This product is like new. At NexWave Games, like new means:
Additionally, all discs at NexWave Games are carefully inspected and assessed for quality. When discs arrive, we do not accept any that are so badly damaged that they are unlikely to work. We only accept discs with light scratches at most. Discs with scratches are then treated in our professional disc repair machine. By warming the disc and polishing it with soft brushes, these machines can remove a very thin layer from the disc. This removes the layer containing surface scratches and improves the disc’s readability. This ensures the disc works properly, even on consoles with ageing lasers that have difficulty reading games! Great news for the player.
Over the Hedge for PlayStation 2
Over the Hedge for PlayStation 2, also known in Dutch as Beesten bij de Buren, turns a suburban neighbourhood into the setting for animal heists. RJ, Verne, Hammy and Stella seek food and supplies for their woodland home while an exterminator and his helpers stand in their way. You take two characters through houses and gardens, avoid security systems and hit enemies with everyday objects. A golf club or hockey stick becomes a weapon on a journey past human-made obstacles.
When playing alone, you switch between the two active animals and the computer controls your partner. A second player can join the same adventure with an additional controller. You jump over obstacles, sneak past danger and pick up objects to throw or carry. Special attacks consume energy. Snacks replenish health; other finds restore energy or provide a temporary extra effect.
In each mission you keep track of objectives and try to collect your loot safely. Alongside combat and environmental puzzles, there are short activities involving golf, golf carts and remote-controlled cars. These separate contests pit the friends against one another, while the main story centres on cooperation. Collected rewards also unlock additional material. This action adventure repeatedly asks you to assess which route through the neighbourhood is usable and how two animals can get past the next defence.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 2 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
Over the Hedge for PlayStation 2 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Over the Hedge
Activision released Over the Hedge in 2006 around the DreamWorks animated film. Edge of Reality developed the PlayStation 2 version and the other console releases of the time. The project was part of the multi-year collaboration announced by Activision and DreamWorks in 2003. The film was based on the comic strip by Michael Fry and T. Lewis. During development, the team also collected comic books and used DreamWorks artwork as reference for its own game world.
Project manager Rich Santiano explained in an interview that the console team wrote a new story set after the film. In it, the animals carry out heists to gather food and toys for their home in the woods. The team built its own character models using film designs, colours and other supplied references. Different actors provided the voices. The developers therefore used familiar characters and settings, but shaped their behaviour and adventures into a playable continuation.
Cooperation between two animals became a constant building block of the console adventure. Alone, the player receives help from the computer; together, two players can divide the tasks. Separate competitions grew out of actions that already fitted the story, such as playing golf and driving a golf cart. This gave the developers room for competition outside the shared missions. The result connects the film world with combat, puzzles and small contests that each call for different actions.
Similar games for PlayStation 2
Madagascar for PS2 also uses four animals from a DreamWorks film, with individual moves for overcoming obstacles. There you play separate chapters as Alex, Marty, Gloria or Melman, following a journey from New York to an island. Over the Hedge keeps two animals together at once and lets a second player join in. Both alternate action and minigames, but the suburban heists place more emphasis on cooperation.
Shrek 2 for PS2 resembles Over the Hedge in its group of film characters, character switching and shared battles. Shrek's team usually has four members with abilities for different obstacles. Up to four players can join in; three or four require a PS2 Multitap and additional controllers. Over the Hedge uses two active animals and two players. Loot and household security take the place of fairy-tale quests.
Open Season for PS2 also turns woodland animals into opponents of humans. Boog and Elliot drive away hunters through animal assistance, throwing and surprise attacks. Over the Hedge instead enters suburbia, where food and supplies lie behind traps and guards. Open Season keeps its main story single-player; in Over the Hedge a friend can join the same adventure. Both combine animal actions with short challenges outside the usual progression.
Bee Movie Game for PS2 also views human dangers from a small animal's perspective. Barry flies between obstacles and works in the hive to open new story missions. Over the Hedge mainly sticks to ground-based action with two animals, fighting and carrying loot. Both expand an animated film with original tasks. Barry's jobs and recurring workplaces differ from the shared heists through changing houses and gardens.
Barnyard for PS2 lets you explore a farm as your own cow, talk to residents and accept tasks. Like Over the Hedge, it combines animal humour with objects from the human world and separate minigames. Barnyard is a solo adventure in which you return to familiar locations and ride around on a BMX. Over the Hedge opts for two active protagonists and missions through secured suburban neighbourhoods, with a greater focus on shared battles and collecting loot.
