Hannah Montana: The Movie

Why should you play Hannah Montana: The Movie? You may as yourself. My first thought was that this would provide my children and I with a game to enjoy and play together. I mean, I investigated the product and discovered that Disney has an average product quality. With a partially good game that is a smack in the face to the namesake property and its followers, the game standard is really not up to par with what it could be.

Story

This is a game that blends a narrative journey with musical performances and minigames at regular intervals. Based on the film, the game allows children to join Hannah on stage to dance, sing, and play onscreen guitars, drums, and keyboard. Fans may also dress Hannah and Miley, create clothes, and personalize Hannah's tour vehicle.

Gameplay

The game puts you in the shoes of Miley Stewart and her eponymous alter-ego, Hannah Montana, as she seeks to preserve Crowley Meadows, her community. Despite the fact that you have two identities, players will spend less time as Hannah and more time as Miley, performing mundane tasks such as fixing a chicken coop with a love interest, assisting your brother in "pulling one over" on your father, playing silly mini-games, or feeding the family horse.

One would expect this would be a singing game, akin to the High School Musical Game series; but, all of those notions are tossed aside, and you are treated to an "adventure" game that is so loosely based on the movie that it just doesn't make sense. Even a rhythm game like Just Dance would’ve been a better choice than what we have here.

Graphics

This game is the worst usage of PS3 hardware to date, like something out of a PS2 nightmare. The characters are a little fuzzy and rough around the edges, while the backdrop is dull and devoid of depth. Hannah's performances aren't much better, as she suffers from choppy frame rates and an overall dull aesthetic. Worse, we've advanced so far in computer animation that having characters whose mouths don't move during dialogues is both sloppy and inappropriate, even for 2009.

Songs/soundtrack

I would have given this a higher rating because the 11 songs represented are a great collection of her biggest hits, as well as a couple original songs from the film; however, not having the actual actors, or at least someone who sounds similar, in a movie licensed game is an atrocity, particularly with a company like Disney that has such a close relationship with their actors. The conversation is uninspired and bland, and the music in the background is irritating and boring.

Pros

• For all ages

Cons

• Bad graphics
• Awful sound design
• Bad dialogue
• Awkward controls