Over the Hedge

Last weekend, two of the summer's most talked about movies were finally released. Both sold millions of tickets and grossed enough cash to make Hollywood start thinking "sequel!" In a not-too-surprising turn of events, both also have newly released games based on the films' characters and stories.

Over the Hedge was one of the two box-office winners, raking in over $30 million in its debut weekend. A computer-generated tale from DreamWorks, Over the Hedge is about a group of semi-wild animals who are in danger of losing their home. In the video-game adaptation, their goal is to convince a few extinct animals to come live with them. Should the animals listen, they will unknowingly turn the area into a wildlife preserve, stopping all construction that would convert the forest into a new housing complex.

Play as RJ (raccoon), Hammy (squirrel), and Verne (turtle). Some missions must be taken alone, while others require the cooperation of two of the leading animals. Infiltrate the neighborhood, steal their food, acquire precious items, and get out of there before the dog – or the evil taxidermist – catches you in the act. 

Set in a 3D world, Over the Hedge is an action/adventure without much action. There's an adventure to go on, one of item location, item collection, and one too many switches that need to be pushed. Visually the game isn't half bad. Three-dimensional worlds are such a rarity on the DS that you'll definitely take notice. Unfortunately, the doors that 3D opens for new gameplay ideas (or classic concepts refined) are not explored very deeply. In fact, the game stays far away from anything deep, opting for a simplistic series of missions that redefine the meaning of the word rehash.

Missions are based on the retrieval of specific items, the destruction of construction equipment, and/or the pushing of various switches. Now I've already said that once. Don't worry, that'll be the last time I repeat myself, but bear with me if I start to sound like a broken record – this game doesn't give me much to go on. The entire experience is one of repetition. Even when the worlds, characters, and items are new, it doesn't take long for boredom to take control. It doesn't take long for the controls to take their toll.

That's the first gripe I have with this game. From the beginning, the controls just didn't feel right. Whether running, jumping, or trying desperately to latch onto a chair (so that one of your animals can climb up and steal something off a coffee table, a pool table, or the kitchen counter), the controls are equally slippery and clunky. I can forgive the slightly off-base running, where pushing up on the D-pad is anything but precise. However, I am less forgiving to stools, whose shape requires you to jump onto them from a specific angle in order to climb up. If you're being chased by the family dog, you'll be attacked and fail the mission. Unless you manage to have jumped at the stool from the right angle – then you might have actually escaped in time. 

But if not, it's back to the beginning of the mission for you. And you know what that means: those laser fences and nasty air fresheners are going to have to be turned off again. It makes sense that lasers would be hazardous, but air fresheners? Are they trying to say that wall plug-ins are safe for humans, but not animals? Scary thought...

On a slightly less depressing note, there's a chance to save yourself from repeating tiresome actions when playing two-character missions. Characters don't "die," they just get knocked out – and when one is knocked out, the other has the opportunity to revive him. There are a couple ways of doing this. The first is by locating the animal and touching it. Another, more versatile (and slightly clever) way is by blowing into the Nintendo DS's microphone to create a loud noise. The noise startles the animal, waking him up.

The microphone is used in other interesting (though not necessarily original) ways, such as a dog whistle that distracts four-legged friends in tight situations. Both screens are enhanced with 3D visuals – the top screen having the main, third-person view. The bottom screen was given a handy top-down view. Conceptually, Over the Hedge scores points for that bit of innovation.

Just another below-average video game, Over the Hedge is a tiring, semi-frustrating (and at times, downright boring) adventure with few redeemable qualities.  The Nintendo DS is practically overflowing with great, must-have games – and this one unfortunately isn’t one of them.

Gameplay: 5.9
An overly simplistic adventure that doesn’t do anything to entice, engross, or excite (let alone enamor) the player. The slippery/clunky controls don’t help the situation, nor do rehashed levels, repeated mission objectives, and the all-too-frequent backtracking that comes from critters that can only carry one large item at a time. This game is based on a movie with talking animals that are determined to save their forest – why the need for realism when it comes to how much each one can carry?

Graphics: 7.5
Though the backgrounds are a bit bland, the game faithfully re-creates the film’s leading characters.

Sound: 6.0
Over the Hedge’s soundtrack is good for the first 60 seconds of each song. After that you realize that the songs are really short. The same sounds are played non-stop until the end of each mission.

Difficulty: Easy
Simple missions of item retrieval. Not overly exciting, nor overly challenging.

Concept: 7.0
Having 3D images on both screens is cool. I also liked how the developers incorporated the microphone. Unfortunately that’s about all the praise I can give to this title. It’s an old soul that’s been brought back from the dead, given a new story, and released on a new system. But the basic idea is as old as 3D video games.

Multiplayer: 6.0
Single-card multiplayer is admirable. It’s something third-parties rarely attempt. The multiplayer mode itself, however, is a variation of the rest of the game, and involves more item collecting. By the time you get through the single-player levels, you will have had all the items you can handle.

Overall: 6.0
Over the Hedge goes overboard with simplistic scavenger hunts, rarely stepping into the bounds of action gameplay. I enjoy games that challenge my mind and force me to look everywhere to unlock every secret. But it doesn’t work if the act of doing so is a snore – if the act of finding those items is neither challenging nor rewarding. Players young and old will be turned off by the lack of excitement.