Plants vs. Zombies (Review)

Platform: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, Xbox Live Arcade, Nintendo DS
Developer: PopCap Games
Publisher: PopCap Games
Release: May 2009 (PC)/September 2010 (Other Platforms)

Across a lifetime of video gaming, there are a few things that I have realised. There are some games that I’ve loved playing because they were a challenge; some games I’ve played time and again because they scared me; some games I’ve played because I enjoyed being in the shoes of the character. Plants Vs Zombies fits into one simple category. It’s fun. There is no real way to put it into words. It’s simple, and yet different players will come across complex and differing strategies. It’s easy to pick up and play, and hard to put down.

Having completed the PC version of the game several times, I didn’t expect to get much play time from the XBLA version. And yet, I found myself being drawn in again by its pied piper music, colourful design, and addictive gameplay. For those who missed out on the craze of the PC version, PvZ on the surface, is a straightforward
tower defense game. Zombies are attacking your house (and want to eat your brains. Mmm. Brains). Your only defence is the array of mutant plants at your disposal (49 in total). In standard tower defense style, you have to collect resource (sunlight) and use it to build offensive and defensive equipment to aid your survival. The weaponry ranges from the simple (pea shooters; cabbage catapults) to the crazy and heavily explosive (jalapeno pepper bombs; frozen watermelon launchers). The main game is split across fifty levels, ten on each of the five areas (front garden day; front garden night; back garden day; back garden night; and rooftop). Each area offers different challenges, and different zombie types. Night time levels make it more difficult to collect sunlight, while back garden levels have the added challenge of water. As you move through the game, you unlock more powerful plants, and seed packets that can be used to improve simpler plants (at a price). With the main game complete, there is still plenty to do, including mini games, tending to your
Zen Garden, and my personal favourite survival mode.

The XBLA addition of the game brings with it new multiplayer modes Co-op and Versus. In co-op mode, both players can plant, and one can apply butter to zombies (just as weird as it sounds)to slow them down. If anything, co-op mode did seem to make the game a little too easy, and felt slightly more like a “Girlfriend Mode”. Versus on the other hand is a stroke of genius, allowing players to go head to head, Plants vs
Zombies. The plant player, plays as normal, while the zombie player collects “Brain power” in order to place their zombie horde. The main problem with VS mode seemed to be that it wasn’t very well matched, so one player (usually Plants) could easily feel outmatched. The main worry with point and click strategy style games being ported to console, is that the control system won’t ever be able to rival a mouse. In this case, PopCap has done a brilliant job, and if anything I would say that the 360 control system seems like a more natural way to play the game.

Whether you have played a different version of the game or not, this is a game that I could not recommend more highly. It is intensely addictive, and will be enjoyable for hardcore and casual gamers alike. If nothing else, play it just to watch the music video that plays out the end credits...