not have issues with the dialogue, will likely lose interest even faster. Other than as a potential party game, the challenge, or lack thereof, will likely stem most players' desire to replay the game more than a few times.
Game Mechanics: The mechanics involved in playing The Hannah Montana DVD Game are easy and intuitive. Simply use the directions on the DVD remote to navigate the Menus, select options and answer questions. For non-competitive games such as the singing and dancing options, players just take turns performing. Some games operate on the turn-by-turn nature, each player using the remote to select their answers and then passing the remote to the next player as they finish their respective round. Other games require a competitor to hold the remote and "click" if there is a mistake made by the player currently participating in the round. All of the games, with the exception of "Art Class," are fully contained on the DVD and require no outside peripherals. In "Art Class," the game's version of Pictionary, participants are required to use paper and pencil (not provided) in order to draw scenes, objects or characters from the series. Overall, the simplicity of play makes the game accessible to younger fans. Unfortunately, the lack of depth will likely cause all but the most intrepid fans to quickly grow bored and turn it off in favor of watching another episode of Hannah Montana on the Disney channel for the 100th time.
-The Mung Bard, GameVortex Communications AKA Buddy Ethridge
Minimum System Requirements: Any computer or game system with a DVD ROM drive or a DVD Player   Test System: Xbox 360 with remote
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