You’ve watched them go through high school singing and dancing their way through classes and games. They know how to have a good time while learning, being teammates, and sorting through all the drama that high school can bring. The students at East High are this generation’s version of Grease, but there are no Pink Ladies and T-Birds anywhere to be found. The gang of High School Musical has jazz handed their way through school and the summers together, and now fans have a chance to experience it all themselves with this DVD game themed after the film franchise. Just don’t expect to enjoy this is you are an adult or have ever played video games before.
A multitude of games are included on this DVD game and can be played by one person and all the way up to five or more. Certain games cannot be played unless there are more then one or two players participating. Players will choose a character from the series they wish to be and then play along with games dealing with memory, acting, singing, and much more. This DVD game is rather simple direction wise, but each game has both visual and verbal instructions before playing if you so choose to view them.
I’m not entirely sure why this game was created except for maybe to allow children who don’t have a video game system to play something somehow. The game is fully interactive, but it’s not the most fun game in the world. Actually, unless children are a big fan of High School Musical then they won’t get any enjoyment whatsoever out of it. Those that don’t watch the films will get nothing out of the quizzes and musical games which eliminate half of them. Adults might as well just steer clear altogether even if they like the films because this DVD game is obviously aimed at a very young audience.
East High Graduation Challenge – Labeled as “Main Game” on the menu, this is simply a trivia game where players answer questions about the show by using the directional arrows on their remote.
Center Stage – Sing along with your favorite songs from all three films as the words are highlighted across the bottom of the screen. No scoring here as it is just for fun.
Prom Night – Learn dance steps with verbal and visual instructions so that you can dance along to your favorite moves.
Wildcats Try Outs – Here you can try and make the East High basketball team by hitting your remote button when the arrow is lined up with the basket. Trust me that all you need to do is get even remotely close and it will go in.
Yearbook Memory Game – Memorize the position of everyone on a yearbook page and then after a minute or so, you get to put them all in their proper locations.
Career Finder Quiz – Answer questions from one of four quizzes so that you can be labeled with a future career.
Pep Rally – Clap along with the beats and shout out things associated with the subject at hand, and if someone messes up, then fess up.
BFF’s – Answer questions about how you think would act in different situations. After your friends (opponents) answer then you get a friendship rating.
Art Class – (Team game) Get ready to play Pictionary with your teammates.
Vocab Test – (Team game) Time to play Taboo as one person is given a password and must get their teammates to guess it without saying certain words.
Drama Class – (Team game) Charades.
The game is played in Full Screen format and everything looks fine. Colors are bright all over the place and the games are played without a problem.
The game is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and the dialogue and music comes through just fine.
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High School Musical is one of the hottest things going out there right now for kids who are pre-teen and even a little older. They love to sing along with the films and videos, and this game allows them to do that while also getting other information and trivia on their favorite high schoolers. The films have been a huge success and even though this isn’t the best game in the world, it’s at least going to be popular with a younger crowd who are fans of Sharpay and the rest of the group. Mom and dads, you’re not going to really enjoy this much because let’s face it; the films aren’t that bad but this will leave a dull and boring taste in your mouth if you participate. Kids are going to like it and probably play it until your DVD player goes out, but that’s what Disney was going for with this anyway.
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Walt Disney Video presents High School Musical: DVD Game. Rating: Not Rated. Released on DVD: November 18, 2008. Available at Amazon
