Over the Hedge has done something that many children's games fail to do - it goes above and beyond the call of duty demanded by the genre and actually puts a lot of effort into the overall presentation and gameplay style. It's not the best kids game around, but it is one of the best companions to a family film of recent memory, even without the voice cast of the film!

RJ the Racoon, Stella the Skunk, Hammy the Squirrel and Verne the Turtle - the four controllable characters of the game - live with an abundance of unique and furry wild animals in The Log, an area over a huge hedge that they call home, where they relax in peace; or at least they did. Upon coming home one day they find that most of their stuff has been destroyed, including a large TV, the loss of which puts fast-talking Hammy into a state of disbelief and shock. With the help of a prominent group of other characters from the film, you lead our four heroes into a suburban jungle of dark streets and laser-grid infested houses, with the goal of obtaining new items for your pad, such as a projector or a popcorn maker. Unfortunately for our critters, Dwayne the Verminator, AKA The Sniffer, is out to stop them with extreme measures, which include cage traps, electric grids, spotlights and even mind-controlled critters that attack our heroes without hesitation.

If it sounds a bit violent then don't worry - like the film, Over The Hedge is all very cartoonish in nature and does a good job of putting over slapstick humor and action. Players control their choice of two out of the four characters for each level and in an impressive feat each character has spoken dialogue for every level as well! The controls are simple, but the developers have done a stand up job of giving players variety in the things they can do as they make their way across forbidden territory. Armed with hockey sticks, plungers and other makeshift weapons, you swing your way through the levels, defeating the brainwashed critters or breaking numerous items scattered around the neighborhood; however, you can also pull off more powerful attacks, assuming your gauge is high enough, or you can use a projectile weapon unique to each character (though they all work basically the same, either by using a hockey stick to hit a puck or throwing a CD, for example).

The beauty of the gameplay lies in the level design, however; Over The Hedge isn't presented as you'd expect. The camera is not user-controlled and always sets itself up for the best view of a situation (in a similar way to early Sly Cooper levels), but this makes aiming a simple matter of moving the curser anywhere on the screen you want it and not dealing with making sure your character is facing a specific direction, which is really nice for the young kids playing. The level designs are all well thought out and pleasant to look at, which include dark city streets with moving streetlamps working as makeshift spotlights, or huge houses with plasma screen TVs and all sorts of expensive goodies. There are special occasions where you'll find yourself in neat little locations such as rooftops overlooking areas you traveled previously, maximum security backyards, damp forests leading back to your sanctuary or even inside a moving truck as a captive.

One of the best features about Over The Hedge, and one that makes solid use of the movie license and characters, is having two characters together at all times. Though you only control one, the other follows and backs you up, rarely getting in the way (though they have trouble dodging certain traps) and you can switch between them at any time with the push of a button. You can even jump on the head of your partner to move them both at once, easily helping your partner dodge traps along the way. [Head Over Heels, Head Over Heels! If you remember that game with the fondness that I do then you're very, very old! Decrep-Ed]. Though there are no hard puzzles to solve using the two of them, it does make the gameplay a little more varied and offers something different from other move based platform titles.

One thing not dissimilar from other platform titles is the collectibles; throughout each level are dozens of items to pick up and though some can be used instantly as weapons, most either have an immediate affect on your health or abilities, whilst others unlock bonus features or mini-games. Going back and collecting them all gives a little bit of a boost to the replay value, but most of the longevity comes from the various secondary objectives for each level that require players to be extra cautious, such as not tripping a single laser trap for an entire section. One of the other minor but very cool aspects of Over The Hedge is seeing all the items you've collected from houses in your main forest area, where you can freely look around and interact with all the other critters, as well as selecting from the four main characters, equipping different power boosting hats you've earned or playing a previous mission for a better score.

This game is a great choice for kids who loved the movie, or even if they haven't seen it before - but for an adult audience it's not without noticeable flaws. The four characters you can select from play just about the same for the most part with little differences, so it's mostly a matter of picking your favorite animal or voice. Speaking of the voices, which are quite good and funny despite lacking the movie's talented cast, you will sometimes struggle to hear them due to the in-game cartoon styled spy music drowning them out, tunes that are easily put to shame by Sly Cooper's innovative melodies. It's pleasing to look at though, mixing well drawn cartoon style backgrounds with objects that have realistic textures and lighting, to create an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere that retains childlike quality without going overboard with something like cel-shading. The cut scenes are also extremely well done, and though they obviously don't match up visually with the film, they are very entertaining and short enough to keep the youngster's attention in between the gaming without boring them.

Over The Hedge is a very solid title, especially considering the slew of movie tie-ins it competes with - which all come off as looking very lackluster and limited when compared to this. It's also perfect if you're simply looking for any kids game. There are better options out there for the youngsters, such as Kao The Kangaroo, but the variety of moves, use of character likeness from the film, mini-games and overall presentation will surely please any little one or fan of the flick. If you're part of the older audience just looking for a good platform game then Over The Hedge is far from the best, but then again it isn't trying to be the absolute be-all-end-all platform action game. It sets out to create an entertaining game that compliments the film whilst keeping the attention of youngsters and in that respect it does phenomenally.

Reviewed by Christopher Martin for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).