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> Results: Over the Hedge
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by Andrew Bub
June 30, 2006
The lovable cast of critters invades suburbia, starting with your house. Will these animals be welcome in your home?
Reviewed for PS2.
Also available for GC, PC, XBOX.
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Scroll down for our Kid Factor.
Over the Hedge is a wild, fun, and clever movie (based on a comic strip) that sends kids from theaters wanting, really wanting, more and more suburban mayhem. A videogame tie-in is natural, expected, and unfortunately, typical of the genre. Which means to say, it's long on being "true to look of the film and characters" but awfully short on gameplay.
The game feels impersonal and rushed, meaning the film's warmth and humor are missing, making the near constant tasks (somewhat related to the film with the dubious additions of brainwashed animals to fight and non-food related things to collect) are simple and boring. The game is built to be co-operative, even in single player. Each mission features the woodland creature you've chosen and a computer controlled companion. Players can switch between them at will, even though you never really have to. The happy result of this is that it means the game is also designed to be two-player co-operative, meaning siblings, friends, or parent and child can play together to solve challenges. More games, particularly children's games, clearly need this feature. Here you're left wishing it was put into a much better game.
The gameplay is similar across all platforms, except for the handheld versions (the DS version is the best by far). The end result is that the Over the Hedge game is fit for, at best, a rental, and that's only if your kids simply must try it out.
The movie is violent in the classic Bugs Bunny style (with the modern frenetic MTV editing) and a real winner, but the game shrugs off the charm, wit, and verve of the film almost entirely. That's a shame because the suburban setting, the cute animals, and the movie's set-up are pretty inspired. That said there's nothing really offensive here except for the cartoon violence. What's offensive is how the game defines odious and parent/kid unfriendly terms like "synergy," "opportunity," "built in audience so lets do this on the cheap" (okay that last one isn't a real business term but I think it applies). The game exemplifies why so many parents disdain videogaming. If all you buy is licensed games, you'll rarely buy your kids anything good. That needs to change, especially when the movie is this good.
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> Results: Over the Hedge
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