When you think about plants and zombies, do they usually fit in the same sentences? Hell no, but somehow Popcap Games, developer and publisher of the smash hit Peggle, have brought the two entities into the same game. Throughout the 50 or so levels, the charm and fun of most Popcap games comes to the surface. The premise of the game is that you are a gardener, protecting your house from zombies and them “eating your brains.” But, what you may not notice from the screens is that the game is a very deep “tower defense” game with over 60 different units and over 15 enemy types. The catch is that you can only have between 7-9 “seeds” during each level, which can be a difficult decision. The time of day adds another mechanic on top of this because some seeds can only be used during day time or night time. Oh and there is more, some of the seeds can only be used in the water. Although these seeds cannot be grown without the games’ currency, sun light, which can be gained from sunflowers or periodically dropped from the sky. But, is the game hold up for the slim twenty dollar price tag or is this the next Peggle, which will pull you in and make you addicted to demolishing zombies via plants.
With only 50 levels, the game only takes about 3 hours to complete and the difficult doesn’t scale up very fast from the first level to the last. The things that will keep you coming back for more are the alternate game modes included in the package. In all, there are twenty minigames, eighteen puzzles and ten survival levels. In total, there are almost a hundred levels. That is a ton and is a welcome addition to the main “story.” As a part of this there is a “Zen Garden” where you grow your own garden and make money from every minute of it. With this cash you can purchase some special seeds that are AMAZING and some other extras that I won’t spoil in the review. There are about ten of the 50 levels that help change up the gameplay by throwing seeds at you instead of choosing your own. If the game was lacking these extras, it would not have been worth the twenty dollars, but with them it becomes a great investment for both casual and core gamers.
The only issue that I see for Plants vs. Zombies is the lack of challenge and it may piss off some hardcore gamers. Although this is a choice for most other Popcap titles, I believe differing difficulty levels could have added more replay value. The graphics are so damn cute and the zombies are so tongue in cheek that almost make you laugh out loud. My favorite zombie is based on a famous singer, who used zombies in one of his most famous music videos. The animation of both the plants and zombies are great, but that music is burned into my brain, which ins’t always a bad thing. Overall, I think you should definitely try this game via Steam or other download service because it reals you in and doesn’t let go until the music video rolls along with the credits. If you are a tower defense game fan, then this game will be perfect for you, but some will be pissed off by the easy difficulty and cutsy art direction. I loved this game and will continue to play it, just like Peggle and cannot wait to see this game on the DS. I know you Popcap and how you will bring your hit titles to every platform imaginable. And, the twenty dollar price tag allows even the cheapest gamers to enjoy the beautiful of gardening and blowing the heads off zombies.
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