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Neighbors from Hell
Neighbors from Hell
Developer:Jowood Productions
Publisher:Encore Software
Platform:PC; GameCube; Xbox
Genre:Puzzle
Release Date:September 2003
Article Posted:April 2006
Grade:77/100
System Requirements


Did you ever wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of a hammer banging coming from your neighbor’s house? Did you ever have to clean your freshly mowed lawn after your neighbor’s pet decided to pay an unsolicited visit? Did you ever have to study for a final exam with obnoxiously loud music shaking the walls from your neighbor’s apartment next door? Are there people in your life that frustrate you on a daily basis while you are unable to do anything about it? Think of all the people that made your life miserable and got away with it. Think of all the twisted pranks you wanted to pull but couldn’t. Neighbors from Hell gives you a non-violent way to release your pent-up frustrations.

Neighbors from Hell is about a reality TV show. You control Woody as he pulls off pranks against his oafish, annoying, loud, and generally obnoxious neighbor. Excluding the tutorial levels, the game features fourteen episodes. In each episode, Woody breaks into the neighbor’s house to perform a series of tricks. Each time the neighbor falls for a trick, the show’s ratings increase. To complete the episode, Woody needs to successfully execute a number of tricks and attain a predetermined rating level.

All of the episodes in Neighbors from Hell take place inside the same house. However, each episode has a distinct, different theme. The neighbor might be enjoying a relaxing day while he is making barbecue, crafting gifts for his mother’s birthday, or trying to exercise to lose some weight. Depending on the underlying theme of the episode, different pieces of furniture and tools are available. Furthermore, the fourteen episodes are grouped under three seasons. During the first season, only four rooms are accessible. As Woody progresses to the second and the third seasons, additional rooms become available.

In order to perform tricks, Woody needs to locate items scattered around the house. Collected items are stored in Woody’s inventory, displayed across the bottom portion of the screen. The inventory items are used on other objects to create the tricks. For instance, Woody might find a bag of marbles in a drawer. Using these marbles on the kitchen floor will cause the neighbor to slip and fall when he walks through the area. While collecting the items and using them on other objects, Woody has to stay out of the neighbor’s sight. If the neighbor sees Woody at all, you will lose the episode and have to start over again.

Some of the tricks in Neighbors from Hell are rather simplistic. However, especially as you get to the later episodes of the game, the tricks become more complex. The number of available pranks in each episode also increases. Each time the neighbor falls for a trick, his anger meter fills. If Woody can manage to execute another trick before the neighbor completely calms down, he receives a bonus from the audience. For instance, in addition to putting marbles on the kitchen floor, Woody might figure out a way to mess up the microwave. Thus, upon entering the kitchen, the neighbor first sees the microwave and gets mad because he has to clean it. Upon fixing the microwave, the neighbor takes a couple of steps and falls down because of the marbles. The audience, amused by the successive tricks, gives Woody a better rating. It is possible for Woody to pull off three or four tricks in immediate succession in some of the episodes.

While it is sufficient to complete a specific number of pranks in the allotted time to finish an episode, players are encouraged to find all of the tricks and come up with a creative way to trigger them in chains to achieve the highest rankings. If Woody manages to get a viewer ranking of 90% or higher and finds all the tricks in each episode of a season, he gets awarded a gold medal. The ability to win these rewards gives players a reason to revisit episodes they have already completed and try to achieve the highest score possible.

Neighbors from Hell implements a very simple and completely mouse-driven interface. Left clicking on an empty area moves Woody in the indicated direction. Moving the mouse over hotspots changes the icon. A hand icon is displayed when Woody can search a tool or piece of furniture for an inventory item he can use in a trick. The icon with a pair of eyes indicates that Woody can examine the object and give the players some simple comments. Inventory items can be selected with a simple mouse click. When an inventory item is selected, it can be used on other interactive objects to setup pranks. If players select a correct item and hotspot combination, Woody starts preparing the trick. Setting up a prank typically takes just a few seconds. Players are allowed to interrupt the process at any time in case the neighbor is about to walk into the room.

Woody can also sneak around the house and interact with objects quietly. In order to get Woody to sneak, players simply need to click with the right mouse button as opposed to the left one. In later episodes, the neighbor brings pets into his house. These pets are normally at rest in their rooms. If Woody enters the same room with his regular walk, the pets wake up and alert the neighbor. However, if Woody is sneaking into the room, he can easily get past the pets. Unfortunately, Woody is considerably slower when he is sneaking around. As such, players will have to carefully choose when Woody should try to walk quietly.

Among the most successful elements of Neighbors from Hell is the game’s atmosphere. The cartoon-like exaggerated graphics do an excellent job of setting the tone of the game. There are many different animations used to depict the horrible things that happen to the neighbor as a result of Woody’s pranks. The music is also very appropriate. While the soundtrack may not be of exceptional quality, it definitely has that upbeat yet casual quality that makes it sound like it would be very fitting in a real TV show. The sound effects are also generally appropriate and work with the humorous tone of the game. The overall presentation succeeds in creating a lighthearted atmosphere, making the most terrible practical jokes seem funny and amusing.

The main problem that hurts the game play experience in Neighbors from Hell is the repetition of the pranks across the different episodes. While each episode of the game does feature some unique tricks and a different theme, a number of simple pranks are repeated a considerable number of times during the game. Thus, a joke that is highly amusing the first time you perform it might start feeling like a chore by the time you complete all the episodes.

Neighbors from Hell could have also benefited from a larger number of locations. While the neighbor’s house does feature a solid number of rooms with many different interactive objects, Woody will be revisiting essentially the same location fourteen times throughout the course of the game. The addition of new rooms, changes in furniture, and the availability of new pranks does not make up for the fact that the entire game takes place inside one building.

It is also worth noting that Neighbors from Hell is a fairly short game. Completing the basic requirements for each episode will take a short amount of time. Going through the episodes with greater care to find the most effective way of executing the tricks will keep players busy for several hours. However, players paying close attention to details to find all the available pranks can expect to complete all episodes with good rankings in approximately six hours or less.

The idea of breaking into a neighbor’s house to pull off pranks as part of a TV show makes Neighbors from Hell a very unique game. The game offers a fair amount of different pranks and successfully creates a light-hearted, humorous tone. Finding all the pranks and getting the best ratings in each episode can make for entertaining and addictive game play. While Neighbors from Hell does have a number of noticeable weak points, the overall experience can still be very entertaining. If you are looking for a casual puzzle game and the idea of harassing a bad neighbor with clever tricks sounds amusing, definitely consider giving Neighbors from Hell a try. There is a lot of fun to be had while satisfying your sadistic side and unleashing sweet vengeance upon your bad neighbor.

The final grade is 77/100.

      


PC System Requirements:
Windows® 95/98/ME/2000/XP
Pentium®-compatible MMX processor, 166 MHz
64 MB RAM
DirectX® 8-compatible 16 MB of video card
DirectX® 8-compatible sound card
4x CD-ROM drive
130 MB free space on your hard drive