High School Musical 2 has finally debuted on Disney Channel and once again it’s on the lips of every teenybopper. The corresponding DS game, High School Musical: Makin’ the Cut was released on August 14th to coincide with the new movie.
In the DS title, players will travel across America as they compete in the ultimate musical competition where fans of all ages can extend their love for High School Musical whether at home or on the road. They can play as any of the six High School Musical stars: Troy Bolton, Gabriella Montez, Sharpay Evans, Ryan Evans, Chad Danforth or Taylor McKessie or play with their own customized character.
Makin’ the Cut has you tapping the screen in a similar way to Elite Beat Agents (which we already reviewed). Circular icons appear on the touch screen and fill in with color in a clockwise wheel – when they’re fully filled, it’s time to tap with the stylus. More icons will then appear in sequence, and your tapping is supposed to match the beat of the current song. If you’re on target with your tempo, you’ll get a High School high score and move the story bus along to the next stop on the tour.
Unlockables abound, including higher difficulty levels, more venues to sing in and new outfits for your customized character. There’s even a unique video editor that allows the player to be the director, switching camera angles, using special effects and using the DS microphone to yell commands as their stars dance and sing on-stage. Players can then save their customized music video and even share it with friends who also own the game.
High School Musical: Makin’ the Cut DS Trailer
High School Musical: Sing It! is the upcoming console version for Wii and PS2 with a release date of September 28th in Europe, October 18th in Australia and November 6th in the US later this year.
The Wii version comes packed-in with a microphone since it is the first karaoke Wii game, while the PS2 version will come in a bundle with the microphone and one without. The game has you doing karaoke to all the hit songs from both movies, either by yourself or with a friend in duet mode. You also get bonus tracks from other Disney artists! Motion-captured choreography from the original High School Musical movie dance routines ensures that you get a legit and realistic dancing experience from the characters on-screen. Six characters are available initially, each with different outfits, while eight characters are unlockable for a total of 14 playable characters. Also included are 12 environments from the movie to rock out in. Players can even mix together their favorite characters songs and scenes in ways that express their individuality as they sing their way to stardom, High School Musical style. – quotes via IGN.