Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare Reviews

Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare is ranked in the 75th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
7.9 / 10.0
Feb 24, 2014

Garden Warfare was a surprise when it was announced, and you'll be surprised when you play it what PopCap managed to accomplish. But it can get repetitive when the jokes run dry, and the system designed to combat this is locked behind piles of crumpled tinfoil and stacks of unwanted stickers. If you're starving for more brains, charge in. But don't be afraid to let this plant grow a bit before enlisting.

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Polygon
Top Critic
8.5 / 10.0
Feb 24, 2014

Plants vs. Zombies is an elevating factor in a tired genre

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8 / 10.0
Feb 24, 2014

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is a skeleton made of borrowed ideas, but its bones are wrapped in a body of earnest tomfoolery and relentless positivity. It functions best as a sanctuary for disenfranchised shooter players, the equivalent of a safe place where it's OK to be weird and goofy amidst the tension of a competitive game. The most interesting thing about Garden Warfare is there may be enough of an affected crowd to actually make it all work.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 24, 2014

As zany and colourful as the game that inspired it, PopCap's online third-person shooter is a fresh alternative to its grittier competition.

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7 / 10
Feb 24, 2014

There's fun to be had here, but it feels like a nice change of pace rather than a long-term alternative.

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Feb 24, 2014

Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare is not an exceptional shooter by any means – and in the case of its progression, can be quite frustrating – but seeing its classes brought to life in a shooter so effectively, with its trademark humor intact, will win you over for at least a short while.

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USgamer
Top Critic
Feb 24, 2014

Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare's bright colors, cartoon graphics and humorous approach are the antithesis of most first-person shooters. But don't be fooled. It's as good as any out there - and very likely an awful lot more fun.

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75%
Feb 24, 2014

What at first seems like a bizarre experiment actually turns out to be an accomplished and brilliantly entertaining multiplayer shooter. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare might not manage to hold your attention for more than a few hours, but while it does, you can't fail to have a blast. Suitable for carnivores and vegetarians alike.

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65 / 100
Feb 24, 2014

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.

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7 / 10
Feb 24, 2014

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.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 25, 2014

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.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 25, 2014

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.

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90 / 100
Feb 25, 2014

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.

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7 / 10
Feb 25, 2014

Remarkably, PopCap has managed to create an experience that delivers all the strategic twitch combat of a shooter, presented with PvZ's unique charm.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 25, 2014

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.

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Game Rant
Top Critic
Feb 25, 2014

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.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 25, 2014

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.

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Feb 25, 2014

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.

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Ray Carsillo
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Feb 25, 2014

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is a polished, tremendously fun time even without all the options or content of its multiplayer contemporaries.

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7 / 10.0
Feb 25, 2014

PopCap has done a pretty decent job of lining up the armies overall.

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