High School Musical DVD Game Review
 |
High School Musical DVD Game:
|
By Aaron Wallace
I typically detest virtual games on DVD. On the other hand, I typically enjoy High School Musical. That paradox left me Finding yet another avenue of expansion for the High School Musical franchise, the new DVD Game is the first free-standing release of its kind for the popular tween-targeting series. Unlike Mattel's three similarly-titled but varyingly-classified games, there are no boards, no tokens, and no dice -- just the same kind of DVD you'd find on any movie shelf. The only content, here, however, is of the gaming variety. What would normally be a bonus feature for a movie is offered in abundance and with a little more effort at player satisfaction.
The games begin with a quick overview and a menu that allows you to either access detailed instructions or jump in with "Quick Start" (these games aren't too complicated, so "Quick Start" should suffice). After choosing the number of players you have with you, you'll be prompted to choose an avatar and name for each person (choices: Chad, Gabriella, Ryan, Sharpay, Taylor, and Troy) and will then be given all of the games available for the given number of players.
There are nine games in total, most of them available regardless of how many people are playing. A few, however, require a group of a certain size. All of the games are fairly fun and none of them are especially easy or especially challenging. There's certainly some repeat value and if you happen to have a lot of friends who love High School Musical, I imagine you'll get some mileage out of this. The steep SRP and slight discounting, however, makes this a difficult purchase to justify. Sure, it's enjoyable, but so are many movies that would be more worth the price. But then how can one put a price on the kinship of HSM fanatics?
The first game is simply titled "Main Game" (1-4 players) but subsequently called the "East High Graduation Challenge". This is a standard trivia game, drawing mostly from the first two films but also occasionally High School Musical 3: Senior Year. "Center Stage" (1-4 players) isn't much of a game at all -- it's just a sing-along to select songs from the three movies. The songs feature the original audio but play only in part and rather than the original movie clip, you see just a microphone on a stage and moving lyrics on your screen. The available songs are: "Now or Never", "Bop to the Top", "Humuhumunukunukuapua'a", "The Boys are Back", "Fabulous", "Breaking Free", and "Bet On It". I'm not sure why this isn't made available for more than 4 players.
"Prom Night" (1-4 players) offers easy-to-follow dance instructions. Two songs are offered in Beginner's Level: "Breaking Free" and "Work This Out". Intermediate Level supplies "Fabulous", "Bet On It", and "What I've Been Looking For". Advanced Level gives us "I Don't Dance", "Bop to the Top", and "Get'cha Head in the Game". The design is similar to that of Dance Dance Revolution, with an on-screen pattern of colored squares to guide your feet.
"Wildcats Try Outs" (1-4 players) puts the ball in your hand with a moving basketball goal as your target. When you think you have the right angle, use your remote to shoot the ball and see if you can score points.
"Yearbook Memory Game" (1-4 players) is a standard "Memory" game featuring pictures of the HSM cast. Easy it may be, but I've always liked "Memory" and it's as neat here as anywhere else. There's no scoring here; single players are given three tries at the game while multi-players take turns but lose after a single error.
"Career Finder Quiz" (1-4 players) is a loose "Pep Rally" (2-4 players) is nothing more than the common "Categories" party game, which has always been a favorite of mine. Here, the DVD keeps time and tells you when to clap... but of course, a DVD isn't needed for that at all. I'd much rather play the game myself than use the random categories provided to you here (ex: Things you do during summer vacation). Three different speeds are available.
"BFF's" (2-4 players) is actually pretty cool, and while not at all original, it isn't the kind of thing you probably play very often. The idea is that you secretly answer questions about a friend who is playing with you and then your friend answers those same questions about him or herself. At the end, you find out how well you really know your friend. The DVD keeps score.
When you have four players or more, you can access a separate menu called "Party Play", which contains three new games. Each is played in two teams (The Brainiacs and The Jocks) and allows you to select 5, 10, or 15 rounds and intervals of 20, 30, or 45 seconds (the shorter the time, the harder the game). There's no avatar selection if you have 5 or more players. Note: these are the only three games set up for groups of five or more.
"Art Class" (4 or more players) is basically a game of Pictionary with loosely HSM-related themes. One person is given an object to draw in secret and then the other players have a given amount of time to guess what the object is while the chosen player draws.
"Vocab Test" (4 or more players) is essentially Taboo, but with HSM-related terms. Here, one is given a word and must try to lead the other players to answer it without using any of three pre-determined prohibited words.
Finally, "Drama Class" (4 or more players) is a game of charades, pure and simple.
The Party Play menu also offers a "Mix It Up" option, VIDEO, AUDIO, MENUS & PACKAGING
All of the menu screens, games, and video clips are in 16x9 anamorphic widescreen, making this the first time that the US has gotten to see the original High School Musical in the wide format that it was simultaneously framed for and the first time High School Musical 2 is seen in widescreen on DVD, the 16x9 presentation having been reserved for Blu-ray. Too bad the full movies didn't get the same treatment. The picture quality is very pleasing and the game screens are dazzlingly bright and colorful.
In addition to "Quick Start" and "How to Play" instructions, the main menu also offers DVD credits and a sub-menu of sneak peeks. Some of these previews play when the disc starts up: Bolt, Pinocchio: Platinum Edition, this Disney DVD Game and the "Hannah Montana" one, The Cheetah Girls: One World, "Hannah Montana": The Complete First Season, and the Disney Movie Rewards program. Other previews on the disc are: High School Musical 2, The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea: Special Edition, Space Buddies, "Wizards of Waverly Place", and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. The "Only one Disney..." promo also plays upon disc start-up but that one's not accessible from the main menu.
The disc is packaged like any other; there's a standard white keepcase inside a glossy, partly holographic cardboard slipcover. Inside is a very good guide to the disc's games, a Disney Blu-ray flyer, and a small booklet of advertisements. There's also a Magic Code for the Disney Movie Rewards program. There is an ESRB rating of "E" for "Everyone" on the cover.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
High School Musical DVD Game serves up a fun time by stealing from lots of other time-tested games and putting them in a home video format and giving a High School Musical overlay to each. If you like all three movies and know at least one other person who does too -- and if that person likes you enough to come over and play this disc with you for an hour -- then you might want to pick it up. I'd wait for a sale or a price drop, though... for a few dollars more, your money is better spent on a game of Scene It, some other High School Musical DVD, or a completely different and likely better movie.
|
