Rating 5/5
Designer: George Fan
Art: Rich Werner, Enrique Corts
Sound and Music: Laura Shigihara
Plants VS Zombies has lots of zombies and references to eating brains so it gets a pass as a horror game. It's perfectly kid friendly without any real gore or blood.
I adore Plants VS Zombies. Even my husband, who usually wouldn't play anything other than Zuma, got hooked and finished it. The game is adorable and addictive. My toddler son loves the end credits song with the dancing zombies and even attempted to say "Sunflower" as his first word (came out more like safa, but still a good effort). I finished every single challenge in the game on the Mac I then got and beat the iPhone version as well as the X-Box 360 version which I think is the best one so far. Much as I enjoyed replaying this game so many times, I think I'll give the upcoming Nintendo DS version a pass. If you haven't played it yet, you really need to give it a go. The iPhone version is the cheapest, but lacks features. The X-Box 360 version is the best one in my opinion. You can try a simplified web version here, but it doesn't do the full experience justice.
The iPhone version is technically impressive. There were some slowdowns when there were too many enemies on screen in later levels, but on the updated version on the iPhone 4 I barely noticed it. Considering the game has been so faithfully recreated on the iPhone, it was disappointing that the mini-games, endless mode and zen garden were removed. The mini-games still appear in the main story mode, but not in their own category with extra levels and trophies. I suspect they were removed to encourage players to buy the more expensive computer versions. The prices of plants in the shop haven't been adjusted, so now instead of earning lots of money in the Zen Garden and mini-games you have to grind for money in story mode levels which is slow and dull. One quick fix would've been to simply lower the prices of plants. I finished story mode twice and was still a few plants short.
The achievements were a nice addition, but I wish there were more of them and that they were a bit more sophisticated. A few of them are nice (finish a night level without mushrooms or a roof level without catapults), but there aren't enough of them. More achievements were added in a free update for the iPhone version which was nice.
Another problem across all versions is the fact that even though there's a huge variety of plants, some of them are overpowered and once you figure out which ones, you won't touch any of the others and the game will become ridiculously easy. It's still quite fun playing with each new plant and find out on your own which plants are more effective, but once you figure it out, it really hurts replayability. I wish there was a hard mode with more aggressive attack patterns and less plants slots so you would have to be far more careful in choosing which plants to pick. The endless mode on the PC/Mac/360 provided this kind of frenzy in the later levels, but I wish the main game also had a bit of that. As it is now I rarely lose a level or even get close to that. As a result it's a fairly relaxing experience rather than an adrenaline rush.
Another problem is the lack of scoring. It doesn't matter if you conquer the level or just about scrape through, your efforts won't be recognized. A ranking system would've been nice and would encourage people to replay levels for a better ranking. Ranking score will depend on how much sun you have left in the bank, how many of the plants you planted have survived, how many lawnmowers you still have left and how fast you cleared the level. Using the rake to kill the first zombie will hurt your score. Maybe add a special bonus objective for each level that goes towards the main score. Suddenly it's not about surviving the level, it's about mastering it. Obviously the ranking will also affect the cash reward for beating the level.
It could be argued that this would make the game too hardcore, but I disagree. A separate hard mode is optional, no one is forced to play it. And a ranking system can also be disregarded by people who just want to plough through the game.
Damn it. I almost managed to get through without any gardening puns. Sorry.
The achievements were a nice addition, but I wish there were more of them and that they were a bit more sophisticated. A few of them are nice (finish a night level without mushrooms or a roof level without catapults), but there aren't enough of them. More achievements were added in a free update for the iPhone version which was nice.
Another problem across all versions is the fact that even though there's a huge variety of plants, some of them are overpowered and once you figure out which ones, you won't touch any of the others and the game will become ridiculously easy. It's still quite fun playing with each new plant and find out on your own which plants are more effective, but once you figure it out, it really hurts replayability. I wish there was a hard mode with more aggressive attack patterns and less plants slots so you would have to be far more careful in choosing which plants to pick. The endless mode on the PC/Mac/360 provided this kind of frenzy in the later levels, but I wish the main game also had a bit of that. As it is now I rarely lose a level or even get close to that. As a result it's a fairly relaxing experience rather than an adrenaline rush.
Another problem is the lack of scoring. It doesn't matter if you conquer the level or just about scrape through, your efforts won't be recognized. A ranking system would've been nice and would encourage people to replay levels for a better ranking. Ranking score will depend on how much sun you have left in the bank, how many of the plants you planted have survived, how many lawnmowers you still have left and how fast you cleared the level. Using the rake to kill the first zombie will hurt your score. Maybe add a special bonus objective for each level that goes towards the main score. Suddenly it's not about surviving the level, it's about mastering it. Obviously the ranking will also affect the cash reward for beating the level.
It could be argued that this would make the game too hardcore, but I disagree. A separate hard mode is optional, no one is forced to play it. And a ranking system can also be disregarded by people who just want to plough through the game.
Damn it. I almost managed to get through without any gardening puns. Sorry.
The 360 version uses a game controller instead of a mouse or touch screen, but it works just as well. It has additional co-op and VS modes that worked out much better than I thought they would. The most interesting thing about playing this game with a friend was our approach to strategy with both of us favoring different plants and attack patterns.
Anyway, it's a great game. I just hope Capcop will finish porting it everywhere (I think they're making a version for microwave ovens soon) and get on with making a full sequel.
PS: It looks like some people find this post by googling for a solution for the night level without mushrooms achievement. So here's a short guide. Don't bother with it before you finished the game once and unlocked lots of plants. Then from the quick play menu select the first and easiest night time level. Don't use any mushrooms, obviously. Use sunflower (and double sunflower) to pick up sun and use a combo of cheap and expensive plants. Corn is useful to slow down enemies. Use the squash on tougher enemies and those who get too close. You may want to use the garlic in the middle so then you only need to worry about defending four lanes instead of five. Lastly, make sure you buy the garden rake to give you more time to plant sunflowers. I always go for two rows of sunflowers at the very end (ten in total). Good luck!
