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Over the Hedge is the most recent in a long line of licensed from children’s movies. Normally I would be hesitant to give any kind of lip service to what is bound to be a cookie-cutter game full of disappointments and largely unrelated mini-games. Luckily I was pleasantly surprised. While Over the Hedge had quite a bit of filler in mediocre mini-games, movie content, and the like the gameplay was simple yet fun and involving enough to keep my attention longer than any other “straight from children’s movie” video game so far. Players control one character while another follows mostly loyally while both player and AI smash, club, and shoot their way through streets, yards, and homes searching for food.

The character representations in Over the Hedge are excellent as are the animations. Unfortunately the environments are sometimes less than spectacular which detracts greatly from the beauty of the character animations and the fun of the gameplay. Very limited environment interactivity adds to the lack of immersion. The voice acting, although not the same as from the movie, does get the feel humour and fun across to those playing the game. The background music is sometimes not so much in the background. It was sometimes difficult to hear the sound effects and the character voices over the volume of the background music.

The gameplay mechanics in Over the Hedge were very well thought out compared to many games of the genre. Simplicity mixed with the possibility of complexity and fun in the actions available definitely allowed for smooth and entertaining gameplay throughout the entire game. The only points of contention in my opinion when it comes to the gameplay are the fixed camera angles and the sometimes less than intelligent AI of the character not being directly controlled by the player. The mini-games are a mixed bag. Some are fun and can actually extend the longevity of the game a few hours while others are ridiculously simplistic and lacking in fun or finesse.