Plants Vs. Zombies XBLA Review

Plants Vs. Zombies was released over a year ago on the PC and was a huge success. Now PopCap Games has decided to bring their wonderful twist on tower defense to the Xbox Live Arcade. As the name suggests the game pits savage sprouts against the relentless undead. It is up to you to plant the world’s deadliest garden in order to defeat the various zombies that have it out for the contents of your house (which you’re a part of). PC games have a tendency of shoddy ports due to the lack of the precision that a mouse provides. Let’s see if the XBLA version of Plants Vs. Zombies struggles where many others have before or if it stands among the few exceptions.

HOT

Adventure Mode

Adventure mode serves as the game’s campaign mode. Here players will meet their “lovely” neighbor Crazy Dave who will provide them (later on) with chances for slot upgrades and other various items to further aid them in their apocalyptic battle. It is pretty much mandatory that players invest a good amount of time in this mode since progress is rewarded by unlocking the rest of what the game has to offer such as mini games. As you make your way through the campaign the zombies begin to adapt new abilities which help them traverse the ever changing landscape more efficiently as well as providing more of a challenge for the player. No need to abandon all hope just yet since the game is sure to keep the experience balanced. As zombies grow in numbers and difficulty the player will gain access to more plants with different features and effectiveness. There are 49 different types of greenery to deck out your yard with (one of my favorites being the Doom Shroom).

Now let’s dissect the primary gameplay mechanics of Plants Vs. Zombies. Unlike its PC counterpart the console version utilizes a grid style plot for placing plants on. Since the player can’t use a mouse the grid style is a better compliment for analog stick and d-pad. The placement of your plants is the key to completing levels with minimal losses. Sunflowers provide sun energy – sun drops every once in a while by itself in day levels – which acts as the currency to purchase more plants for your defense. Plants like the sprouts and pea shooters are the primary offense mechanisms at your disposal. Walnuts and spikes are among the many defense options the player has to slow the progression of the zombie waves. To avoid making the game too easy all plants have different refresh times that stop the player from using certain items in rapid succession. If water is present players will have to place lillipads to place non-aquatic plants on top of so that they are effective. There are also aquatic plants that can be set directly in the water which range from short range sprouts to water monsters that drag enemies under. The other variation of levels happens at night. Sunflowers still produce sun energy, but without constant sunlight the energy won’t drop on its own. That’s why the player is given short ranged plants that can be used at no cost at all. The constantly changing arena keeps the experience fresh and the player must adjust their strategy on the fly.

Controls

As mentioned briefly above Plants Vs. Zombies has undergone a few changes to better accommodate the basic controller. The playing field is divided up into grids. Each grid can hold only one plant, but nothing is permanent since it is possible to dig up any grid they wish with a press of the B button. The A button makes use of the selected plant which can be cycled using the right and left bumpers. The game’s controller layout is simplistic, but very effective since it helps the player concentrate on the more important aspects of the strategic nature.

Extras

Extra game modes are unlocked through the player’s advancement in Adventure Mode. If the campaign wasn’t addicting enough as is, this adds more incentive to play it in its entirety. Some of these extra modes and mini games are present in Adventure Mode so that a glimpse is given of what you can play as a standalone mode. The walnut bowling can be very entertaining, but rarely challenging. Other ones like the slot machine require sun energy in order to pull the level. If a scoring combo pops up, then seed packets will drop down to be planted to hold off the incoming zombies. There are around 20 mini games to unlock and enjoy all of which are greatly crafted.

Multiplayer

New to the series is the integration of multiplayer. The cooperative portion allows two people to take on the waves of living dead. Each player receives a few slots to choose plants. The fun comes in deciding who plays what role. One player may provide the defensive plants by assigning sunflowers and walnuts to certain plots while the other player waits for the sunflowers to produce enough energy to fund their offensive plants. Butter is a cooperative exclusive component and its only use comes from holding it on zombies to temporarily freeze them. It grants players more time to plot their plant usage, but it does make it a little too easy.

Cooperative multiplayer isn’t the only option. There is a competitive form for two people to dabble in. One player goes through the normal routine of planting deadly shrubbery and the other directs the zombie onslaught. The zombies use gravestones instead of sunflowers for currency which comes in the form of brains. The plant player must try to destroy 3 zombies carrying targets before the pass the line on the third row. Obviously it is in the zombie player’s best interest to prevent this at all cost by selecting the most effective zombies.

Graphics

The graphics really compliment the light hearted nature of the game. Although it involves the flesh hungry creatures of the night the contrast between them and the plants is well done. Brightly colored items make the game pop and further drive the theme home.

NOT

Local Only

Although the game provides a satisfactory multiplayer experience it is only allowed if your friend is right next to you. That’s right. The multiplayer is restricted to local play only. It is unfortunate because the game has massive potential for online. This would especially come in handy for the competitive portion. One can only hope this feature is implemented at a later date.

Challenge

The game provides an adequate challenge for the most part, but it is in the initial levels that players will find little resistance. The levels in the beginning are mainly tutorials and its understandable that they would let you learn how levels/plants work before overwhelming you, but it seems that the challenge remains absent long after you’ve grasped the material. Don’t be fooled. The challenge does hit eventually, but it just seems to come a little later than expected since the same basic tactic can get you pretty far into the game.

Verdict

Plants Vs. Zombies provides a great take on the tower defense genre and adapts well to the limitations consoles have. The game has received numerous updates from the original PC version and they are all welcome, especially multiplayer. Those unfamiliar with Plants Vs. Zombies should definitely check it out and those who have played it already on PC may still find enough new content to warrant a second purchase.