Stitch off on a jammin' adventure
By JINNY GUDMUNDSEN
Gannett News Service
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Stitch, the rambunctious alien star who landed in Hawai'i for Disney's "Lilo & Stitch" movie, is grooving to the beat in "Disney Stitch Jam" (Disney Interactive; rated E for everyone), a musical rhythm adventure on the Nintendo DS. Stitch is adorable in an untamed sort of way and the gameplay is fun, but it's over too soon.
The tropical world of Stitch and his alien girlfriend, Angel, is interrupted by the arrival of evil alien scientist Dr. Hamsterviel, who tries to steal Angel. To rescue Angel, Stitch must complete 10 rhythm-based missions, which send him around the world and even into outer space.
Each mission is presented in a side-scrolling manner where Stitch struts his stuff to music while you tap on notes as he dances over them. You also have to match arrow cues by sliding the stylus up or down. When you do this correctly, sometimes your rhythmic tapping will allow Stitch to fight bad guys or shoot at alien ships.
This story line of helping Stitch be a hero works well, especially because he must travel to new locations in each of the missions — lush tropical beaches, an underwater ship or outer space. The game is playable on three levels of difficulty, and provides for wireless download to another Nintendo DS for two-person play. It also connects to online community D-Gamer, where kids can safely chat.