Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare Reviews
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.
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.
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.
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.
Already-limited offerings are diminished by a quasi-free-to-play monetization scheme
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare is a fun, fresh and friendly new take on the tired old multiplayer shooter. Newbies will enjoy a safe and relaxing environment to learn the ropes, while the superbly imbalanced classes provide surprising depth for more experienced players. PopCap's genre inexperience shows in the half-baked progression system and unsatisfying hit feedback, but their bumbling and charming personality ultimately wins out.
Plants Vs Zombies is bright, colourful, lovely to look at and fun to play - it's the third person shooter no-one knew they wanted and may go a little way to filling the small gap before the big triple A games start to drop.
PopCap has done a pretty decent job of lining up the armies overall.
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare improves upon the Xbox One debut thanks to the addition of a few more maps, characters and modes.
Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare injects some fresh ideas into its multiplayer shooting, but PopCap Games' lack of genre experience is apparent.
Put all of this together and you have a game that is overflowing with grin-inducing charm. But once you peel back the bright and gaudy layers of decaying skin and leafy greens, it's a semi-stable shooter that has plenty of room to grow.
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 fun, and the time I've spent with it so far has been among the best on the Xbox One.
There's fun to be had here, but it feels like a nice change of pace rather than a long-term alternative.
Remarkably, PopCap has managed to create an experience that delivers all the strategic twitch combat of a shooter, presented with PvZ's unique charm.
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.
Garden Warfare is a fun, polished shooter, and what it lacks in gameplay depth it more than makes up for with fun cosmetic gear you'll actually want to unlock.
The least brown shooter ever made, with the colourful graphics and accessible controls supported by an imaginative and surprisingly well-crafted online experience.
Garden Warfare may not be the most ambitious game ever made, but its one with a clear sense of personality and identity, which is more than you can say for a lot of other online shooters.
Despite its lack of modes, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is a well-designed shooter that puts a fresh spin on the zombie game and will be fun for all ages.