Common Sense Media Review
By Jinny Gudmundsen
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Take on a summer job with the HSM2 crowd.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 7+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
What's It About?
In HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2: WORK THIS OUT! kids get to reenact the plot of the popular Disney TV movie High School Musical 2, in which teens Troy, Gabriella, Ryan, Sharpay, Chad, and Taylor spend their summer working at Lava Springs Resort. During the story-building vignettes, the characters appear in the game as photos flashed across the top screen; but during gameplay, they become avatars that you control. By the end of the game, you will have walked (or danced) in all six characters' shoes. The heart of the game is the Adventure mode, where you relive six days of the summer spent at the resort. By playing through the adventure, you unlock content to be used in the other modes, which include Arcade (where you can play five fun minigames found in the adventure), Multiplayer (you can compete with a friend in quick-reflexes games), and Jukebox (where you can listen to 10 songs from High School Musical 2 even when the DS is closed).
You play the adventure mode by taking on work assignments for the cast members of High School Musical 2. Most are fetch quests where you need to find or collect items like cases of bottled water. Other assignments involve playing rhythm games set to the 10 songs from High School Musical 2. There are also arcade games involving golf, basketball, and even one that is a takeoff of the Cooking Mama gameplay where you drag sandwich ingredients off of a conveyor belt.
Is It Any Good?
Kids who are fans of High School Musical 2 will enjoy exploring this game. Ten songs from the movie are constantly playing in the background as you work your way through the adventure. You can even slip your closed DS in your pocket and continue to listen through headphones when you set it in Jukebox mode. In the adventure mode, while there are 62 tasks to accomplish, many are repeated minigames set in a different location or featuring a different character. You will spend a lot of time rehearsing for the talent show, which means playing the fun rhythm games. Fortunately, all of the repeated games are fun, so you won't mind playing them time after time.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the popularity of the High School Musical brand. Why did these movies become so popular? When playing this game, which job assignments did you like best? Did you like the rhythm games or the arcade games best?
Game Details
- Platform : Nintendo DS
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Disney Interactive
- Release date : April 21, 2008
- Genre : Music & Dance
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : June 19, 2019
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate