PopCap Games is well known for its ability to put out fun and addicting games. Bejeweled, Bookworm, Feeding Frenzy, and Plants Vs. Zombies being just a few of the many addicting games they have released. Plants Vs. Zombies was first released in May of 2009 on the PC and has since made its way through the iPad, X-Box 360, Nintendo DS, and finally the Playstation 3. For those of you who haven’t played the game on any of these platforms, the game pits you as a homeowner who must defend his property against the hordes of hungry shamblers using a variety of epic plants in a tower defense style of gameplay. So does the game live up to those before it? Or has this game been moved around so much that it took a toll on its well-being? Here are the Hots and Nots of Plants Vs. Zombies for the PSN.
HOT
Graphics are Sharp
The cartoony graphics are one of my top favorite things in this game. They manage to give off this cute and adorable nature while also giving a creepy and twisted undertone. The variety of plants in the game each have their own distinction and attitude that range from the happy Sunflower to the seriously angry Doom Shroom. The zombies also have their own unique looks to help you pick out the biggest threat (the funniest I’ve seen are the dolphin riding zombies).
The adventure mode in Plants Vs. Zombies serves as the “doorway” to the rest of the game so to speak. The game requires that you play through in order to unlock the various mini games, co-op levels, and Vs. levels in the extras section. This is by no means a bad thing either. The adventure mode in the game is just as fun as the variety of different goodies you unlock by playing it. Oh and there is a story in there too!
As mentioned in the beginning, the game puts you as the homeowner who must keep his hard earned land safe from various wacky walkers who want to “come over and have a party,” and by party, they mean pillage your body for your juicy brain. Its up to You, your rag-tag team of zombie slaughtering plants, and your oddball neighbor Crazy Dave to save the da..er YOUR house from the invading hordes.
The gameplay on the surface consists of planting your variety of exotic killer vegetables to stop your undead invaders. What lies underneath is the variety of different strategic options at your fingertips. The basics have you collecting sun which can manifest itself two different ways. The first is on its own during the daytime stages, the second is via sunflowers that you plant which bring in extra on top of what drops already. From here on its all in how you want to personalize your garden. Want to set up an impenetrable line of Wall-Nuts followed by some rapid peashooters? Sure, you can do that, but there are far more creative ways to set up your lawn to mow down the masses…
The strategy takes a complete 180 during the night time stages that follow. Sunlight no longer drops so the use of sunflowers or sun shrooms are critical if you are to survive until dawn. The upside is the emergence of a variety of mushrooms at your disposal. They range from the weak but free shrooms to the nuclear Doom Shroom that demolishes the zombies but leaves a crater that you can not plant in. The night sections make for a nice break up in the pacing and make you re-think your strategies for defeating the undead.
This is definitely my favorite part of Plants Vs. Zombies. You can play the multiplayer in either co-op or versus. The co-op mode can be done in either a challenge type mode or in the main adventure mode. In the challenge mode, each player is given 4 plant slots to pick their plants. After starting, they collect sun and work together in order to stop the waves of zombies coming through. Good coordination and teamwork is necessary to survive these encounters. The adventure mode version is almost the same except you share plant slots and sun. This can be a bit confusing at first but once you and your teammate get it down your will be zombie killing experts in no time at all.
Don’t feel like being a team player and would rather pummel your friend into the ground? Well then you should take a look at the Vs. mode that the game offers. It allows one player to take over the plants while the others step into the rotted feet of the zombies. The goal of the plants is to destroy three target marked zombies before they reach the third row line. The zombie side has to make it past that line in order to succeed. In this mode the zombie side uses brains instead of sun to form their zombies and gravestones serve as the source of their power.
NOT
Multiplayer Still Local Only
This is by no means a game breaking thing. Its just unfortunate that if you want to join a friend in some leisurely zombie killing they have to be sitting right there with you or you have to be right there with them and that can sometimes be hard to do at 9 p.m. when your sitting at home relaxing after a long day.
VERDICT
In the end, Plants Vs. Zombies is a fun and addicting take on the tower defense genre that offers enough variety in its strategy and gameplay to keep the experience fresh for the gamer. The different mini games and modes thrown in also offer a break from the standard adventure mode once you unlock them. The multiplayer is a nice touch and the game is easy enough to pick up so your girlfriend/boyfriend or sister/brother can jump into it with you. For anyone out there who hasn’t tried this game, definitely pick it up for one of the different platforms its on. For those of you who already have it, here’s one more if you’re collecting them.