[PC/Mac; 2009]
Developed by PopCap Games [full credits]
The “tower defense”-genre has become an unexpected leader in the casual games market mostly due to the success of the iPhone. Chances are that you’ve played one by now. You either thought the game was absolutely pointless or addictive to a fault. While Plants vs. Zombies isn’t a carbon-copy of any “Tower Defense” to come out thus far, it is still firmly rooted in the genre and it’s the first essential game to come out of it.
The premise is simple: zombies are on the
loose and you need to keep them off your lawn with a bizarre arsenal of
biologically modified plants. The game thankfully spares the player of
a nonsense narrative, but still delivers subtle jokes and displays a
penchant for the whimsical. You don’t need to look further then the
hilarious zombie design; the game will throw everything from football
zombies to zombies in a tractor at you. There isn’t too much dialogue
but the few lines from Crazy Dave and the post-it notes left by zombies
lend themselves to some much needed comic relief in-between the hectic
levels.
The game is presented in isometric view not
common in similar titles, but all the other conventions of the “tower
defense”-genre are here. You start each round by setting up defenses,
in hopes of surviving numerous waves of zombies. Each plant costs
solar energy, so you usually start the round by filling the far end of
the lawn with sunflowers, which resupply you with energy. Other plants
include a variety of peapods that fire ammunition, mines, and melon
catapults. There are many, many plants to choose from and I would
imagine every player has their ideal setup with different variances.
Most plants are given to you as you progress in the game, but some of
them you have to buy with money you receive from defeating the more
challenging zombies.
The game’s biggest problem is
its length, although I am never one to fault a game for leaving me
wanting more. Like Peggle, the last major entry in Popcap’s canon,
there are many extra survival modes, mini-games, and puzzles to keep
you playing. Even the 10 levels of the main campaign and extra modes
won’t last you more than a weekend. Given how addictive clearing your
lawn of obnoxious zombies can become, that weekend will more likely be
the entirety of a Saturday night.
Popcap games have
always pulled in a crowd due to their high production values—high for
the casual game market, at least. Plants vs. Zombies is definitely the
follow-up to Peggle and thus an improvement. The music is excellent,
the graphics and art direction is distinct and welcoming, the controls
and UI are uniformly solid, and the little sound touches will remain
with you no matter how trivial they may seem. This is a perfect
example of how a game can play to the casual gamer without looking like
a budget title. It must be noted though that the game doesn’t adjust
itself for widescreen so it can look pretty ugly when played in full
screen on most monitors. This would be a huge knock against other
games, but since PvZ is such a user-friendly experience and
non-cinematic it doesn’t feel wrong to play it minimized on your
desktop.
Popcap finally gave us a game as addictive
as Peggle without leaving the player feeling like a brainless tool,
after a 2-hour play session. After you get your gold trophy for
beating all the content, there is little incentive to go back to the
game yet the game is so fun and addictive you may play the entire
campaign again just for the hell of it. Perhaps Popcap didn’t
anticipate how vivacious peoples’ appetite for more content would be,
but hopefully they’ll address this issue with new content and a raised
difficulty setting later in the year. For now, Plants vs. Zombies will
remain a schoolwork distraction and one of 2009’s best titles.