‘Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare’ PS3 review
By Steven Cayer, Senior Columnist
4/5
When I heard that Plants vs. Zombies was going to evolve into an online multiplayer third-person shooter, I was a little skeptical: how could a tower defence game on handheld devices go so far? Well, the answer to that is, beautifully.
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is the definitive experience I’ve been desperately waiting for. As an online game, you’ll be playing with real people in three completely different game modes. First we have Team Vanquish, when whoever gets to 50 kills first wins. Next is Gardens and Graveyards, when the plant team needs to defend certain areas from the zombies. Both of these modes involve large teams of 12. Last but not least is Garden Ops. As a team of four plants, your job is to defend a single area from AI-controlled zombies. You need teamwork if you want to survive. This is more in tune with the classic PvZ experience.
There are four classes of plants and four classes of zombies. On the plant team, there’s the Peashooter, the Chomper, the Sunflower, and the Cactus. New to the PvZ universe, you can now play as a zombie. You have the Foot Soldier, the Engineer, the Scientist, and the All-Star. So far, every class seems to be on an even playing field.
I love the ridiculously happy tone of this game: small details such as the Sunflower’s always smiling face to the Peashooter’s chilli bean bombs laughing before they explode.
Of all the great things about this game, there’s just one problem. The only way you gain levels is by doing certain challenges with increasing difficulty. Normally you gain experience points by killing enemies. Instead, you gain money to buy packs of cards that have different consumables and upgrades. I found myself focussing too much on completing challenges than actually enjoying every moment. It’s the only thing making this game not perfect.
If you like to smile and have a fun time with friends online, embrace them then crush them in this game.
