Developer: Encore Software

Category: Action

Release Dates

N Amer - 11/16/2003

Official Game Website


Neighbors from Hell Review

Bookmark and Share Share | Digg! Digg This | Glink It Glink It

As a part of a new reality TV show, players of this game get revenge on their 'in-game neighbor, an unpleasant, obnoxious and annoying fellow. Creeping around the neighbor's house and performing practical jokes on him without getting caught enacts this revenge. Every time the neighbor falls into one of these traps, the player is rewarded with applause and laughter from the audience. The goal is to keep your ratings up by playing the practical jokes in a specified amount of time to keep your show on the air.

The type of pranks you will execute will be scribbling on pictures, exploding eggs in his microwave, throwing slippery items on the floor, plugging up his toilet with a roll of TP, etc. When you play pranks that cause the annoying neighbor to fall into a barrage of multiple pranks, you can get bonus rating points. These are important to unlock new seasons to keep your show on the air.

There are 14 episodes spread over 3 TV seasons. Each episode will require you to pull more pranks then the previous one to continue on. This gives a good sense of level completion as you progress through the game. Some levels throw the neighbors pets into the mix that can warn him of your presence, which with proper sneaking around can be avoided. These pets also add to the difficulty of the game.

All in all the game is quite fun, but in my opinion will appeal to a younger audience or the casual gamer that does not want to read a hefty manual before getting started. The in-game tutorial is nicely executed eliminating the need for any manual what so ever. Because the lack of re-playability I feel the $30 MSRP is bit high.

Gameplay: 7.5
Easy to get started and few commands required to play the game. Unfortunately you repeatedly play some of the same pranks over and over, but still quite entertaining

Graphics: 7.5
Simple and sweet and most people will find that this can play on any PC that have been produced in the last couple of years. You really do not need state of the art graphics to enjoy this title.

Sound: 7
The music gets a bit repetitive and the sound effects are decent at best. But this is not exactly a game that requires the latest sound card to enjoy.

Difficulty: Easy
It is primarily a puzzle game. You can pattern the neighbor's actions and plan your pranks accordingly. You can even tell what he is thinking so you know where he will walk to in the house. This makes the game pretty easy to master within an afternoon

Concept: 7.5
Haven't seen many games of this type of genre, especially adding the reality TV show to the mix, but all in all we have seen games of this type before. It is a nice break from most FPS, RPG, and RTS type games.

Overall: 7
In my opinion an MSRP of 30 bucks seems a bit steep for a game that you can master in just a few hours and really does not have any re-playability. This is would probably appeal mostly to a younger audience.



Neighbors from Hell Comments (0)



GameZone Review Detail

Gameplay7.5
Graphics7.5
Sound7
DifficultyEasy
Concept7.5
Overall7.0

7.0

GZ Rating

"A genre that is a nice change from your typical FPS, RTS. RPG and sport games."

Reviewer: Kevin “BIFF” Giacobbi

Review Date: 08/13/2003


ESRB Rating

Teen
Comic Mischief
Mild Violence
Suggestive Themes

Industry Critic Reviews