The adventure game genre isn’t completely dead, but it is lying maimed in a ditch somewhere. It is surprising then that of all games, one based on a Disney Channel original show would be the one to pump a little life into it. Hannah Montana isn’t the next Sam & Max or Day of the Tentacle, but the overall experience is true to the show and fun while it lasts.

Since Hannah Montana is a live-action show, DC Studios probably could have gone for a rendered, more realistic look to better match the show. Thankfully they didn’t. Instead, the game is composed of 2D cartoon sprites of the show’s main characters. Characters are still recognizable (you can’t miss a cartoon version of Billy Ray Cyrus) and fit well within their stylized surroundings.

Since the show centers on the secret life of a singer, you would expect the game version to have a great soundtrack – which it does. Most of the game’s soundtrack consists of guitar riffs, though a few lyric-less versions of Hannah Montana’s songs also pop up.

For anyone unfamiliar with the show, Hannah Montana focuses on the life of Miley Stewart, a teen-aged girl who moonlights as the world-famous singer Hannah Montana. The game opens with Miley receiving an anonymous note threatening to reveal her true identity to the world. Not wanting to have her secret revealed, Miley goes on the case to try and solve the mystery.

Clues are scatted around five locations in Malibu, including Miley’s house, school and the local mall. In order to find out who wrote the letter, Miley needs to collect clues and talk to the locals. Nearly every character in the show is represented in the game, which should make fans really happy. The unfortunate side effect is that if you know nothing about the show, you probably won’t know whom to look for. At the same time, its not like there are that many people around, so finding the right person isn’t that rough of a task.

Some characters play bigger roles than others. Miley’s best friend Lily is always around with helpful clues and is even a playable character in a skateboarding mini-game. Not all of the characters you come across are as helpful. Jackson, Amber and Ashley will pop up at times to try and prevent Miley from progressing. Don’t worry, these encounters don’t boil down to anything more than a minor verbal spar or, as in the case of Jackson, blackmail and negotiations.

Miley also has two tools at her disposal when looking for clues. The magnifying glass is helpful for finding things you normally wouldn’t see and the flashlight is great for dark rooms. Both are used in the same exact way and it is pretty obvious when they need to be used, so the problem solving isn’t too difficult.

While searching for clues, Miley can also find patterns that are used to design new outfits. The choices don’t alter Miley’s appearance, but it is still a fun distraction once you've unlocked enough patterns.

The main problem with Hannah Montana is that it is a short game and not all that hard. I blazed through the game with no problems and can say with reasonable certainty (many of my students are big fans of the show) that most of the game’s target audience won’t have too many problems either. There are few areas that you can really mess up in, and there’s no penalty when you do reach one of these parts. The only aspect that gave me any difficulty was remembering where all the stores in the mall were located.

Lily’s skateboarding mini-game is slightly more challenging than the rest of the game. You goal is to move objects out of Lily’s path while throwing soda cans at her to give her a quick boost. Doing so isn’t overly difficult, though it does require a bit of dexterity if you want to beat the clock.

Every function in the game is controlled by the DS’s touch screen. Tapping anywhere in the map causes Miley to move to that location. If you want to talk to someone, tap them. Want to use a gadget? Tap on the icon and move it around the screen. The response is good and helps to make the game more accessible. Rather than having to dig through menus and try to use a clumsy D-pad controlled box to navigate Miley’s inventory, you simply have to tap on the object. During Lily’s game, the touch screen is used to clear away objects as Lily comes rolling down the top screen.

The touch screen also comes into play when interacting with characters. Instead of selecting a response from a list, you draw the corresponding picture. The same method is used when opening doors. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense and is pretty picky when it comes to drawing the arcane symbols, but is still an interesting twist. It will be neat to see how this function is expanded on in later installments of the game since the system has potential to go far.

If anything, Hannah Montana really made me wish there were more adventure games on the DS. The system is practically made for the genre. Hannah Montana may not be all that long or hard, but should please fans of the show and stands as one of the better uses of a license.