Over the Hedge

Marketer's Law: For every animated feature made for TV or theater, there must be a game to accompany its release or success. The game's inspiration (ie: the movie version) may take years to design and complete, but the game itself usually takes a fraction of that time to be ready for the public. Factual or not, that's the way they almost always feel. There are exceptions, but Activision's Over the Hedge isn't one of them. Far from terrible, it just does not inspire you to keep coming back for more, which is a key component to a game's longevity.

I saw the movie on opening day. It was a decent release for DreamWorks, and the subsequent marketing of toys was tremendous. From kid's meal toys to bedroom decor, it was hard to enter any retail place without seeing it. Like that blitz, the game repeated the array by releasing it for various platforms. It's a basic explore-and-destroy quest game. Using similar plot lines as the movie, you must go (over the hedge) into the human's world and gather goodies while helping your furry friends. Your success transitions into an escape level, encounters with an angry bear and having varmints hitting the road. Luckily for young players, all of this can be handled with relative ease. In fact, I have not gone so far with a new game in one sitting, in a very long time. Once I learned the strengths of the obligatory multi-character playing scenario, I was off and zipping along level after level. Where most games would have made me feel beaten down in such time, I had to walk away from this one just by having other things to do (versus feeling like I stepped in the ring with Rocky).

I usually use the keyboard for PC games. However, I did not like the feel on this one, and did not want to re-map the layout. So, I plugged in my dusty Sidewinder controller and made it my default in the Options. It improved my abilities quickly. I was cruising through rapidly, only slowing now and then to switch characters or take a look at my surroundings. Even with the controller, some of the movements were buggy. The camera works well until you switch to another animal. Then, it has to adjust and catch-up, which can be annoying. You learn to do those things when minimal action is happening. The end of the levels is announced with cartoon-like bursts, then there is a slow and deliberate outline of the upcoming level and what it requires. Along the way, you can unlock goodies like movies and pictures. None of these extras were particularly worthwhile. It just led to more "Is that it??!!" feelings. Not bad, but hardly worth the effort of obtaining them.

The visuals are solid and like the movie. That is one nice thing about a game based on a cartoon or CGI - the look is often almost identical. However, since this is played off of CD(s), there is some corner-cutting to focus on gameplay in lieu of mirroring the film. The environments reminded me a lot of Pixar's Toy Story games, which I did not think of when in the theater. It was only when playing the game that it looked familiar. The characters look nice and interact with their surroundings without any major glitches. I've seen many such games have odd instances of the active characters blending in with the background. This one played as smooth as it looked.

The voice acting was very "canned" and emotionless. I feel that the tracks were laid down in quick one-take and move on. In the film, Bruce Willis made his raccoon character seem lively and energetic (matching the slick scam-artist personality). In the game, the little bandit barked his energy as if doing it from his death bed. The energy and pep seemed forced and without direction. Maybe the tracks were laid down during hypnosis or deep sleep?

The variety of things to do makes this fun to play, but there's nothing new, otherwise. Having critters drive vehicles and get into mischief has been done many times. I am just thankful this wasn't some side-scrolling action game. That would have been painful. Young players will get a lot out of this, but since the film was PG and had many older viewers, you'd think the game would have more depth. I would think they would like to grab the attention of those that are able to spend the dollars on it. Instead, they made a game that will only challenge more inexperienced gamers, versus claiming the scope of teen+ players.

Gameplay: 6.5
As soon as you learn the controls, mission objective and how/when to switch playable characters, you're up and running with ease. Adjust your timing to compensate for the dragging camera, and the bulk of this game's challenge will go out the window. Unless you are a master with the keys, I'd recommend getting out the external controller for this one. That will make it even easier (if that is possible) to accomplish your level's objectives.   

Graphics: 7.5 
The look is almost as good at the movie that inspired it. The characters look sharp, and the environments compliment their look even more. There is no awkward blending of images that can sometimes curse a game like this. By far, the look of the game stands out as the best feature.     

Sound: 6.5
The voice acting is very weak. Everyone seems tired and rushed. The action sounds are nice and clear, but you just cannot ignore how bland it feels as a whole. The music is fine in the background, but not very inspiring.   

Difficulty: Easy
The repetitive familiarity of this game makes it easy to learn and play. Every year, this game is released with a different name on the box. You collect goods or reach goals on your level, then move to the next one and repeat. Easy to learn, easy to play.

Concept: 5.0 
I think the only brainstorming done here is how to make it look fresh. There couldn't have been much discussion about actual gameplay. It's a standard, over-used template with the current characters placed in the mix. At least they didn't try to make it like Tetris or something as awkward!  

Overall: 6.5
The game is not terrible. It is just terribly familiar and lacks replay value - except for trying to play it multiple times to see how fast you can do it. Kind of like solving a Rubik's Cube. For some people (not me), after they solved it, they just kept doing it over and over to see how fast they could do it. There's some fun golf club swinging and things to break apart all over the place. It's interesting to play different characters for their unique talents, though I prefer games that allow you to stick with ONE that you are best at using. This game forces you to alternate. There are some times that blindly hacking around needs to be replaced with crosshair-aided precision shots, but that doesn't add much to the challenge and payoff. If you are an experienced gamer, you will play it and have a nice time, but not much else. If you are a less experienced player, you will get more out of it, but even then it will be boring pretty fast. With such an array of characters with fun personalities, I would have hoped for more in the game. It's more likely to send you over the LEDGE, than over the HEDGE.