High School Musical 2: Work This Out!
Another excuse to sing along
Fans of the movie High School Musical 2 will no doubt have flocked to get hold of this in game form but, when getting down to playing it, it could prove to be a bit of a disappointment. As all devotees of High School Musical 2: The Movie will know, the story follows the friends from East High to their summer jobs at the Lava Springs Country Club.
To start with you have to go through screens where each character is introduced. This takes a bit of time and the help of an adult is vital if you're the in younger age group recommended for the game, as there’s lots of reading to do.
The “Adventure” itself calls for a number of missions to be completed every day. To gain the necessary points you play a selection of mini-games, which upon completion unlock that game in the “Arcade” mode. The missions include taking part in song rehearsals, being sent out on searches and facing the odd crisis, before unlocking the big finale of the movie, “Everyday”.
Music fanatics could be let down by “Jukebox” mode, as you can only play songs that have been unlocked; but the more you play the game, the more are added to your Jukebox. More significantly, only the unlocked songs are played in the background throughout, which gets downright annoying! Finally, the final dance routine can be exasperating, as despite furiously tapping away, you can lose points because some of the taps don't register.
In conclusion, if you are dedicated to HSM, it'll give you another excuse to sing along but don’t expect a mini-movie because a high-class production it most certainly ain’t!