Being a game reviewer is oftentimes like being a movie reviewer. I mean, let's face it, if a movie reviewer gives a movie like "The Queen" a wonderful review claiming it's a cinematic masterpiece and then the movie makes 10 million dollars (not a lot in movie money). And then the same reviewer completely lambastes Zombie Horror Nightmare (a made-up movie, but one I would like to see) and it goes on to make a 100 million dollars, where does that leave the public by and large, much less the reviewer.

Now where am I going with this? Well, I am going to tell you. I like action games, I like horror games (the most) and I like games with a bit more of an edge to them. So why, do I keep doing all these reviews for games that are clearly directed to children? I do it because I have children, and not only do I have two boys of my own, but I look after my niece and nephew as well. Four young, impressionable minds placed in my zombie-blasting, monster-crushing, guns-a-blazing yet surprisingly soft, hands. I owe it to the children in my life to get these games, and review them objectionably and fairly (oftentimes using them as a sounding board) so that you folks out there, who also have children, can rest assured that the games designed for kids were placed squarely in those kids' hands and given a fair shake. But the thing that really disappoints me is that the titles that are designed for children in mind, normally fail to impress. Which is why I am happy to be writing this review today.

 
"Good Gravy!" "The Stepford wives had children!"

It is about as popular as anything is right now, High School Musical. Some people are calling it, this generation's "Grease", which is a pretty tall order. But whatever it is, you can't deny that the hottest thing going this summer is the fact that children and tweens are all very excited about this movie. Disney has pretty much guaranteed a generation of kids who will grow up loving musicals. And with it's family-friendly themes, innocent song lyrics and villains who aren't all that bad, Disney has to be careful not to ruin another winning franchise. Luckily, the DS version of the game uses a very control friendly setup to keep things fun and pleasant.

Starting off, the game revolves around the resident snooty girl Sharpay Evans, recruiting herself and the other main characters from the movie up to do a cross-country musical competition tour. Now, the only thing this has to do with the movies is that it takes place (timeline wise) between the two films and has singing and dancing. So, you could applaud the developers for not going with the formulaic approach of trying to recreate scenes from the movie and then place stuff that never occurred into it. Nope, they play it straight and came up with a unique story line.

For those of you out there who played "Elite Beat Agents" then this game is going to feel very familiar. You see, at each stop on the tour (and you must pass muster to move the tour bus to the next destination) characters must fill in icons that appear on the screen using the stylus you fill the icons with color until completely full, then using the stylus again, you tap the screen with the beat of the music, attempting to keep time if you will. As additional icons appear, you must touch them in succession to complete the level, miss the beat and your tour bus will go no where.

"I always wanted to know what happened to the New Kids on the Block."

It is a decent effort by A2M, to not throw some sort of mindless ilk towards our children. The developers realized that the singing and dancing were what worked with the movie, and they parlayed that into the game, you keep rhythm with the music and do the same with the dancing, although it is pretty much more of the same, things do get a bit more difficult and the songs do get changed up when all of a sudden you have a basketball to contend with or the music section begins to switch instruments. It all sounds good and it should, 12 songs are featured and thankfully, playing the same couple of songs would become quite tedious. Surprisingly, they are some decent songs, at least decent enough for your kids to keep the beat with. Let's put it this way, the sound is the game's strongest point.

Graphically things are not all that great, the characters are very stick figure-y and only just resemble the characters from the movies. Not that I am totally complaining, watching the upper screen while tapping along with the beat and drawing frantically can be tough in some spots. The icons are clear, and the action on the touch screen is bright and fluid, it's just the wacky looking characters I am concerned about.

Gameplay: 7.0
It wants to be Elite Beat Agents and doesn't quite make it, but there is some satisfaction in keeping the rhythm going and dancing in time. A little more variety would have helped.

Graphics: 6.5
Eh, the upper screen in my opinion is to be watched only during breaks in the action. The touch screen graphics come off nice and smooth and the action on the touch screen translates nicely.

Sound: 8.0
The game's best feature is the original songs from the movie, transposed nicely into the DS, they sound good and are a nice variety.

Difficulty: Medium
The game's target audience is 12-13 year olds. They will derive a good challenge from trying to complete the tour.

Concept: 7.5
It's nice to see a license used properly. High School Musical is about singing and dancing, so is the game.

Overall: 7.3
Again, this is a game that is riding the coattails of the hottest license going right now. And I am happy to report the game is befitting the license. Good job to A2M and Disney for not providing us with the same drivel that normally coincides with these types of games/shows. Any High School Musical fan would be proud to have this title.