VIDEO GAME REVIEWS Zombies Ate My Neighbors & Ghoul Patrol WHERE TO FIND Amazon.com: SNES SEGA GENESIS Games Universe: N/A Search for it on eBay! Reviewed By LessonNo5 I know what some of you might be thinking... You’re right, these aren’t horror games. Not even close. They’re fun little top-down shooters with a B-Movie twist. Well, they’ve got zombies and that’s good enough for a review. That having been said... The storyline for both of these games is similar. You take control of your pick between two protagonists, either the spiky haired Zeke or the indefatigable Julie (or Julia), as they make their way through the movie-cliche infested town in their attempt to rescue survivors and ultimately save the world. You get to face everything from the above mentioned zombies, to axe wielding midgets (or are they ex-child stars?), to a Jason type characters, and even a giant mutant baby. Your weapons in this caper could not be more lethal... In this day and age of violence and warfare, many choices probably sprung to mind. Of course conventional weapons aren’t enough for our heroes. They turned their noses up at the 9mm Beretta, the AK47 Beta Spetsnatz, the M870, and even ICBMs... No, they chose something far more deadly... Squirt guns. Squirt guns and six-packs of carbonated beverages... The silly nature of the game really is what makes it fun, though. I mean, without the satirical, tongue-in-cheek approach to the game it would be just another shooter trying to make sales based on body count. It would lose its appeal after about five seconds. This game honestly does have a place in the hearts of a lot of old school horror gamers. Even I have a copy of this collecting dust near my SNES. In addition to the squirt guns and six-packs, you also have a pretty extensive list of other weapons available. Things like Popsicles, weed wackers, fire extinguishers, and a bazooka. The goal is to use those weapons to ward off monsters based on those from popular horror films while you run around trying to rescue survivors before they get taken out by said monsters. That really is about the extent of the plot. Some of the levels are usually loosely based on locations from horror movies as well, but most of the time is spent in a generic town setting. The good things about this game (at the time of it’s release, anyway) were its good sound design and a two player mode that made it fun for two. The biggest flaw, besides the weaponry, was its save function. Basically because it doesn’t have one. It’s a code-based system, and a code isn’t given after every single level. You get a code after each boss battle. Ghoul Patrol was released a year after Zombies Ate My Neighbors and, as I said, is a lot like the original. There are a couple of differences that are definitely worth noting. The biggest ones being the graphics, which are much better, and a slight variation in the story. In this one, Zeke and Julia get together to stop a demon from using and army of ghosts, goblins, and (of course) ghouls to take over the world. The arsenal was beefed up a little for this one. Now you get everything from plasma rifles to suction cup arrows and you run around collection rubber chicken power-ups. What I think is the most important thing to note about Ghoul Patrol is the fact that it’s not really important at all. You see, while Zombies Ate My Neighbors gathered a cult following still alive to this day, its sequel did not. I think the reason for that is the same reason a lot of people criticize the game. Namely, its campy B-Movie theme. Ghoul Patrol didn’t have that, and so it’s been mostly forgotten. Konami and JVC tried to take something appreciated for its silliness and turn it into something serious. That wasn’t their big mistake, though. The big mistake was trying to make a sequel at all, because even if it had been in the same style, it still probably would have failed. It might’ve even killed the fun and originality of the first game. Zombies Ate My Neighbors was a game that lived and died based on it’s premise. It’s one that can’t, and probably shouldn’t be duplicated. In the end, what can I recommend about this game? Well, since it’s been years since its release and you can now pick up SNES games for $2.00 per, I say go for it. You can’t go wrong with a classic. Just remember what you’re buying... A game that has two children using squirt guns to kill zombies, Popsicles to freeze Jason, and six-packs to foil giant mutant babies. Still want it? Good! RATING (Out of 5) THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE UGLY What is the gameplay, the storyline, and the graphics. ZOMBIE LESSONS LEARNED In the event of a B-Movie take over, babies are worth 100 points! RELEASE DATES SNES - 1993 (ZAMN) Sega Genesis - Unknown (ZAMN) SNES - 1994 (GP) REVIEW POSTED January 27 2004 # OF PLAYERS 1 or 2 CHEATS/WALKTHROUGHS Walkthroughs/Maps at GameFaqs.com OTHER RELATED ITEMS Zombies Ate My Neighbors MIDIs PUBLISHER Konami DEVELOPER LucasArts ESRB RATING

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