  A skunk with a plunger - this can't be good.
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I haven't seen Dreamworks' Over the Hedge because I don't care much for computer animated cartoons. Unlike many people, I'm not that impressed with the technology and with regards to story, I feel all of the major studios' efforts have been in a decline since Pixar's original offering, Toy Story.
But having not seen the film does not in any way detract from my displeasure playing Activision's companion game. With a team consisting of any two from RJ the Raccoon, Verne the Turtle, Stella the Skunk and Hammy the Squirrel, (The creator of Tales of the Riverbank should so sue!) you complete various missions, usually involving stealing food, destroying stuff and avoiding capture by the exterminator or death from his brainwashed animals.
The gameplay is not incredibly difficult even on the hardest setting, at least in the one-player mode. You are able to switch back and forth between the two characters while you are playing. When one of the characters is knocked out, as long as you can keep the other character from getting knocked unconscious as well, the effects are only temporary and he will soon come back to life with four health points. Also, you gain additional health by busting up things and destroying enemies. As a result, it's not easy to be killed off. But the missions are often extremely long and because the hordes of creatures sometimes take forever to destroy, it still happens. And what's aggravating is that more often than not you have to replay the entire level.
Many of these are also repetitive. I quickly got tired of having to protect Ozzie the Possum's wagon of food, because he takes the defensive posture of playing dead anytime attackers approach.
Playing with two players is near impossible. When you're playing by yourself, the character you're not playing follows behind you. This can be a little annoying if you would prefer him to attack the badger behind him and not the bear cub you're fighting, but this proximity keeps the game from messing up. When you're playing with two players, they often become stuck if you move the characters in opposite directions or one gets pushed the wrong way as the screen scrolls forward, making them easy targets.
Granted, it's not all bad. The three-dimensional arcade style works quite well for the most part, although sometimes you can lose track of exactly where your characters are, especially when they move to the back of the screen. And it's fun causing mayhem and beating up the gophers and rats and what not. If only the levels were a little shorter, the checkpoints closer together and the enemies weren't quite as tough and numerous, perhaps the game wouldn't feel so tedious.
You gain access to three different mini-games as you complete the missions: a racing game, a driving range game and a bumper car game with golf carts. The bumper cart game is by far the most entertaining as it's essentially a demolition derby on a golf course. I mean, honestly, how cool is that! It could perhaps have been a little more entertaining if people were actually trying to play a round of golf at the same time, but then the developers can't think of everything. The racing game offers some enjoyment as well, but with the Need for Speeds and Burnouts on the market, a bonus mini racer as part of a children's cartoon game doesn't really compare. And the driving range game just plain sucks.
In addition, you can unlock other content, such as badly drawn comic strips, background music and cut scenes, including filler animation of the characters rotating needlessly as if they were the prize behind Door Number Two. I'm sure you can't wait to watch to that!
In the end, Over the Hedge isn't terrible, but it becomes quite tiresome after awhile and it might be a little too frustrating for some of the younger players.
WHAM! Rating: |
6 out of 10 |
ESRB Rating: |
E (Everyone 10+) |
Official Web Site: |
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