Review: Over The Hedge (DS)
Score: 71
Very obviously a movie tie-in but a dedicated DS game rather than a port of a version for a different platform, Over The Hedge is in places awesomely impressive and in others disappointing and somewhat boring.
The overall design is one of the good bits, with lovely 3D graphics, especially on the top screen, with a 'behind the character' dynamic view, as shown in the screenshots below. The bottom screen is a top-down view of the same scene, giving you tactical awareness of where the baddies (in this case, dogs, cats and humans, and their security systems) are.
The idea is to help RJ, Verne and Sammy (from the film) enter various houses (which look very similar to each other) and retrieve specific objects needed outside the 'hedge'. Each trip involves much running and jumping and there are the usual platformer puzzles and obstacles. The graphics are well down throughout and there's a sense of pace when needed.
Unfortunately, without the speed and humour of the film itself, the novelty of raiding rooms in houses for objects which have to be brought back one at a time soon fades (at least it does for me, an adult).
The first two missions are followed by original video clips, but subsequent missions just get static cut scenes, suggesting that the developers ran out of time during the production process.
Ultimately disappointing, this is still a good example of a Nintendo DS platform game and may appeal to some age groups and to fans of the film.