High School Musical 2: Work This Out is just filled with music. The title comes from the popular Disney movie of the same name. The Disney movie is basically about a group of youngsters and set to dance numbers and music.

High School Musical on the Nintendo DS features Taylor, Chad, Gabriella and Troy who are employed at a country club for a summer job. They are constantly tagged by Ryan and Sharpay, their part time nemesis.

As a player, you are thrown all around the club grounds. The plot itself is integrated with a host of mini games which are connected to the plot of the movie. Complexity levels of the mini games vary with an unnatural obsession with music as a common element. As you start playing the High School Musical - Work This Out DS game, you are required to watch over sunbathers. You keep everyone protected in the shade by tapping over their umbrellas in keeping with the music. Work this out then takes players through other activities such as making sandwiches and picking up golf balls tapping away to music.

Fixation with music makes the mini games border on chaos. Even the sandwich making involves some effort picking bread and other ingredients from four conveyer belts moving in opposite directions. You have a limited time within which you are required to place lettuce leaves that are extremely thin on to the bread pieces again in keeping with the rhythm of the song.

Another game requires you to practice performing songs for a talent show. As a player you are required to tap on the icons on the screen in keeping with the timings as they continue changing colour, even as you find your current character on the stage strutting around. There is a feeling of being overwhelmed with too much music through the entire Nintendo DS game.

There are so many funny things that you can do with your Nintendo DS which makes it widely popular and personal favourite of countless gaming enthusiasts all over the world. One of the ways to spice up your DS is to convert it into an acoustic guitar. And with Jam Sessions that is going to be a non-issue.

In a very strict sense of the word I am not sure if you really call Jam Sessions a game. Take for example you won’t be able to make any high scores, something a must for the games. But even then it doesn’t take away much from the game. The way Jam Sessions DS works is that it can help you in case you have that urge to play guitar or you have to write songs for that someone special. The software has been developed in way that makes the process enjoyable to the hilt. You can actually strum the guitar like you would have done with an actual acoustic guitar. You can play the chords and the songs of your choice. In many ways it obviously did feel a bit odd but I must confess it did feel quite close to playing an actual guitar too.

You can satisfy your playing urge by writing your own songs and record five of them on the DS. What’s more, there are 17 songs that have been included in the software to make it enjoyable. The song collection has classic rocks like Bob Marley’s ‘No woman no cry,’ covers like Nirvana’s ‘Man who sold the world’ and alternate like Coldplay’s Yellow.’ You can get couple of more songs if you buy the game from some specific retailers.

Overall the experience of playing Jam Sessions would be more memorable for music lovers than hard core gaming enthusiasts. So in case you are one of the formers, this is just the right one for you.

This is an interesting game which requires players to hit buttons in tune with the music in order to move forward in the game. This Japanese title, not to be confused with the similar sounding war series “Band of Brothers”, is a first of its kind game on the DS. Band Brothers though predominantly Japanese is scattered with a few English instructions on the screen.

This is a disadvantage as instructions in English could make it easier for players to grasp the full context of Band Brothers. There are a variety of both familiar and unfamiliar tunes with different settings of difficulty levels. As you advance in the game, moves become harder to pull off.

As a player, your aim is to become a rockstar in order to find a place in the band. Although the PSP already has popular rhythm based games like Patapon 2, such quality musical games are decidingly scarce on the DS; which is why Band Brothers is such a welcome development. There are different modes in Band Brothers, such as the single and wireless multiplayer mode, band play, etc. The interesting ‘special event’ option requires you to be nifty with your fingers as you stop a bomb from going off.

Graphics are vibrant and fresh. The band brothers bats are the main characters and they light up the screen with their presence. The female bat is the prominent character who is very cool. They are bright coloured and amusing. Further challenge is offered with the option of choosing from different songs and variations. The tempo of the songs can also be altered. It is exciting as you tap along for Super Mario theme one minute and lilting with the Classical Music the next.

On the whole, the Band Brothers is a game that is absolutely different from the usual battle, action and adventure games. It offers some wonderful moments on your favourite Nintendo DS.

If you are still untouched by the craze of playing music games, then Rock Revolution - a new game by Konami might surely revolutionise your position. Konami seems intent on bringing back the rock rhythm games to various consoles including your favourite DS Lite.

A player can create his own melodies by using the stylus to play the instruments while inputing his voice through the DS microphone. To give you the feel and approach a real rock singer, Rock Revolution allows you to play with the drums and guitars and sing out your heart to match the rhythm. It is actually like getting a complete rock package in a video game. Moreover, an image of a guitar will accompany you onscreen when you are playing the instrument. Using the stylus, you can move the guitar to the inner circle for the guitarist to play it. With the bass, you have to play any one out of the four strings that horizontally appear across the screen.

Like a real-life story of a rock star, the game will let you taste success after putting in some hardwork. Your rock band begins in the basement of a friend’s house and slowly proceeds to the main stage. You will follow a list of some great tracks like “Detroit Rock City” and “Spoonman” to move through different levels. If you are too lazy to actually play the songs, then you can enjoy them on the Rock Revolution Media Player.

A fine variety of songs and engrossing gameplay allows you to spend some time in testing your musical skills or rather letting you live a secret ambition.

Disney Interactive Studios has come up with a rhythm game, where you can play with all the available musical instruments and create your own themes. The Ultimate Band is meant for everyone who enjoys music and admires rock stars. This game developed by the Fall Line Studio offers great entertainment with its motion control options. Unlike other rhythm games, the Ultimate Band is not composed of tiers that need to be locked at every stage of the game. It is simple, but exciting, for the players to control the musical instruments of all types that are identical with the rock music. The game includes a frontman, a drummer and a guitar for making your gameplay a totally rocking experience.

