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IGN Review of Over the Hedge
When a new children's movie comes along, there's no doubting that a videogame counterpart will be riding on its coattails. Over The Hedge is no exception, as Activision sent its newest legalized addition to the shelves to team with the latest DreamWorks feature, ensuring that children would have no problem getting the CG fix they so desperately need. Though the tradition of movie games has been around for quite some time, it's still very rare that we stumble across one that's actually entertaining. Over the Hedge may not be a must-have title for every console owner in America, but it does manage to deliver some decent entertainment at the expense of the all-too-familiar rushed feel of a licensed game.
There must be a guide somewhere to making cookie cutter cross-platform games, as nearly every licensed title that incorporates the words Disney, Pixar, Nickelodeon or DreamWorks follows the same basic presentation outline. Take the top-tier characters from the movie or show, plop them into a basic gameplay template used in other games, add cutscenes with the character's pictures to tell the story and sprinkle a few video clips from the actual show to fill in the weaker spots. Oh, and just to make sure the development teams go crazy in the process, include a few seemingly-simple mini-games or extras to ensure the product maximizes its license.
We may joke about the process, but it does manage to keep licensed games on the shelves at regular intervals, and younger gamers eat it up. Over the Hedge may follow a ton of the all-too-basic presentation elements - it uses video clips from the movie, has a few mini-games and extras, and follows a gameplay style already beaten to death - but aside from many of its predecessors it actually manages to stay fresh and entertaining in the process.
The basic design looks to be taken from numerous multiplayer beat-em-ups, with the new LEGO Star Wars as its obvious primary inspiration. Players grab their favorite character from the movie, take to the streets and beat the heck out of anything that moves. If at any time a second player wishes to enter or leave the action, they can do so with the push of a button, using the computer-controlled character as a buffer. The environments, which parallel the movie nicely, have a decent amount of destructible objects in them which hide unlockable content as well as a handful of power-ups for the players.
In addition, the gameplay is amazingly simple, much like the Star Wars title, though it does offer a bit more teamwork and techniques that keep the gameplay fresh. Basic combat is assigned to one button, which will keep players swinging golf clubs, bats, hammers or hockey sticks at the nearest foes. The other primary button is used for jumping, and a double jump has been added in which can be executed at any point in the air.
On a basic level the gameplay is very solid, and it actually surprised a few of us as to how well it played. It's the amount of hidden depth, however, that really convinced us that this was no ordinary "just ship it" title. Aside from the main button-mashing melee, players can also bring up an on-screen cursor used to fire a charge-attack golf ball at their foes. This ability can be used at any time, so shooting puzzles are often used to change up the pace of gameplay or defeat larger foes from a distance. In addition, each character has a specific special move that can be used once their attack meter fills up, which deals a huge amount of damage in close proximity to the character. Add in a few other oddities like lazer gun pickups and the ability to stack one character on top of the other's shoulders for double attacks and you have the basic premise of the game.
When it comes to delivering consistently solid gameplay based on the design, however, Over the Hedge comes up a bit short. There are a ton of quirky concepts that are implemented to keep the game interesting, such as new weapons, the ability to wear different hats to increase defense, multiple mini-games and unlockable content, but the much-needed polish just isn't there. Every time a level is completed, for instance, the game will take players back to "the hedge," a sort of gaming hub where playable characters can be switched in and out, mini-games can be played or different unlocked hats can be added to the characters in preparation for the next mission. Oddly enough, however, the main missions aren't laid out in an obvious linear fashion, since each one can be played multiple times for side-quests and special items. Rather than having the game stay linear and giving the option for players to return to the hedge when they desire, the gameplay is interrupted between levels. It's a bit odd and takes some of the flow away from the gameplay.
Another oddity that can be found as the main game progresses is the need for a second character. Since the game features swap-in/out gameplay, an AI character is often needed. The camera is entirely fixed, however, so there are subtle issues with tracking, and there were countless times during gameplay where the computer controlled ally would get stuck, trigger alarms or stray from the primary objective. The ability to switch between on-screen characters with the touch of a button is nice, but it seems like a band-aid for a bullet wound.
