The casual, witty, and occasionally sinister young man Woody is the star of a popular reality TV show. But Woody does not have to publicly compete with other job applicants for an employment opportunity. He does not have to live on an island deprived from the conveniences of urban life. Instead, Woody gets to pull pranks on his obnoxious neighbor for a living.
In the original Neighbors from Hell, Woody was pitted against the neighbor that had made the young man’s life miserable. Through the course of fourteen episodes, Woody pulled numerous pranks on the ill-mannered, noisy, and mean neighbor to exact sweet revenge. Having put up with one too many of Woody’s tricks, the neighbor is now ready for a vacation. Thus he goes on a cruise on a beautiful ship to travel around the world and visit exotic locations. This of course presents the perfect opportunity for a new season of Neighbors from Hell. Unbeknownst to the neighbor, Woody and his camera crew sneak on board the cruise ship. The prank master is going to make sure this will be a vacation the neighbor can never forget.
Neighbors from Hell on Vacation starts on board the cruise ship with a tutorial episode. The director of the show kindly teaches players the delicate art of pulling pranks. Yet unlike the original game, Woody and the neighbor are not confined to a single location. The journey on the cruise ship takes Woody and the neighbor to China, India, and Mexico. The diversity of locations makes for opportunities to perform a number of unique tricks and keeps the game from becoming repetitive. Players are expected to keep their eyes open and look for all the tools they can use to pull the most twisted pranks.
The core game play is very similar to the original game. In each episode, the neighbor has a specific routine. He walks around from one area to the next, performing various actions and engaging in numerous vacation activities. From waterskiing to wooing one of the passengers on the cruise ship, the neighbor tries to relax and have a good time in a number of ways. Of course, it is Woody’s job to make sure the neighbor has a miserable time instead. Players are expected to observe the neighbor’s routine and look for ways to disrupt it. There are numerous tools Woody can utilize to prepare tricks in each episode. Woody has to find the right tools and use them on the correct objects to prepare his pranks while hiding from the neighbor to avoid detection. Continuing his regular activities, the neighbor never suspects a thing. He eventually comes full circle on his routine and falls right into the trap.
In order to complete each episode, Woody has to find and perform a predetermined number of tricks. Upon completing the required amount, players are allowed to leave the episode and move onto the next one. However, the real challenge comes from finding all the tricks and performing them in the correct sequence to make the neighbor completely infuriated. Each time he falls for a trick, the neighbor’s anger meter rises. If Woody manages to set off another trick before the neighbor can calm down, he gets angrier. In each episode, setting up the tricks in the most effective way, Woody can completely fill up the neighbor’s anger bar, causing the miserable man to throw a fit. Achieving the maximum fury level gives you extra points and helps Woody win an award for the episode. It also delivers the sadistic and decidedly twisted satisfaction of harassing an obnoxious man to the fullest extent possible.
The actual pranks are greatly varied and have far more diversity than what was offered in the first game. For instance, in the very first episode of the game, Woody can perform a very simple prank by putting a bar of soap on a puddle of water. When the neighbor walks over the puddle, he inadvertently steps on the bar of soap and falls on the floor. There are also far more complex pranks that require Woody to manipulate a greater number of objects. One of the episodes that takes place in India features a pool. Woody first has to find a way to empty the pool. Then he has to use an object he will obtain by emptying the pool to prepare a prank on a different part of the location. Of course a pool with no water also makes for a nice spot to mess with the neighbor. Since the first game was confined to the neighbor’s house, Woody resorted to performing a number of tricks more than once throughout the course of his adventure. Neighbors from Hell on Vacation resolves this problem nicely with distinct locations and a great variety of tricks.
An interesting new feature implemented in Neighbors from Hell on Vacation is the chain tricks. Woody can manipulate multiple objects to hurt the neighbor in a number of ways all at once. For instance, in one of the episodes in China, the neighbor periodically goes on a small bridge to take a look at the fish swimming in a small pond. As a simple trick, Woody can find a way to mess with the rails of the bridge and cause the neighbor to fall in the water. Yet Woody can take the trick one step further and dump a nasty surprise in the pond to further torture the unsuspecting neighbor when he lands in the water. Triggering chain tricks is an excellent way to raise the neighbor’s anger bar, much to his frustration and your amusement.