To start your musical journey, you have to first select a gender, which will determine the tracks for you as a singer. The next interesting thing to do is to select the clothes and accessories for your musician. There are a whole lot of funky and stylish clothes at your disposal in Ultimate Band (Nintendo DS). All you need to do is to pick up the ones that you like to the most for customising the performer’s looks. If the appearance created by you is appealing enough to attract fans, then you will receive a number of fan mail. Yes, Fan mail! This is actually based on an in-game system of e-mail, which allows you to interact with fans.

The Ultimate Band is a completely captivating game, where you are provided with all that you need to get the feel of a rock star. It will be ready to rock your DS screen the first week of November.

If you are still untouched by the craze of playing music games, then Rock Revolution, a new game by Konami, might finally win you over. Konami intends to bring back the rock rhythm games to various consoles including your favourite DS Lite.

A player can create his own melodies by using the stylus to play the instruments while inputting his voice through the DS microphone. To give you the feel and approach a real rock singer, Rock Revolution lets you play with drums, guitars and sing your heart out to match the rhythm. It is actually like getting a complete rock package in a video game. Moreover, an image of a guitar will accompany you onscreen when you are playing the instrument. Using the stylus, you can move the guitar to the inner circle for the guitarist to play it. In the case of a bass, you have to play any one of the four strings that horizontally appear across the screen.

Like a real-life story of a rock star, the game will let you taste success after putting in some hardwork. Your rock band begins in the basement of a friend’s house and slowly proceeds to the main stage. You will follow a list of some great tracks like “Detroit Rock City” and “Spoonman” as you progress through different levels. If you are too lazy to actually play the songs, you can enjoy them on the Rock Revolution Media Player.

A fine variety of songs and engrossing gameplay lets you spend some time in testing your musical skills, or live your own secret ambition.

Ignition Entertainment brings you a game called ‘Red Bull BC One’ with an apparent motive of also making you dance in tune with it. In this somewhat bizarre and puzzling game, digital b-boys, who are scantily clad in dresses reminiscent of the early 90’s, bust moves on the top of the screen of your Nintendo DS. What strikes us here is that instead of break dancing, you have to concentrate more on connecting dots, which in some manner is connected to your onscreen characters performance.

Using a stylus you start connecting dots on the touch screen and form shapes. These may be in the form of simple rectangles and triangles, or more elaborate patterns as the game progresses. You are bound by a time frame while connecting these dots, and each successful outline will result in a break move. You also have to meet the points quota for each match in order to proceed to the next level. It is, however, amusing that you will miss most of the show, as you have to keep staring at the bottom of the touch screen.

The game is based on one-on-one b-boy battles and is backed up with some of the funniest trash talk you will come across. It has a great soundtrack, which sometimes appears misfit in the game’s context. But at other times the game boasts some really infectious danceable hip-hop music. The only depressing part is that the game really lacks the punch and break dancing moves to properly accompany the music. Other dance games, like Elite Beat Agents, have implemented the dancing controls much more effectively. A more engaging visual would and more exciting gameplay would have added to the game’s appeal and overall level of fun.

The Nintendo DS has another game on the block, Rhythm Heaven, created by the Wario Ware franchise. It includes minigames that are played at a frantic pace, in conjunction with a great and deep musical experience.

The first minigames will require you to operate a catapult, while square blocks are rolling in front. When they reach the middle of the screen, you will need to shoot the log through them, and do so while following the beat of the square’s movement. It’s kind of similar to games like Guitar Hero: On Tour (Nintendo DS), though of course without the guitar. As you move further, the blocks vary their speed and eventually the screen goes completely black except for a small ray of light in the centre. That may sound a little difficult, but if you follow the beat appropriately, you can play the game with your eyes closed.

The other two minigames, in addition to the catapult game, are also very captivating. One has you using a fuel pump in a robot factory and the other one has you playing as a singer in a row of three people. The beguiling beat and the sheer challenge to line up the shots would keep you engrossed for a long time.

The Nintendo DS has not only replaced the button pushes with stylus controls, but it has also kept the pick-up-and-play nature intact. You might find Rhythm Heaven a wee tough, but believe you me it will keep you pleased. I, just like you, can’t wait until this hits shops sometime later this year.

Nintendo DS Lite is an incredible combination of technology and entertainment. After reaching unparalleled heights of success on other consoles, the extremely popular Guitar Hero has now made its way to the DS Lite. Guitar Hero is a game which lets you play the guitar on screen just like a real guitar. It is controlled by a wraparound controller, which gets attached to the back of DS Lite from outside. This is done to make it feel like you are actually playing a real guitar. It also has a hand strap to make sure you don’t accidentally drop your prized DS Lite while playing.

The game has already had amazing success on the PS2, PS3, Nintendo Wii, and Xbox 360. There were some concerns whether a handheld would be able to effectively implement the unique controlling system, but the DS Lite version easily quells any doubts. This wraparound attached to the DS Lite makes you hold it like a book. You hit the four frets with your left hand fingers while strumming the touchscreen on the right. It will practically feel as if you are really strumming on an actual guitar. However, because the buttons on the wraparound cannot be played with your right hand, any left handers will have to learn to play right handed or face disappointment. So play the music aloud, dance and feel like a rock star. Just don’t drop the DS Lite while you are hitting the notes.