In addition to the main adventure, mini-games have also been included, but feel very basic and almost half-finished at times. The strongest of the games requires players to use their golf shot and hit the right targets on-screen like a shooting gallery, which has some entertaining elements. The shot's trajectory will be dependant on how long the charge is held, and it's somewhat rewarding to break bird feeders and barrels of TNT with a nice chip shot. The bumper golf cart mini-game is more or less solid as well, though there are a few damage issues between which car should be taking the brunt of hits, and the actual models for the golf carts look very basic. The third game, RC Racers is a train-wreck of gameplay, as players control tiny low-poly cars as they race around a variety of tracks. The gameplay is very slippery, however, and utilizing the jumps on the course will undoubtedly send the player's vehicle end-over-end, resulting in a crash. It's situations like these where we wish the design would have taken a more simplified approach, as we would rather have a far better main game than a decent adventure teamed with a few hit and miss mini-games.
When looking at the overall production value of the package, the same hit-and-miss feel will be found. On a graphical level, the game is extremely polished at times, and a bit too basic at others. Character animation is awesome and is a serious high point for the game's value. As a counterpoint, however, many textures and effects in the game are a bit basic, especially in the mini-games. The audio production is by far one of the game's weakest points, having serious balance issues with in-game voice acting and music output. We actually had to go into the options menu and put the "music" slider-bar down to 5/100, while keeping the main sound effects around 80/100 and the character voices at 100/100 to balance it out. Even after tweaking the audio manually, the in-game character VO is still amazingly low, which is a bit of a shame. As an added note, it's also a bit of a disappointment that the real cast members didn't do the character voices, as the game's audio doesn't feel like it's truly part of the Over the Hedge world.
Over the Hedge may have a few issues, but it does at least try to bring a solid production to the player and, despite a few of the oddities, we mentioned the package is still pretty strong. The game runs in progressive scan mode and allows for Dolby Pro Logic II in addition to the standard mono and stereo audio settings. During the main game, players can find and unlock nearly 100 extras as well, which range from music tracks, concept art, videos from the movie and even original comic from the classic Over the Hedge strips. Another great extra included was the ability to see character models being created from basic wire-frame design all the way to final textures, which is cool for even older gamers that might be playing through Over the Hedge with their younger family members.
©2006-05-25, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
There must be a guide somewhere to making cookie cutter cross-platform games, as nearly every licensed title that incorporates the words Disney, Pixar, Nickelodeon or DreamWorks follows the same basic presentation outline. Take the top-tier characters from the movie or show, plop them into a basic gameplay template used in other games, add cutscenes with the character's pictures to tell the story and sprinkle a few video clips from the actual show to fill in the weaker spots. Oh, and just to make sure the development teams go crazy in the process, include a few seemingly-simple mini-games or extras to ensure the product maximizes its license.
We may joke about the process, but it does manage to keep licensed games on the shelves at regular intervals, and younger gamers eat it up. Over the Hedge may follow a ton of the all-too-basic presentation elements - it uses video clips from the movie, has a few mini-games and extras, and follows a gameplay style already beaten to death - but aside from many of its predecessors it actually manages to stay fresh and entertaining in the process.
The basic design looks to be taken from numerous multiplayer beat-em-ups, with the new LEGO Star Wars as its obvious primary inspiration. Players grab their favorite character from the movie, take to the streets and beat the heck out of anything that moves. If at any time a second player wishes to enter or leave the action, they can do so with the push of a button, using the computer-controlled character as a buffer. The environments, which parallel the movie nicely, have a decent amount of destructible objects in them which hide unlockable content as well as a handful of power-ups for the players.
In addition, the gameplay is amazingly simple, much like the Star Wars title, though it does offer a bit more teamwork and techniques that keep the gameplay fresh. Basic combat is assigned to one button, which will keep players swinging golf clubs, bats, hammers or hockey sticks at the nearest foes. The other primary button is used for jumping, and a double jump has been added in which can be executed at any point in the air.
