Over the Hedge

Description

Over the Hedge serves as a sequel to the film and follows a group of woodland creatures including RJ the raccoon, Verne the turtle, and Hammy the squirrel as they attempt to reclaim their stolen items from the suburbs. Players navigate through residential backyards, suburban streets, and a vermin control headquarters to retrieve a variety of human luxuries like televisions and popcorn machines. The narrative expands on the conflict with the exterminator Dwayne LaFontant and features original cutscenes that do not appear in the film. While the film cast is represented, the game did not use the original voice actors to provide the dialogue for the main characters.

Gameplay revolves around mission based levels where two characters work together to solve puzzles and defeat enemies such as mind controlled rats and robotic security traps. Players can switch between four playable characters on the fly, each equipped with distinct melee weapons like golf clubs or sticks and ranged attacks involving frisbees or golf balls. A notable feature is the seamless cooperative mode that allows a second player to join or leave the session at any time without interrupting the progress. The experience also includes several unlockable competitive mini games such as a demolition derby with golf carts and a series of races using remote controlled cars. It is most like Madagascar and Shrek 2 due to the shared development lineage and similar focus on family oriented cooperative play.

Contemporary reviewers noted that the game was a competent and polished movie tie in that provided a longer experience than typical licensed projects. Critics praised the technical performance on the hardware, specifically the smooth frame rate during split screen play and the colourful environmental textures. Some pointed out that the combat mechanics were simple and became repetitive during the later stages of the campaign. In retrospect, it is a nostalgic example of the sixth generation era of licensed platformers and for its faithful recreation of the visual style of the movie. While not a ‘fan’ of the movie, I did have a number of Dreamworks materials at the time having won a major competition with them for my own vfx and animation work. The game brings memories of this for me personally, but it’s otherwise a notable instance providing an interactive sequel that extended the a popular animated movie into a functional action adventure.