Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare Reviews
Though far from a perfect shooter, Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare's addicting gameplay, undeniable charm and visually appealing aesthetic ultimately make up for its shortcomings.
Garden Warfare is a surpisingly good third-person multiplayer/cooperative shooter. A refreshing light-hearted twist on class-based multiplayer games, with the depth and polish that you would expect from usual suspects in this genre.
It never hits the heights of Battlefield in its pomp, Call of Duty at its slickest or Titanfall in its explosive beta, but at its best Garden Warfare stirs the same emotions; the panic, the triumph, the tension and the elation. Whether anyone will stick with it once the Titans Are Ready is unsure, but PopCap has overachieved and delivered one of the most likeable games on next-generation hardware anywhere. Quite simply, I dig it.
Perhaps the best part about Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is its price point. At only $39.99 US for Xbox One and $29.99 US for the Xbox 360 version, it's a relatively cheap and extremely fun take on shooters, which is all too rare these days. To date, this is the lowest-priced disc-based game to be released on the Xbox One, which is sorely needed to bolster the consoles anemic lineup. If you love the original PvZ games and want to try a different type of shooter, you really can't go wrong here. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to call in this Corn Strike with my Garlic Drone. I'm sure you understand.
It is rich in depth and despite its often cheery exterior it is a top notch third person action fest that many gamers may have written off. Let me be clear that PvZ offers plenty in regards to tactics and skill and in my opinion I've enjoyed this more than any recent CoD or Battlefield game for its refreshing take on what some could argue is becoming a tired genre.
Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare does right by its namesake, putting the characters and charm to good use.
Garden Warfare is a remarkably refreshing shooter that retains the Plants vs. Zombies charm while upping the action.
With a few more tweaks, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare would be a must-buy for pretty much any shooter fan out there. But even with its blemishes, I was incredibly surprised by the amount of depth the game has to offer on top of all of its charm. Hopefully EA will ease off the microtransactions in the future and even more content will pile in, because with the right moves and support, Garden Warfare will be something special for quite some time.
PopCap has done a pretty decent job of lining up the armies overall.
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is a polished, tremendously fun time even without all the options or content of its multiplayer contemporaries.
A charming concept can only get a game so far, and Garden Warfare fails to capitalize. While there's fun to be had, there's not much meat on the bones, and the repetitive combat ensures this will be nothing but a stopgap title until better shooters enter the market.
A unique twist on tower defense games is what makes Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare so fun. The monotony of standard tower defense is broken and is now a split between that and a first person shooter, though the standard defense rules are still in place. Several game modes and beautiful worlds add to the flair of the title, making this a fun choice for any Xbox One owner.
Players looking for a co-op experience will find something worth playing with friends casually in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, and it offers polished, harmless and simple gameplay that works for all ages but at a stiff price. The game as its currently designed however, seems to lend itself well to the free-to-play model, supported by microtransactions and we wouldn't be surprised to see it go that path in the future. Right now, there's only one barrier to entry and it's the price.
Garden Warfare is different enough to compliment those long sessions of other online shooters, and acts as a great palette cleanser in a genre dominated by greys and browns that often takes itself far too seriously. The inclusion of local multiplayer is also a huge plus and, depending on how often you play with family and friends, can add much to the value.
Remarkably, PopCap has managed to create an experience that delivers all the strategic twitch combat of a shooter, presented with PvZ's unique charm.
Appealing to both hardcore shooter fans as well as younger and more casual players, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is entertaining, accessible, and oozing with charm. And while it's only launching with a handful of maps, the lower price point and promise of free content down the line softens the blow considerably.
Standing next to titles like Titanfall or Call of Duty in a genre that's even more crowded, it may not be the next "big" shooter to take online multiplayer by storm -– and it probably never will. But, with more than enough fun unique twists than several other shooters by comparison, it's assured that this game easily stands apart from the crowd — whether it's the brain-munching kind or not.
It's a vibrant shooter with finely tuned characters that play very well off each other, providing for an almost party-like experience that should be fun for almost anyone. This new direction for the series is mostly a welcome success, but fans of traditional tower defense games or those from Dungeon Defenders and Orcs Must Die! may bemoan the lack of strong strategic placement and plotting.
The gameplay of Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is standard stuff, but the game's lighthearted tone makes it an appealing multiplayer shooter that stands out from the crowd.
I wanted to love Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare with the same zeal I have for the original series, but this shooter variation lacks a lot of imagination. The action gameplay generally feels forced, and the bits of strategy that do exist are minute in comparison.