PixlBit

This generation of gaming has been all about reviving and re-releasing old classic games in the name of cashing in on nostalgia, errr, preserving the history of video games. Among the latest games to make a reappearance from the dead are a pair of 16-bit LucasArts classics, namely, Zombies Ate My Neighbors and its lesser-known sequel, Ghoul Patrol, in a downloadable double-pack on all the major consoles and PC. 

Zombies Ate My Neighbors (1993, Konami)

You play as one of two teenagers, Zeke or Julie. Armed with a Super Soaker full of holy water, you battle all kinds of homages to horror movies such as plant people, werewolves, vampires, a Frankenstein monster, evil dolls that are clearly meant to be parodies of Chucky, giant worms, a giant baby, and of course, zombies. Your object is to save cheerleaders, babies, tourists, and other bystanders from these monsters. This takes place in a top-down arcade action world. The game supports two-player co-op play, but not split-screen, which the SNES and Genesis weren't powerful enough to handle for this game. This version does not support online play. It's sort of a cross between Gauntlet and Smash TV. 

I had this game on SNES as a birthday gift, and I played it to completion. It has a total of 55 levels, which is quite impressive for that time. My dad was a big horror movie buff. He had all kinds of low-budget horror movies recorded off of TV on Betamax cassettes, and I watched a lot of those movies. So I got all most all the references in this game. 

This version is based off the SNES version. It actually has some decent goodies, including scans of the manual, and some conceptual artwork. The highlight is an interview with Mike Ebert, the lead designer, where he talks about the concepts behind this game and the development processes, including working with the publisher, Konami. They developed the game by making a tile-based toolset where they could easily make levels. They made 20 levels themed around various horror movies, then, while the terms of the publishing agreement were hammered out with Konami, they made another 35 levels. They didn't have any real story to the game other than a desire to make an arcade experience based on the horror movie theme; the storyline and boss fights were added at the request of Konami. Ebert apparently didn't expect the game to be as successful as it ended up being, and he certainly didn't think people would still be interested in it almost 30 years later. It looks like this game was a labor of love for him.

Ghoul Patrol (1994, JVC Musical Industries)

Zombies Ate My Neighbors got a sequel a year later, which didn't attract nearly as much notice. In Ghoul Patrol, Zeke and Julie are at a museum exhibit that has apparently been possessed by evil spirits, and they eventually travel to levels themed on hstorical eras such as the Middle Ages, the age of pirates, and China. Other than a couple of artists, none of the original Zombies team was involved in this game, and much of it was outsourced to a Malaysian development team. The game features more advanced visuals and animation, however, the controls are a lot less smooth and the hit detection is a bit spotty. Also, the enemies in this game tend to be bullet sponges. It features the same 2-player co-op as the first game. So this game definitely wasn't quite up to the classic level of its predecessor, but it's worth checking out.

Apparently, LucasArts made a spiritual successor to these games on the Saturn and PlayStation that was called Herc's Adventures and was themed around Greek mythology and featured the same kind of top-down 2-player co-op. It released at the end of July 1997, at a time when there were absolutely no other big games on the horizon other than some first-person shooter and some RPG that I can't remember, so I don't know how it got overlooked. 

So anyway, if you haven't had your fill of nostalgia, here's another piece for your collection. That said, I think it's great that the game industry is starting to realize the importance of preserving its legacy, and Zombies Ate My Neighbors is definitely a game worthy of getting new life.