By David Curry on July 13, 2014 at 9:50am
When Popcap first announced "Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare" at E3 2013, we weren't sure what to think of the tower defense genre moving into the third person shooter world. After finally checking out the game on PC, it is fair to say the ambitious and rather random game works, offering a great selection of different plants and zombies, alongside detailed maps and game modes.
The core structure of the game brings two teams against each other, one side plants and the other zombies. Three game modes are available in multiplayer: Gnome Bomb, Team Vanquish, and Gardens & Graveyards. This comes alongside co-op Garden Ops, where a group of four will try to protect the garden from endless waves of zombies.
Garden Warfare
In the rather grey world of shooters, "Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare" definitely offers a new vibrancy to the genre. Whether it's sunflowers capable of healing teammates while shooting rapid fire sunlight bullets out of its face or the All Star zombie dressed in his college jersey with a mini-gun, everything seems to be given an extra level of humor.
The plants and zombies aren't all shooters; the Chomper is capable of digging holes underground, scooping up enemies who lie above. This brings a casual aspect to the game and opens it up to more team play. If each player takes one role, they are capable of taking down an enemy team who may lack diversity.
Game Modes
Team Vanquish is a simple death-match, first to 50 wins. Gardens & Graveyards is domination/headquarters where zombies need to take over the gardens and turn them into graveyards. Gnome Bomb is headquarters/search and destroy. One team needs to hold the bomb and plant it in the enemy's base.
Each game mode is not unique to the shooter genre, but it is how the game is played that is notable. There's less pressure on being good at shooting and more emphasis on understanding the map, the challenge and how to win the game mode, allowing smarter players to rise to the top.
Looking Sharp
The design of "Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare" is really surprising. Popcap has been helped by DICE, the creators of "Battlefield," when it comes to destructible terrain, death-cams and map design, running on the Frostbite Engine. Graphical fidelity is a topic often brought up in PC forums, and we have to say Garden Warfare delivers; character models and map design are top notch.
Characters in the game all have a certain appeal, the Chomper might be one dimensional, but it is enjoyable to sneak up on an enemy and eat them whole. Each characters feels well designed, the shooting and movement is responsive and it is really a fun experience that many people, whatever the age, will find amusing.
Sticker Shop
Historically, EA has shown they don't want the last purchase to be the game. "Battlefield," "Sim City," and other titles come with DLC and additional in-game purchases. For "Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare," players can invest in the sticker shop, allowing them to grab stickers that might be consumables, character pieces, weapon upgrades or super rare items.
The good thing to note is most of these are cosmetics, not game-altering features. The casual design of the game also makes it less threatening to have a pay-to-win player on the opposite team. In general the coins aren't that hard to grind out, with prices on coins being incredibly cheap if gamers want to spend real-life money.
Lacking Punch
The only issue for "Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare" currently is the lack of content. Once the player has exhausted the three game modes, situations become less exciting and new. "Call of Duty" and "Battlefield" veterans might be used to this, but in those games players can experience dozens of game modes.
Perhaps in the near future Popcap will bring more game modes and playable characters to the table. Right now, it is fun experience for a few hours, but not the type of game someone would spend months on end playing, even if the ranking system and sticker store adds incentive to grinding.
That being said, this game can be incredibly fun with friends. If you have four friends who enjoy shooters, but just can't be bothered with the typical "Battlefield"/"Call of Duty" military shooter, this might be the new experience to try out.
