In the last few weeks of November and early December, BVG Games released about half a dozen titles based on the popular Disney Channel TV shows for elementary and pre-teen aged children. So many, in fact, were released in these few weeks that it has been hard to figure out what to say about each one that will let the readers of the reviews I'm writing know which ones stand out and which are “just another kid's adventure game based on a TV show/movie.” At least, that was how I was feeling until we got a copy of Hannah Montana. Since getting this game my daughter rushes home from school, does her homework immediately, and the game has yet to leave her DS. That, to me, means it stands out as one of the better releases.For those not familiar with the series, a very brief overview. Hannah Montana is the secret identity of Miley Stewart. Miley Cyrus, the real life daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, plays the duel role, and Billy Ray stars in the show as her father. I say this because the girl really can sing. She might be lip synching during the shows, but I've seen her perform outside the TV series, and it's obvious that singing is in her genes. Anyway, back to the series. Each episode revolves around some issue that either Hannah Montana or Miley Stewart is having. The first season was mostly around keeping her identity secret, which is what the game is also about. You see, Hannah Montana is such a huge star in the “tween” world that Miley couldn't possibly have a normal life if her alternate identity were discovered. Oh, and I should mention that Miley's two best friends, Lilly and Oliver, know about Miley's double identity in the TV show, but it seems Oliver is still “in the dark” in the video game.
Alright, so there's your premise. The story is about a girl trying to keep her identity from being discovered. When the story starts, Miley (the brownhaired version of the female lead) gets a note from someone threatening to reveal her secret identity. The game makes great use of the Nintendo DS technology. You use the stylus to move Miley around and interact with the whole environment. While it is a tad bit annoying to have to keep tapping the screen to get Miley to move, rather than using the arrow pad for movement, this does allow you to hold the game in one hand and not have to keep swapping out between the stylus and the arrow pad like I have to do in other DS games. In order to open doors and select dialogue options you have to copy particular shapes by drawing them with your stylus. About the only thing that you use the buttons for are to advance dialogue, so the “B” button is used a lot.
What I like most about the game as a parent is that my daughter has to follow directions. This is something she struggles with both in school and at home. She likes to take short-cuts and do things her way wherever possible, but the game is very linear in nature, and she really has to follow the storyline as it was designed. Lilly is always around to give hints and help while playing, which has been good for her reading comprehension too because she doesn't always understand what she has to do the first time she reads something. And, of course, it lets you turn off the game and come back later without having to spend a lot of time recalling where you were in the story. I doubt that the designers at BVG tried to create a game that was edutainment, but for my daughter that's what they've done. She's gotten frustrated at times with how linear the game actually is because she doesn't want to have to do what the game is telling her to do in order to solve the mystery, in fact. But for me, I know that means the game is making her work on skills she needs to have reinforced.
There are things that Miley can do beyond just the story, but I'll let my daughter tell you more about that and share her thoughts on the game with you:
At first when you don't have the map and you are trying to get from the school back to her house, it is hard to figure out what to do. And some of the shapes you need to draw to open the doors are really hard to copy, but if I keep trying I can get through them. I really like Hannah Montana, so the game is really fun. It's fun just to go to the beach and look around, and go to the other places the first time and see what surprises you can find. It's fun because you get to play one of the Hannah Montana shows. It really seems like when Miley's talking to Jackson, it seems like she's talking to her brother from in the TV show, giving him attitude like a sister. The gadgets give you things for Hannah's dressing room, which are really fun to collect. When you go to Miley's house, you can go into Hannah's dressing room, which is great. It really looks like Hannah's dressing room!! You collect clothes and can make them look different, and sometimes you can put them on her to change what she looks like. Sometimes Lilly gets on her skateboard when they need to get somewhere fast. This part is hard because you have to move stuff out of her way or you don't get down the hill fast enough. But mostly the game is fun and I can't wait to see who sent the mystery birthday card.What she's refering to about the map is that the first time you get the map to transport you around it isn't clear that you've got the map, or how to use it. In order to get the map to come up, you hit the “start” key and select “City Map” from the list. I think these directions are missing from Lilly's dialogue, and if they aren't, then they are not repeated in her “help”, so you have to guess a bit if you missed it the first time.
The graphics are cartoony in nature, making it hard sometimes to tell who is who from the series. Clicking on a person doesn't tell you their name, either, so some time is spent having to guess if the person standing in front of you is the one you need. I do have to say that the graphics are very clear, with large images that are easy to see and figure out where you need to tap to interact. The music changes with each area you go in to, whether that area is part of the school or part of the mall, and you can set the music volume seperate from the volume for the rest of the game, which is great for when the game music gets repetative. We didn't notice much in the way of sounds other than the music, but it didn't really matter because Hannah Montana is about music, of course. And when you put the graphics and sounds together, they work.
As I said at the start of this review, Hannah Montana stands out from some of the other games released by BVG this holiday season not just because of the popularity of the young star of the series. The game uses the unique features of the Nintendo DS very well, and though it is very linear in storyline development, there are things that the young player can do on the side if they want to just have fun. My daughter and I both recommend this game for all the Hannah Montana fans in your house.
I’ve played computer games since college, addicted first to story type games like Might and Magic. I have 3 children who also love computer games. My oldest son is a typical kid who loves the challenge of pressing the right combination of buttons and levers on a joystick in just the right way to make something happens, and frequently gets frustrated with mom’s slow fingers. ;) We use computers for both education and entertainment, and sometimes even bribery for good behavior.
The “glory days” of computer gaming for me were when games like Spectre Supreme, Pirate’s Gold, the Might and Magic series, the original Prince of Persia… those sorts of games were coming out on a regular basis. Back then I owned a Macintosh and was a die hard Mac fan. I was one of the first in my area to buy an iMac and on it learned the joy of playing games on the internet like daily crossword puzzle and “mind bender” type puzzles. My first online RPG was given to me for Christmas the year EQ was released, and I was hooked from day one. I played EQ for about a year. I started playing DaoC during late alpha testing, and was hooked on it.. well, to be honest I still am. I’ve tried pretty much every MMORPG I can get my hands on, from big names like EQ, to more obscure ones such as Underlight. I’ve been writing for IMGS since the first DaoC guide, and find I love the challenge of learning a game and presenting what I’ve learned (and sometimes my opinions), to other players.
I’m not a very strong player as far as learning PvE or quick reaction times, so I tend to stay away from games where I’m pitted against someone else in a way that requires physical (rather than mental) response. I still enjoy story and puzzle games, and in a way that’s how I still approach online games. I would much rather spend hours working through a quest than 5 minutes in combat against another player. I still get lost in simulation type games, obsessing over them until I’ve gotten them beaten. And I like being able to sit down at the computer when I’ve got less than half an hour and playing through a few levels of a puzzle game. I tend not to like first-person shooter type games, or anything with person to person violence, so I steer away from them unless they are fantasy based settings. All in all, I enjoy computer gaming so much that my life feels incomplete somehow when my computer is down.
