FNV: “There Goes The F@#%ing Neighborhood.”

Around this time last October Zombies Ate My Neighbors arrived on the Virtual Console just in time for Halloween. So naturally having never played it before and having heard nothing but hot shit about it, the download was a no brainer (Get it? BRAAAAINNS). So did it manage to live up to all the hype after more than 15 years since it’s original release on the SNES and Genesis?

You betcher sweet little ass it did.

Players take control of one of two characters (or both in a pretty great 2 player mode) on a mission tooo…guess what? Yep, save your neighbors from hordes of zombies! Armed with weapons like crucifixes and squirt guns filled with what I’m assuming is holy water, you’ll make your way through a seemingly endless amount of horror themed stages populated by all kinds of monsters. Many of which will be instantly recognizable to anyone who’s ever gotten into trouble for staying up late to watch a scary movie.

I’ve had nightmares about this bastard.

In fact the whole thing is dripping with such fan service to the genre that even if the gameplay mechanics were to completely blow, ZAMN would still work as a love letter to flicks like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre or Friday the 13th. Thankfully, this isn’t the case because this game plays just as good as it looks. Each stage is filled with neighbors varying from cheerleaders to toddlers to fatasses floating around in a swimming pool. Ten must be rescued before being eaten which opens a door to the end of the stage. The catch is when you realize that if you miss a neighbor, that carries over to the next level where you now only have nine to rescue and even less time to do it and more monsters to deal with. Very simple, very challenging and very fun.

I can’t praise this game enough. Yes, it does get infuriatingly difficult as it goes on (I’ve never been able to finish it) but it’s the kind of challenge that keeps you coming back for more. There’s just so much charm and attitude packed into this thing that at a measly 800 Wii points (the cartridge goes for twice that on Ebay) Zombies Ate My Neighbors is a must download for the Halloween season.