ECInc2XXX
10-28-2010, 11:21 PM
Eric Corp Gamer's RU Exclusive Review 23
Zombies Ate My Neighbors
(Halloween Special)
http://www.videogamesblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombies-ate-my-neighbors-snes-boxart.jpg
Yay! Since it is almost Halloween, I'm going to review a Halloween-based game. For this year's Halloween, the game is Zombies Ate My Neighbors, a game with many tie-ins to the horror b-movie genre.
Zombies Ate My Neighbors is a game released in 1993 for both the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo, developed by LucasArts and published by Konami. The game was barely known during the release, but throughout the years, the game became a cult classic which led for the game to be released on Virtual Console (Super Nintendo version) with much fanfare.
REVIEW:NOTE: This is a review of the Super Nintendo version since people know more about that one than the Genesis (which is the version I own, still works though)
Graphics: A
The graphics here are just brilliantly done. Firstly, the sprites are well done. The players (Zeke and Julie) are well animated and finely amazing in general, though Zeke has a bit of a coloring issue with his glasses (just to point that out...). The enemies are also done very well here that they actually act like and feel their b-movie counterparts (kinda). The neighbors are decent (but not the best) and there's a lot of variety in them to make them fun to see what they are doing during a zombie invasion or so, oblivious of what's going on (Hello? Earth to neighbors?!). The other sprites are also great to look at, too. The backgrounds are also inspiring especially during the nighttime due to the nice use of the darker color schemes. Overall, near-perfect graphics for a third-party game on the Super Nintendo, and it really shows.
http://minusonecredit.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/zombies.pnghttp://gamingvintage.com/screenshots/zamn/gameplay2.png
Gameplay: A
Zombies Ate My Neighbors has some of the best gameplay that distinguish the difference between the fourth generation and the current generation. The point of the game is to try to save as many victims as you can within the "55 levels of terror!" (48 normal levels, and 7 bonus levels), and saving and finding more ammunition and weapons to defend yourself and the victims from the clutches of b-movie evil. The levels are big and contains lots of secrets that no one can possibly get on their first time. There are also multiple weapons like squirt guns, bazookas, soda cans, and artifacts, that each have their specialties of a specific enemy. There's also multiple items that vary of their use like first-aids, pandora boxes, potions, decoys etc. There is a lot of variety of enemies like zombies, dolls, werewolves (why do they walk like that?), vampires, and so on. As you can see, there is a lot of variety of each that will keep the fun factor to a all time high. The idea of 2-players with this game make this one of the most entertainment multi-player game on the Super Nintendo. However, there are some flaws like the way you change your weapons and items. The "A" and "B" buttons only change in one direction which can get annoying when you are trying to switch to a specific thing you want, which can even lead to either you or the victims being killed. Also, the 2-player game is a shared screen rather than a separate screen (I know, that is really hard to do so on the SNES) which can get gradually harder since one person might not be paying attention or moving at a slower pace, which can also lead to many unfortunate deaths for both you and the victim. Also, I only wished the bosses had a little more variety in them, as there are only 3 bosses: (though 2 of them rehashed at least twice) the giant baby, the giant mutant spider, and Dr. Tongue's head, which is kinda disappointing. Other than that, the game can really give some solid and addicting entertainment, especially in 2-player mode.
YouTube - SNES Zombies Ate My Neighbors
YouTube - Zombies Ate My Neighbors 1-7
Sound: A
The music has got to be one of the best soundtracks for a third-party SNES game, though it needs more songs in it because, it repeats a bit too much. The sound is also pretty good, but why does Zeke sound like a girl when he gets hurt? Even so, just plain worth listening to, without any bleeding of the ears at all.
YouTube - Zombie Panic: Zombies Ate my Neighbors Music
YouTube - Zombies Ate my Neighbors Music
YouTube - No Assembly Required: Zombies Ate my Neighbors Music
Controls: A-
The controls are pretty good and simple, though like I mentioned about the changing the weapon flaw affects it a little bit. Even so, the game isn't hard to control and is really easy to get used to.
Replay Value: A
For people who likes horror movies or is interesting for great multi-player fun (like me), they would likely to play it a lot. For other people, maybe once in a while, but even so, you will play this more often than most other games out there.
Overall: A
Zombies Ate My Neighbors has got to be one of the best games the system has to offer. To be honest, I never expected a different third-party developer (other than Capcom, Konami or all those well-known ones) makes a game that barely anyone heard of back then, but people look back at this game (like me) would realize and understand why this game is so amazing in all aspects. So in conclusion, it is worth your time and money to play this well-done game that plays well as a game and as a tie-in to many of the horror cliches. Man, where's a remake when you need it?
