The game’s alpha test was codenamed ‘Picnic’ – isn’t it ants that ruin those, not zombies?‘Fung-Fu’ moves, and Snapdragon,
the fire-breathing favourite from the
mobile game. New zombies include
’80s Action Hero and Space Cadet,
the latter comes complete with a mini
UFO spaceship. There’s also finally a
sprint option, enabling any character
to move faster at the cost of health
recovery. The new contenders are
fairly well balanced from a multiplayer
perspective, with Night Cap arguably
being slightly overpowered.
Use your braaains
Talking of deathmatches, Team
Vanquish mode puts a twist on
the classic deathmatch formula
by diminishing the number of
players on each team with every kill,
making collecting 50 vanquishes
an increasingly difficult task when
all that’s left are the best players.
However, you can choose to revive
allies at a cost to your relative score,
bringing a bit of strategy into the mix.
Sadly, with large maps sometimes
devoid of enough combatants, there
are occasionally large breaks in
combat, leaving you wandering around
the map frustrated and alone.
If you’re looking for an even more
strategic experience, then Garden
Ops and Graveyards Ops are the
perfect modes in which to test your
skills. Working alongside your team to
defend your generator, you’ll have to
fend off enemy waves that increase in
difficulty, culminating in a boss fight.
To win the match you need to survive
all five gruelling waves and, should
your team fall or let your generator
be destroyed, then you’ll fail. This is
easily one of the standout multiplayer
modes in the game, and perhaps the
one that matches the tower defence
origins of the PVZ series most closely.
Ultimately, Battle For Neighborville
builds on the groundwork the previous
instalments laid down in a pretty
impressive manner. The solo modemay be more of a pleasant aside
rather than an in-depth shooter
campaign, but it’s certainly enjoyable
and rewarding. As for the multiplayer,
which is what this game is all about,
the hilarious characters, tactical
modes and online functionality are all
fantastic, with frenetic gameplay to
match any online shooter out there.
It’s super fun to kick some grass! QEARLY BLOOM
An incomplete
‘Founder’s Edition’
of Battle For
Neighborville was
made available six
weeks before the
game’s official
release. Whilst there
are questions over
whether a big
company like EA
should be releasing
unfinished games and
asking people to pay
money for them,
Battle For
Neighborville is
something of a
success story. With
the Founder’s Edition,
new content released
sequentially over a
five-week period,
culminating in a full
release on schedule,
and exclusive content
plus a cheaper price
for players who
purchased early.
Not bad!“There’s finally
a sprint option,
enabling any
character to
move faster”
FAR LEFT The
evergreen
environments are
a joy to run
around in.
RIGHT There’s a
corn-ucopia of
characters to
play as... did we
go too far?OXM VERDICT
An endearing
shooter that builds
on strong roots to
excellent and often
hilarious effect.8
LEFT At the time
of writing, the
Ninja-themed
Night Cap is a
smidge too
strong.More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 071REVIEW