Review: Hannah Montana: Music Jam

Fans win big with music-based game on Nintendo DS.

ByABC News
February 19, 2009, 3:20 AM

Nov. 28, 2007 — -- If you are looking for an alternative to the sold-out Hannah Montana concert series, the new video game "Hannah Montana: Music Jam" may be just the ticket you need.

Hannah Montana: Music Jam, a game created exclusively for the Nintendo DS, lets you assume the identity of Hannah in an adventure where she learns to play musical instruments. The game also acts as a rock-band simulator where you and your friends can jam together to compose music, and even create your own Hannah Montana music videos.

The game offers two modes of play: Adventure and Creative Play. In both, you practice music and create your own music videos. The adventure takes place in the world of Disney's Hannah Montana television series. You become Miley Stewart, the high-school girl who is the secret identity behind the pop star Hannah Montana. Only Miley's family and close friends know about her double life.

The story line revolves around Miley trying to balance fame and friends. As Hannah, her fame is being challenged by Savannah Star, an upcoming rock star who can play her own instruments. The two go head-to-head in a contest to win the Music Jam Online Award.

To keep up with Savannah, Hannah decides to learn to play all the instruments she will use in the music videos she must submit for the competition. Learning to play lead, rhythm, and bass guitars, as well as the drums, become minigames within the adventure. Likewise, you will put together music videos using the backdrops, lights, dance moves, clothing, and songs that you earn during the adventure. While talking to others and completing a series of routine fetch-it tasks moves the story along, the adventure is inventive because of the embedded minigames.

The three learn-to-play guitar minigames combine the popular Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) genre with the rhythm mechanics of games like Elite Beat Agents to produce unique play. For example, to play the rhythm guitar, the dual screens show the fret board of the guitar body. An image of the DS control pad floats down the fret board toward the body of the guitar and when it passes across two arrows, you must strum the virtual strings of the guitar with your stylus. One of the four sides of the control pad will be highlighted, and as you strum, you also push the corresponding side on the DS control pad.

Best for ages 8-12

From Disney Interactive, www.HannahMontanaVideoGames.com, $30, Nintendo DS.

Jinny Gudmundsen is the kid-tech columnist for Gannett News Service and USA Today.com, and is also the editor of Computing with Kids Ezine.