Filed under: — Electronic Toys, Toys
Written by: Ashtyn at 12:43 PM
Manufacturer: Jakks Pacific
Price: Under $50.00
Buy this Toy at: Amazon for $32.32
Let me start off this review by saying that I absolutely loathe Hannah Montana. Like her celebrity counterpart Miley Cyrus, I find her to be annoying and pointless. I often ponder how she became a celebrity at all and how this show became so popular. In any case, she is here and with her a million and a half Hannah Montana toys have swept the nation. I would have loved to have a little girl play with this, but we did not have access to one for this review.
We did have Lil B around though. Lil B is four but he just loves Hannah Tanna, as he calls her. I’ve tried to talk him out of it, but he just won’t listen to me. He likes her no matter what I say. That being said, he was more than willing to test out this guitar for me. Like most standard plug and play devices this is as easy to setup as putting in batteries and plugging it in.
It’s a small, basic looking guitar that looks similar to a Guitar Hero game except that the guitar is smaller. What we learned after playing this Hannah Montana Guitar is that it falls somewhere in the middle of worthiness to purchase. It’s too expensive to just run out and buy and it’s not consistently entertaining enough to make it seem like a worthwhile purchase. If your child is a rabid Hannah fan this will be more fun for them, but if you’re trying to save a few bucks buying your Hannah fan this instead of Guitar Hero, you might want to think twice.
Positives & Negatives:
Positives:
Hannah Fans will Love it
Easy to Setup
Musical/Creative
Negatives:
A little Pricey for what you receive
Feels like a Less Impressive version of Guitar Hero
Can be hard to use unless you go through all the Tutorials
Won’t move up in the game until you are real familiar with the controls
Limited Lifespan/Appeal
Pricing & Availability:
For something that has the look/feel of a Guitar Hero style game this is not that expensive. That being said, with the way that this game is, and the limited appeal (you only get Hannah songs) you might be better off buying Guitar Hero and saving your money here. Diehard fans will revisit the songs, but a lot of other children won’t once they have reached the top levels. With Guitar Hero you have the ability to have a bigger arsenal of songs, which not only will see to the needs of the entire family, but it will allow you to find enjoyment in the system longer because you have more songs to play.
Requirements & Instructions:
The setup instructions are as easy as pie. You put in the batteries, plug this in and your setup instructions and tutorials will be available in minutes. This is one area where Jakks set things up perfectly. The batteries are always a pain, but that is to be expected with the screws having to be put in and out. Otherwise, this section passes with flying colors.
Durability:
Unless your child is purposely hard on things this should last longer than their interest in it will. It’s made of hard plastic and it’s a guitar. This isn’t the sort of thing that just breaks on a whim. It will take a fall and be able to be dusted off and used again without a problem.
Ease of Use:
This is where things get tricky for the Hannah Montana Guitar. You have to do the tutorials and pass them for each level/style of play. If you choose to opt out of these tutorials you will not be able to play the game. If you are able to play you will find game play to be incredibly hard. If you push buttons the wrong way, you may not get the points.
Issues like these will lead to frustration for both parent and child. Even with the tutorials this takes a little bit of getting used to. The first levels will be the hardest, but once you pass them, and you have better hang of the game, it gets easier. It is funny how that is though because in most games, it goes from easy to hard, and not the other way around.
Fun Factor & Overall Appeal:
Before I begin, I feel it important to note the ages listed as being appropriate for the Hannah Montana Guitar. The ages according to the manufacturer, are between five and fifteen years old. I honestly cannot see a 15 year old playing with this. Even children as old as ten or eleven are ready for Guitar Hero, some younger (depending on the music used). If the child is old enough or able to play Guitar Hero, there is little point to something like this.
For the big fans, there are three game play modes. The modes are Pop Tour, Free Play, and Head to Head. Each mode is different. In Pop Tour mode the object is to continue playing new cities. When you hit a new city you unlock new songs. The Crowd Meter determines how well you are playing and whether or not you will move on to the next city. You need to unlock the songs in this mode to play in Free Play mode.
Free Play Mode is basically a non-scoring, non-advancing round. You are able to play as much as you want, though you can only play the songs that you’ve unlocked in the Pop Tour mode. Finally, Head to Head allows you to compete with friends. Again, you are only able to play the songs that are unlocked in the Pop Tour.
Once you get past the frustration of getting things right then it is fun for a while. It’s not going to be an everyday game for most kids. Even with girls, like I have said, unless it’s an issue where they are Hannah Montana obsessed, they will play briefly and then move on to something else. As good as this idea was, limiting it to one artist, with a limited amount of songs, limited the product itself.
Bottom Line:
If I was going to recommend this it would have to be on a limited basis. Based on what I saw with Lil B, I would say it would work for (primarily) girls from the ages of six to nine. Girls a little younger might like it and a few that are older might, too though I would think this would be the prime age for this toy. The child has to like a challenge and not give up, because going through the tutorials and getting all the movements down can be rough. They will have to work at it a little bit. Fans will enjoy this, but make sure they truly love Hannah otherwise this won’t be worth the money.
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Technorati Tags: Toy Review, Jakks Pacific, Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus, Guitar Hero, Hannah Montana Pop Guitar Plug and Play Game
Written by Ashtyn Evans - Visit Website
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Ashtyn lives in her home state of Michigan with her life partner, Dominick, her 14 year old son, and her baby, the Shih-Tzu, Oliver Twist. Ashtyn is in college, going for a degree in Criminal Justice. She eventually plans to intern with the FBI, if she can. Ashtyn is an experienced and talented chef. She also excels at writing and has worked as a professional writer for the past five years. Ashtyn enjoys spending time with her son and four year old nephew, watching movies, listening to music, and writing works of fiction.
