Plants vs Zombies rises from the graves of all those piles of similar tower defense games that fell before it.
To call Plants vs Zombies a tower defense game feels a little misleading but it does have a lot in common with the genre. Throughout the game you’ll be defending your house from approaching Zombies by laying down plants but unlike tower defense games that give you an overhead view of a maze like battlefield, Plants vs Zombies fits all the action on a single screen viewed from the side with zombies shuffling across a series of straight lines. The simplistic view doesn’t mean a simple game however, as instead of having a handful of towers to lay down there’s a massive choice of plants to use on the battlefield. Before each level begins you’ll have to choose what plants you want to bring into the level with you and with each plant requiring different amounts of energy you’ll have to be prepared with a good mix of cheap and expensive plants that are both offensive and defensive. There’s no right or wrong way to go into a level but you will be finding that you’ll have to keep changing your strategies to get through, especially when night draws in. The choice of strategies to use is so vast however, that you might find that you can’t live without using a certain type of plant where another person might not care for it and it’s this choice that quickly becomes one of the most appealing aspects of Plants vs Zombies. Experimenting with the wide selection of plants, unlocking new ones and seeing how they can help you is always a lot of fun, even more so as each plant looks and behaves so differently.
There’s a great sense of humor in Plants vs Zombies, whether it’s coming from your neighbor Crazy Dave who’s always trying to sell you new seeds in exchange for money (and bacon) or the great character that comes from both the Plants and the Zombies during a level, there’s a high level of polish that’s just enjoyable to watch. The polish over the entire game is equally as well buffed, menus are quick to get through and everything’s intuitive and there’s plenty to unlock and fun mini games to try out once you’re through the rather lengthy main adventure. While it is warned in the app description, it’s worth reiterating that this isn’t designed for tablets like the iPad version and the resolution of the art is clearly designed for a smaller screen which can make the otherwise crisp and interesting visuals look – less than ideal, although everything technically still performs just fine.
PopCap does a great job of making a lot of simple pieces and putting them together into something great that’s hard to truly ‘get’ until you’ve really tried it, which you absolutely should, you won’t be disappointed.
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