On a basic level the gameplay is very solid, and it actually surprised a few of us as to how well it played. It's the amount of hidden depth, however, that really convinced us that this was no ordinary "just ship it" title. Aside from the main button-mashing melee, players can also bring up an on-screen cursor used to fire a charge-attack golf ball at their foes. This ability can be used at any time, so shooting puzzles are often used to change up the pace of gameplay or defeat larger foes from a distance. In addition, each character has a specific special move that can be used once their attack meter fills up, which deals a huge amount of damage in close proximity to the character. Add in a few other oddities like lazer gun pickups and the ability to stack one character on top of the other's shoulders for double attacks and you have the basic premise of the game.
When it comes to delivering consistently solid gameplay based on the design, however, Over the Hedge comes up a bit short. There are a ton of quirky concepts that are implemented to keep the game interesting, such as new weapons, the ability to wear different hats to increase defense, multiple mini-games and unlockable content, but the much-needed polish just isn't there. Every time a level is completed, for instance, the game will take players back to "the hedge," a sort of gaming hub where playable characters can be switched in and out, mini-games can be played or different unlocked hats can be added to the characters in preparation for the next mission. Oddly enough, however, the main missions aren't laid out in an obvious linear fashion, since each one can be played multiple times for side-quests and special items. Rather than having the game stay linear and giving the option for players to return to the hedge when they desire, the gameplay is interrupted between levels. It's a bit odd and takes some of the flow away from the gameplay.
Another oddity that can be found as the main game progresses is the need for a second character. Since the game features swap-in/out gameplay, an AI character is often needed. The camera is entirely fixed, however, so there are subtle issues with tracking, and there were countless times during gameplay where the computer controlled ally would get stuck, trigger alarms or stray from the primary objective. The ability to switch between on-screen characters with the touch of a button is nice, but it seems like a band-aid for a bullet wound.
In addition to the main adventure, mini-games have also been included, but feel very basic and almost half-finished at times. The strongest of the games requires players to use their golf shot and hit the right targets on-screen like a shooting gallery, which has some entertaining elements. The shot's trajectory will be dependant on how long the charge is held, and it's somewhat rewarding to break bird feeders and barrels of TNT with a nice chip shot. The bumper golf cart mini-game is more or less solid as well, though there are a few damage issues between which car should be taking the brunt of hits, and the actual models for the golf carts look very basic. The third game, RC Racers is a train-wreck of gameplay, as players control tiny low-poly cars as they race around a variety of tracks. The gameplay is very slippery, however, and utilizing the jumps on the course will undoubtedly send the player's vehicle end-over-end, resulting in a crash. It's situations like these where we wish the design would have taken a more simplified approach, as we would rather have a far better main game than a decent adventure teamed with a few hit and miss mini-games.
When looking at the overall production value of the package, the same hit-and-miss feel will be found. On a graphical level, the game is extremely polished at times, and a bit too basic at others. Character animation is awesome and is a serious high point for the game's value. As a counterpoint, however, many textures and effects in the game are a bit basic, especially in the mini-games. The audio production is by far one of the game's weakest points, having serious balance issues with in-game voice acting and music output. We actually had to go into the options menu and put the "music" slider-bar down to 5/100, while keeping the main sound effects around 80/100 and the character voices at 100/100 to balance it out. Even after tweaking the audio manually, the in-game character VO is still amazingly low, which is a bit of a shame. As an added note, it's also a bit of a disappointment that the real cast members didn't do the character voices, as the game's audio doesn't feel like it's truly part of the Over the Hedge world.
Over the Hedge may have a few issues, but it does at least try to bring a solid production to the player and, despite a few of the oddities, we mentioned the package is still pretty strong. The game runs in progressive scan mode and allows for Dolby Pro Logic II in addition to the standard mono and stereo audio settings. During the main game, players can find and unlock nearly 100 extras as well, which range from music tracks, concept art, videos from the movie and even original comic from the classic Over the Hedge strips. Another great extra included was the ability to see character models being created from basic wire-frame design all the way to final textures, which is cool for even older gamers that might be playing through Over the Hedge with their younger family members.
©2006-05-25, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved