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.