2010 Eric Corp Incorporated
As a bonus, I found a pretty funny but faithful homage music video of the game, check it out:
YouTube - "Zombies Ate My Neighbors" Music Video (Single File Song/SNES Game)
Zombies Ate My Neighbors
(Halloween Special)
http://www.videogamesblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/zombies-ate-my-neighbors-snes-boxart.jpg
Yay! Since it is almost Halloween, I'm going to review a Halloween-based game. For this year's Halloween, the game is Zombies Ate My Neighbors, a game with many tie-ins to the horror b-movie genre.
Zombies Ate My Neighbors is a game released in 1993 for both the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo, developed by LucasArts and published by Konami. The game was barely known during the release, but throughout the years, the game became a cult classic which led for the game to be released on Virtual Console (Super Nintendo version) with much fanfare.
REVIEW:NOTE: This is a review of the Super Nintendo version since people know more about that one than the Genesis (which is the version I own, still works though)
Graphics: A
The graphics here are just brilliantly done. Firstly, the sprites are well done. The players (Zeke and Julie) are well animated and finely amazing in general, though Zeke has a bit of a coloring issue with his glasses (just to point that out...). The enemies are also done very well here that they actually act like and feel their b-movie counterparts (kinda). The neighbors are decent (but not the best) and there's a lot of variety in them to make them fun to see what they are doing during a zombie invasion or so, oblivious of what's going on (Hello? Earth to neighbors?!). The other sprites are also great to look at, too. The backgrounds are also inspiring especially during the nighttime due to the nice use of the darker color schemes. Overall, near-perfect graphics for a third-party game on the Super Nintendo, and it really shows.
http://minusonecredit.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/zombies.pnghttp://gamingvintage.com/screenshots/zamn/gameplay2.png
Gameplay: A
Zombies Ate My Neighbors has some of the best gameplay that distinguish the difference between the fourth generation and the current generation. The point of the game is to try to save as many victims as you can within the "55 levels of terror!" (48 normal levels, and 7 bonus levels), and saving and finding more ammunition and weapons to defend yourself and the victims from the clutches of b-movie evil. The levels are big and contains lots of secrets that no one can possibly get on their first time. There are also multiple weapons like squirt guns, bazookas, soda cans, and artifacts, that each have their specialties of a specific enemy. There's also multiple items that vary of their use like first-aids, pandora boxes, potions, decoys etc. There is a lot of variety of enemies like zombies, dolls, werewolves (why do they walk like that?), vampires, and so on. As you can see, there is a lot of variety of each that will keep the fun factor to a all time high. The idea of 2-players with this game make this one of the most entertainment multi-player game on the Super Nintendo. However, there are some flaws like the way you change your weapons and items. The "A" and "B" buttons only change in one direction which can get annoying when you are trying to switch to a specific thing you want, which can even lead to either you or the victims being killed. Also, the 2-player game is a shared screen rather than a separate screen (I know, that is really hard to do so on the SNES) which can get gradually harder since one person might not be paying attention or moving at a slower pace, which can also lead to many unfortunate deaths for both you and the victim. Also, I only wished the bosses had a little more variety in them, as there are only 3 bosses: (though 2 of them rehashed at least twice) the giant baby, the giant mutant spider, and Dr. Tongue's head, which is kinda disappointing. Other than that, the game can really give some solid and addicting entertainment, especially in 2-player mode.
YouTube - SNES Zombies Ate My Neighbors
YouTube - Zombies Ate My Neighbors 1-7
Sound: A
The music has got to be one of the best soundtracks for a third-party SNES game, though it needs more songs in it because, it repeats a bit too much. The sound is also pretty good, but why does Zeke sound like a girl when he gets hurt? Even so, just plain worth listening to, without any bleeding of the ears at all.
YouTube - Zombie Panic: Zombies Ate my Neighbors Music
YouTube - Zombies Ate my Neighbors Music
YouTube - No Assembly Required: Zombies Ate my Neighbors Music
Controls: A-
The controls are pretty good and simple, though like I mentioned about the changing the weapon flaw affects it a little bit. Even so, the game isn't hard to control and is really easy to get used to.
Replay Value: A
For people who likes horror movies or is interesting for great multi-player fun (like me), they would likely to play it a lot. For other people, maybe once in a while, but even so, you will play this more often than most other games out there.
Overall: A
Zombies Ate My Neighbors has got to be one of the best games the system has to offer. To be honest, I never expected a different third-party developer (other than Capcom, Konami or all those well-known ones) makes a game that barely anyone heard of back then, but people look back at this game (like me) would realize and understand why this game is so amazing in all aspects. So in conclusion, it is worth your time and money to play this well-done game that plays well as a game and as a tie-in to many of the horror cliches. Man, where's a remake when you need it?
2010 Eric Corp Incorporated
As a bonus, I found a pretty funny but faithful homage music video of the game, check it out:
YouTube - "Zombies Ate My Neighbors" Music Video (Single File Song/SNES Game)