I always think of video games as a way of letting players experience something. Films might give us the visual and audio experience of swinging around a sword of light at androids in a science fiction world; or a book could expand on this universe and show us what it’s like from the dark side of that universe. However video games, like machines, can accept input from us so we can craft our own unique experience in the game world. We can choose to be a Jedi master or a smuggler in video games, regardless of the plot. But, as odd as it was for George Lucas to include Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars universe, some people have an interest in experiencing life in the Hollywood Arts School. Well now they can in Victorious: Taking the Lead, coming exclusively to the Wii and Nintendo DS.
Players can dive into the shoes of Tori Vega (played by Victoria Justice) in the Nickledeon TV show, Victorious. In Victorious: Taking the Lead, Vega needs to win an upcoming school play with the help of her friends and rivals. All the cast members from Victorious show up in this game: Andre Harris, Tori’s best friend and another musical prodigy; Robbie Shapiro, the socially-awkward ventriloquist with his puppet Rex Powers; and Jade West, the sarcastic goth ‘mean girl’ that serves as rival to Tori Vega. Victorious: Taking the Lead will offer players a variety of conversation options on the Wii, so they can tell what they think about Robbie’s puppet or try becoming best friends with Jade.
I’ll admit that Victorious: Taking the Lead is not a game I would want to experience anytime soon. However, the TV show this game is based off of looks harmless and if it ran for two seasons, then there must be people out there that want to experience what it would be like living as Tori Vega. What is one player’s experience might not appeal to another player’s experience.
Victorious: Taking the Lead will be available this holiday season on the Nintendo Wii and DS.
