Over the Hedge

"MMan111's Over the Hedge review"

Graphics:

We all know that graphics don't make a game, gameplay does. But this game just looks TOO good. ;) I've seen some nice-looking DS games before, but Over the Hedge definitely wins the “Best Graphics” award. You can't easily see it in the screenshots, but if you take the time to look around in the game, you'll notice that the developers cut very few corners to make this game look good. So good, in fact, the DS sometimes can't take all the objects and things on-screen at once and you begin to see some graphical glitches. Thankfully, this doesn't happen often and when it does, it rarely causes any problems.

As you can see in the screenshots, the top screen is an over-the-shoulder view while the top screen shows a top-down view, both in full 3D. This is extremely helpful, as you can see details and what's ahead of you on one screen and any potential hazards in the area on the other.

Also, I'd like to mention that the game has a few full-motion cutscenes and there are a lot of voice samples in it, too. Unfortunately, the game reverts to simple still screens and text to tell the story. Sad, but hey, at least we get a LITTLE full-motion action. ;)

Thanks to the helpful camera angles and the awesome attention to details, this game has some of the best graphics on the DS. But I can't give the graphics a 10/10 because of the glitches that happen occasionally. So, with the graphics close to perfection, I give it a…

9/10

Audio:

The music is kind of catchy and fits the situation. I haven't seen the movie yet, so I'm not sure if it's off the movie or not. But I like it personally. The sounds are nothing to marvel at, but they work. Also, again, there are little voice samples that are nice to hear. …Meh, this whole “audio” section is a little too short, but whatever. :| Audio gets a...

7/10

Gameplay:

This is where Over the Hedge shines. As ign.com said, it's a sort of a mix of Tomb Raider and Metal Gear Solid. Your main goal is usually to get to a certain place in a level, grab a certain item and bring it back to the exit point, or accomplish a certain task. You have 3 characters to play as: Hammy, the quick yet weak squirrel, Verne, the slow but strong turtle, and RJ, the sneaky raccoon. In any given level, you can use only one or two of these guys at once, (it depends on the level. Some only allow you to use one and others let you use two) and if you're doing the mission for your first time, you don't get to choose who to use. (you can go back later and look for food with any characters) If you're using two characters in a mission, you can switch between them at any time. In these missions, you must use teamwork and take advantage of each character's strengths to accomplish your goal.

As you can imagine, there are lots of hazards and dangers in the big human world. Anything from people wielding brooms to pets will attack if they see you. This along with a myriad of different traps and security systems can make for some intense situations in later levels. The only problem is that the levels only get hard like this near the end of the game.

There's plenty of fun to be had and lots of ways to get through each level, but there isn't anything to unlock and no reason to replay levels after beating them. If you replay a level, all you can do is forage for food, which is only useful for buying gadgets. (Which I never even used. Most gadgets that you might find helpful will appear somewhere in the level) So, put it all together and the Gameplay scores a…

8/10

Replayability:

This game is SHORT. By short, I mean you can beat it in 3 or so hours. But if you're like me, you can't just let go of this game after playing through it one time. It's fun enough that you will probably want to play it a few times over. The multiplayer, however, isn't all that great. It isn't really worth your wait. I'd say that, seeing this, one may not want to BUY this game. Instead, I'd recommend renting it. So replayability gets a:

5/10

Difficulty:

This game isn't too hard until the later levels. Anyone in the age range of 6-100 should be able to beat this game and fully enjoy it as well. But don't let me scare you; it isn't EASY, it's just that it doesn't get very hard until later. And whatever you do, don't stop playing after only a few levels. The first 5 or so levels are showing you how to do most of your tricks and telling you how things work… and they're not all too fun. The later levels definitely get more interesting. Ok, it's hard to give difficulty a numeric rating, but here I go…

6/10

Overall:

Over the Hedge for DS is a fun game that both looks and plays good. I wouldn't suggest overlooking this game, even if it is short. But if you're not too happy spending $30 on such a short game, I'd definitely either rent it or borrow it from a friend. Hey, it has 4 save slots, so feel free to share it with someone you know. ;)

FINAL SCORE: 8/10 (not an average)

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/05/06