Some episodes of the original game featured pets that could detect Woody and alert the neighbor to the TV star’s presence. In order to avoid these pe(s)ts, Woody had to sneak around their rooms and try to prepare his pranks quietly. The sequel does away with the sneaking, allowing Woody to roam each location at full speed. However, the developers have come up with a new way to make the TV star’s life a little harder. A third of the way through the game, the neighbor’s mother joins the cruise. Having watched the show, this highly unpleasant woman decides to journey with her son to help him avoid Woody and offer emotional support. Thus, Woody is required to avoid detection by two characters during most episodes of the game. Just like the neighbor, the mother has a routine she continually repeats in each episode. Her routine is much simpler than the neighbor’s and she does travels around a much smaller portion of the level. However, players still have to pay close attention to her actions and move around carefully. In the first game, Woody lost the level if he was caught by the neighbor once. In the sequel, both the neighbor and his mother are capable of catching Woody. Thankfully, the brave prankster has three lives, giving him an improved chance of avoiding detection and performing all of his tricks. The inclusion of the neighbor’s mother is a most welcome additional challenge and makes for many humorous moments as Woody pulls pranks that embarrass the neighbor in front of his beloved parent.
Neighbors from Hell on Vacation also features a small number of other characters. Olga, the most notable among these extra characters, is a on the cruise with her son. Irresistibly attracted to Olga, the neighbor makes numerous attempts to impress the woman. Yet as much as he likes Olga, the neighbor cannot stand her son. As such, he continually harasses the poor little boy by teasing him or destroying his sand castles. Woody of course makes it his personal responsibility to turn things around. A number of the pranks include making the neighbor look bad in front of Olga. Woody also finds clever ways to make sure the neighbor will suffer if he tries to mess with the innocent child.
One potentially annoying feature of Neighbors from Hell is the mini-game featured in each level. Every episode has an object that requires special effort to manipulate. For instance, Woody might be straining to reach high enough to hang a bee hive or dexterously trying to catch a crab. During these sequences, the game displays a small white circle with an icon indicating either the tool you are using or the object you are trying to catch. The icon automatically moves within the white circle towards a random direction. Your job is to move the mouse in the opposite direction to keep the object from reaching the edge of the circle. After a few seconds, the icon starts moving in a different direction, demanding you to make an adjustment with the mouse. During this time, the white circle slowly turns green. When the entire circle is green, Woody completes the action successfully. If you can’t keep the icon from reaching the edge, the green coloring recedes and you are required to continue trying for longer. Since time does not stop as you are busy trying to get past the mini-game, if you make mistakes, the neighbor or his mother are highly likely to walk into the area and catch Woody. Thus, players are required to be very careful and as fast as possible with the mini-game in each level. Yet despite the best care, you can expect to lose a few lives while trying to center the icon inside the white circle. While losing a single life will certainly not keep you from passing the level, since every second matters in attaining the highest score, players may find themselves replaying a few levels just because they took too long with the mini-game. While it is certainly not a great problem and does not significantly take away from the experience, Neighbors from Hell on Vacation would have been better off without the tedious mini-games.
Overall, Neighbors from Hell on Vacation is fairly stable and runs smoothly. Shipping on one CD, the game does not even require the disk to stay in the drive after completing the installation. As an added bonus, the original Neighbors from Hell is also included in the package. Thus, players get to experience a total of twenty eight episodes full of pranks. However, there were two times during the game where some of the tricks did not trigger properly. Woody’s interaction with a hotspot did not take effect, making it impossible to complete the preparation of the prank. Thankfully, these issues were in no way frequent and did not hinder the experience. While they should have been avoided altogether, simply restarting the episode was sufficient to get past them. Many players may be able to finish the game without ever encountering the issue.
From an overall presentation point of view, Neighbors from Hell on Vacation most certainly succeeds in creating a humorous and whimsical atmosphere. The deliberately exaggerated cartoon-like graphics are very fitting for the story and the setting. They create a lighthearted tone that goes a long way towards making the game enjoyable. The animations for the various pranks are nicely handled and sufficiently over-the-top. Anyone who has ever watched and enjoyed a Buggs Bunny or Tom & Jerry cartoon will most certainly appreciate all the torture the neighbor endures. The neighbor also has the uncanny cartoon character ability to instantly recover from any amount of bodily injury. The only things missing are random anvils falling out of the sky and ingenious Acme contraptions that never seem to work quite as expected. While they are not stellar, the sound effects and music also seem fitting for the game and contribute towards creating the atmosphere. Neighbors from Hell on Vacation successfully manages to take horrible pranks and turn them into a series of funny moments.
Neighbors from Hell on Vacation makes an excellent sequel to the original game. Finding all the pranks and attaining the highest anger levels in each episode will certainly keep players busy for a while. Adventure game enthusiasts may especially enjoy hunting for the pranks as the experience is very much comparable to the inventory-based puzzles in adventure titles. The diversity of locations and the wider variety of pranks makes the game more interesting and engaging than the original. The inclusion of the neighbor’s mother adds an extra challenge and requires players to carefully consider their strategies. The comical tone can make for a pleasant experience while Woody’s cleverness and the neighbor’s continual misfortune can deliver a few laughs. Especially considering that the game is getting released at a budget retail price and comes with the full version of the original game, Neighbors from Hell on Vacation is recommended to players looking for a casual puzzle game with a very distinct flair.
The final grade is 85/100.
  
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