Developer:PopCap Games
Publisher: EA
Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, PS Vita (remote play)
Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare – Review
We all played a Plants vs Zombies game once, a fun 2D tower defense game. But now PopCap Games brought us Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare, a multiplayer third-person shooter and tower defense game. Started out as an exclusive to the Xbox 360 and Xbox One but now also available for Playstation 3, Playstation 4 and Windows. And even the PS Vita is included as it can be used to play the game through remote play with the PS4.
Story
There is no story in this game, it’s just a multiplayer game with different modes, which are explained further in this review.
Graphics
The game was developed using the Frostbite 3 engine which resulted in a very nice looking game with some detailed graphics. Although it’s not a game that will push the next gen consoles to their limit, it actually looks better than expected. The comic style of the plants and zombies really comes to life in this game.
The game plays very smooth, I never encountered any lag while playing which means a lot when you’re playing an online game.
Sound
The soundtrack of Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare contributes to the liveliness of the world that is created by this game. It’s a fun soundtrack which will never bore you while playing.
The sound effects are still as funny as in the previous games, which makes the game more fun to play.
Gameplay
There are four classes on each side. The first class is the soldier class, which contains the peashooter (plants) and the footsoldier (zombies). Then there is the healer class which are the sunflowers (plants) and scientists (zombies). We also have the tank class like the chomper (plants) and all-star (zombies). At last there is the sniper class which are the cacti (plants) and engineers (zombies).
Each class has their specific items, costumization etc, which you have to unlock by earning coins. You earn coins based on how well you performed during a match, giving you 2000 extra coins if you’re on the winning team. You can spend these coins in the sticker shop to buy upgrades. The only downside about this is you have to buy a package which has random content. There are 9 different packages available ranging in price from 1000 coins till 40000 coins. Depending on which one you choose, the content will be different. This makes it a bit harder to collect all the items available in the game. For example a package that costs 5000 coins will give you different items everytime you buy it.
During a match each class has different achievements to get, one one is fullfilled you earn stars. Once you have enough stars you class will go a rank up and unlocks a new ability. You can set up to use 3 abilities during a match, but more are available so you have to make a selection before going in to play. The higher your rank, the more damage you can deal and the more powerfull your abilities become. You have to level up every class from every side, it’s not that when you level up your healer class to let’s say rank four, that you’re other classes are also rank four. This is a great way to make the player play all classes.
Also the plants classes have basically the same abilities as the zombie classes but they are different to use. For example the sunflower’s heal ability is a beam that connects the sunflower and the other player that is being healed. So they have to be in range. The scientist just places a zombie healing station where the other player just runs to and stands near the station to get healed. So playing as plants feels differently than playing as zombies
The game contains one co-op mode, four competitive multiplayer modes and a few modified versions of the competitive modes:
- Garden Ops: The co-op mode where up to four players take control of the plants trying to defend a garden throughout ten zombie waves, with the fifth and tenth waves being boss waves.
- Welcome Mat: A mode aimed towards new players to get started with the game. Of course it’s also available for players with a higher rank. It’s actually a deathmatch featuring one map and no customizations so no players have any kind of advantage over the other ones.
- Team Vanquish: A team deathmatch variant, but here there’s more than one map and customizations are available, so players with a higher rank will have a bit more advantages.
- Vanquish Confirmed: A mode where players must collect orbs from fallen opponents to receive points.
- Classic Team Vanquish: Team Vanquish with no customization.
- Suburbination: A domination variant.
- Gardens and Graveyards: A game mode where players capture or defend different objectives. The capturing is done as zombies, while the defending is done by the plants. It is meant as a parody of the Conquest and Rush modes from the Battlefield series.
- Classic Gardens and Graveyards: Gardens and Graveyards with no customization.
- Gnome Bomb: A mode where players must secure a bomb (strapped a gnome) and detonate it at various bases.
- Mixed Mode: A mode where each game mode is used interchangeably. You start out with one mode and you will be either a zombie or a plant. The next round will be the same mode and the same map but you will be in the opposite character team. Using the opposite character team will not happen every time, after two rounds of the same mode are completed, the next mode will do the same action as described above and so on.
Playing the game I noticed that you will get bored of repeating the same mode over and over again, so you’ll spend most of your time in the Mixed Mode to have some variation without always having to quit and start up another mode.
One very positive point about this game is that the people who play it are all extremely friendly, I never had to ask to be revived when I got killed. People just run over to you and revive you without question. This is not something that is in the hands of the developers but a good community makes a game so much more fun to play.
One very bad point is that the game can only be played online, it’s just too bad that there is no offline story mode available. Even the co-op mode in split screen has to be played online, this could’ve easily be made available offline.
Conclusion
Is it the best game available on the market, no it is not. But it’s a very fun and addictive game with a good community. It’s made to be available for everyone, young or old doesn’t matter, you will enjoy yourself to the fullest. If you were afraid of a third person shooter concept of Plants vs Zombies, don’t be. Just go to the store, grab a copy and start enjoying it for many hours.
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