Hannah Montana: The Movie is a half-hearted product that spits in the face of the titular franchise and its fans.
Presentation: 1
The game places you in the high heels of Miley Stewart and (at times) her titular altar-ego, Hannah Montana, as she tries to save her hometown of Crowley Meadows. Even though you are two split identities, players will see less time as Hannah, and more time as Miley, performing mundane tasks, such as fixing a chicken coop with a love interest, helping your brother "pull one over" on your dad, playing stupid mini-games, or feeding the family horse. One would think this would be a karaoke game, similar to the High School Musical franchise; however, all those ideas are thrown to the side and you are treated to an "adventure" game based so loosely on the movie that it doesn't make sense.
Graphics: 1
Something out of a PS2 nightmare, this game is the worst use of next generation hardware to date. Characters are fuzzy and rough around the edges, and the scenery is bland and is void of detail. Hannah's performances are no better, suffering from choppy frame rates and an overall insipid design. Worst of all, we have come so far in computer animation, that having characters who's mouths don't move during conversations is lazy and totally unacceptable.
Sound: 2
I would've liked to rate this higher, because the 11 songs represented are really a good compilation of her greatest hits, as well as a couple new songs from the movie; however, not having the actual actors, or at least someone sounding similar in a movie licensed game is an atrocity, especially with a company like Disney who has such a close relationship with their actors. The dialogue is generic and uninspired and the background music is annoying and tiresome.
Gameplay: 1
This game had potential to be a great music/rhythm game. I know every girl would love to sing along with her favorite pop star. What you get is an unimaginative rhythm game that offers nothing new and performs well below the par of what's been done before. When you actually do get to perform, all the songs play out the same way: Dancing, which requires you perform the right button press (from memory no less) when the appropriate icon flashes on screen, while your avatar performs prescripted dance moves that do not remotely resemble the poses your replicating; Guitar, which requires you to pick the correct string and strum when the note crosses the strum bar (like a poorly scripted Guitar Hero); Drums, which is a poorly designed version of Rockband, where the drums are awkwardly mapped to the left and right joysticks; Keyboard, which requires you to use the inaccurate sixaxis movement to highlight the keys below which descending jewels are falling (think guitar hero for piano); and finally singing which tasks you with hitting the correct putting on certain notes and shaking the controller on sustained notes. Sounds complicated and boring? That's because…it is.
Sadly, the performances are the highlight of the game, as the rest of the game is stupid mini-games, and "adventuring" through the town, locating items for your tour bus, buying clothes, and playing stupid mini-games at the fair that award you with more money to buy more clothes. Should you choose to go for a ride on the family horse, Blue Jeans, you'll be treated to unresponsive sixaxis hell.
Reviewers Tilt: 0
This game offers nothing special after the story mode, has no replay value, and because you'll earn all Trophies in one playthrough, there is no reason to pick up the game again.
If your children (or yourself, it's ok to admit it) are looking for a Hannah Montana fix, go see the movie, rent the DVDs, watch it on TV, play pretend in your mind…Do ANYTHING but please don't pick up this game.