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With the release of Grand Theft Auto less than a month away, most gamers will be clawing at Rockstar’s doors in anticipation. It’s set to be the biggest game of 2008 and we’re only approaching April. So understandably, we should be excused if we’re not thinking of any other games. When Hurry up Hedgehog landed on our doorstep it didn’t have the effect that undeniably GTAIV will subsequently have. While GTAIV will be steeped in controversy and the expectant media spotlight, many smaller titles will crawl under the radar, especially games like Hurry Up Hedgehog. After all, the title seems unlikely to get your heart pumping or your palms sweaty and will sure as stone avoid any cries of tougher ratings on games. Hurry Up Hedgehog is definitely one for the family, a blend of easy to pick up gameplay and addiction heavy puzzling, but will you say ‘Hurry Up Hedgehog’ or ‘Hurry up GTAIV?”

The humble board game is a dying breed. It’s losing out to video games, the internet, music, films and TV. People just don’t have time for them anymore which means to survive they need to modernise. This means one of two things; either introduce electronic playing apparatus or go the whole distance and convert to a digital form; Monopoly for example. Hurry Up Hedgehog falls into the latter category. In its most basic form it’s the recreation of the popular board game, Igel Argern. It may not rank high in your list of popular board games, or might not even feature at all, but it’s been around since 1990 and involves rolling a dice, moving some pieces and winning by getting your three ‘hedgehogs’ to the end. Hurry up Hedgehog takes it literally and recreates the board and the hedgehogs, but leaves the core mechanic untouched.

It allows single player activity by pitting you against an AI controlled opponent, who does know how to play the game. If you’re stuck in a car on a long journey then you can play hotseat multiplayer with up to five friends on one DS. If (for some odd reason) you’ve got a friend who also owns the game then you can partake in Wi-Fi multiplayer, saving the passing of the DS. While the gameplay is identical to the board game, the DS version allows for 32 options so you can customize your experience exactly how you wish. It certainly means there’s a fair bit of depth there but unless you’re a fan of the board game then you’re probably going to ignore a lot of them. As well as that, you’ll need to consult the manual if you’re unfamiliar with the world of Igen Argern, as apart from a 3 page instruction screen explaining the (very) basics, you’ll be confused and lost without the help of that often ignored booklet. For a casual game, it lacks the required pick-up-and-play feature, as while (once you’ve got the hang of it) it’s there in a literal sense, but missing for new players.

The game grants you six boards to play on and they’re all themed about typical hedgehog locals. You play from above and you control your pieces with the stylus, with the top screen being used to present basic information as to whether you’re winning. Once you’ve won, you start again with no sense of reward. It’s quickly apparent that the game lacks replayability, unless of course you’re a fan of the board game. That’s the only way it can be recommended, because otherwise you’re going to get bored very quickly and wonder why you purchased it. There isn’t anything else we can really write about it. It’s fairly cheap but still more than we would pay for it. The concept and presentation is akin to a web-based flash game and it definitely lacks any sort of enjoyable feeling. If you enjoy Igen Argern, buy it for some portable, light relief, otherwise everyone else ignore.

Score: 4/10

(Hurry Up Hedgehog is out on Nintendo DS)

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