Tech Olive

I’m not usually a fan of the Tower Defense genre, so I was a little weary to try out Pop Cap Games’ latest, Plants vs. Zombies. After watching a few friends playing and enjoying it, I decided to give it a try for myself.

Sure, it doesn’t have the latest and greatest graphics like other games of today, and the idea of plants fighting to save your life might be a little silly, but Plants vs. Zombies is a game that you should definitely check out. Here’s why.

You play the game as an omnipotent, third-person god with a pack of flower and vegetable seeds with the threat of several zombies coming towards your house. As you progress through the levels you get more powerful plants and the zombies also gain more abilities. Eventually the map changes, going from the front yard to the back yard and even to the roof. From day to night as well, each scenario giving you a different challenge to face the oncoming hordes.

After starting up the game, the user can immediately jump into the action or take the slower paced storyline mode. Clicking the latter presents the quick and easy-to-follow tutorial explaining that each plant costs a certain amount of sun to plant. You can gain sun by clicking on it when it falls from the sky (day mode only) or when a sunflower produces it. Then you can plant things like the Peashooter, which shoots peas at the oncoming enemy, or traps like the Potato Mine which explode when a zombie steps on it.

One thing I noticed was how differently I chose to go through a level compared to someone else. While he preferred to place Wall-nuts (which stop enemies in their trap while other plants attack), I found myself using more Snowpeas and Repeaters (different kinds of Peashooters), thus, showing how versatile the game is. By the end of the single player, you can pick from over 40 different plants.

There are also 26 different zombies. And with only 8 slots (you can buy more) to store seeds at the beginning of each map, you have to pick and plan carefully. For example, the Screen Door Zombie (zombie carrying a screen door from its previous victim) takes an extreme amount of peas to bring down, but a Fume-Shroom can knock him out with only a few hits.

The learning curve isn’t too steep and the beginning maps are extremely quick to finish, although you’ll find that the game can slow down immensely as far as gameplay. It can also get extremely repetitive because after every map you complete, the map is wiped clean and you have to replant again and again. This is the only small fault of the game and maps are about 10 minutes apart. Sometimes you really want to choose putting a Chomper instead of that Cherry Bomb.

Every 5 levels the single player is broken up and you get to play a mini game. Several include Wall-nut Bowling, Wack-a-Zombie and more. There is also the character, Crazy Dave, who gives you some helpful hints and lets you buy things like extra slots and more seeds. The game also gives you your own Zen Garden, so everyone can find something they will like!

Frankly, I was weary to try out Plants Vs. Zombies at first. It just didn’t seem like my kind of game. I’m rather glad I gave it a shot, though. From the soothing bob of the Sunflowers to the sweet moans of exploding zombies as they step on Tangle Kelp, it’s a cute game that exceeds expectations, giving the user several different ways to play.

Scores

- Graphics: 7
Yes, it’s not the greatest, but, 3D or 2D, it’s always great to see a zombie get run over with a lawn mower.

- Storyline: 8
There isn’t much of a storyline, and what there is ends up kinda slow: There are zombies, kill them with plants, but Crazy Dave makes up for the lack of story.

- Gameplay: 10
If you don’t like one way of playing, there are tons of other mini games and fun things to do.

- Controls: 10
Point and click, could it be any simpler (disregarding a wireless brain connection)?

- Lasting Appeal: 9
The only thing lacking is any type of multiplayer. You can play as zombies or plants, so why they didn’t include an option of multiplayer is confusing, but as previously mentioned, single player alone will last you for hours upon hours on end.

Overall: 9 Olives