Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare Reviews

Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare is ranked in the 75th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
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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7.5 / 10.0
Feb 28, 2014

All-in-all, Garden Warfare is a fairly unremarkable experience. The gameplay is fun, but it's definitely also derivative of elements we've seen executed better elsewhere. That's not to say there aren't some interesting aspects. There just aren't enough to make it stand strongly on its own. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare isn't a bad game, it's just not a very inventive one despite its catchy premise.

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IGN
Top Critic
7.8 / 10.0
Feb 25, 2014

Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare does right by its namesake, putting the characters and charm to good use.

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7.9 / 10.0
Aug 25, 2014

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is a very solid shooter with a lot of variety and charm. It offers players of all ages a dynamic, entertaining experience that encourages practice and experimentation.

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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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79 / 100
Jun 26, 2014

The freshest shooter to sprout in recent memory, PvZ is shackled by asinine DRM.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 17, 2014

Overall Garden Warfare is a game that takes the core strengths of shooters and makes them accessible to all. Its presentation is fantastic and infects the game with charm at every turn. If you're looking for a fun time, PopCap gives it to you in spades. By ratcheting up the fun and lowering the seriousness, Garden Warfare gives its players what everyone wants from a video game: A good time.

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GameSkinny
onpv3rtigo1
Top Critic
May 12, 2014

I would highly recommend this game for kids or for the kid in all of us. It is super fun, cute, and reasonably priced. It is not the most robust shooter by far but is one of the most fun shooters I have played in a while.

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Mar 1, 2014

'Garden Warfare' is beautiful, sounds great and it plays pretty well too. PopCap doesn't push any boundaries from a gameplay standpoint. That's understandable; this first installment is more evolutionary than revolutionary. The fact that it all works so well is impressive enough. While you won't find a whole lot of depth in the game modes themselves, sifting through the character classes and matching their individual tactics and abilities with the sprawling maps should be enough to grab the prolonged attention of an avid shooter aficionado.

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8 / 10
Mar 3, 2014

Addictive tower defence game turned third person shooter, Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare offers a bright, colourful and incredibly competitive addition to the Xbox One's gaming roster. Inevitably, the release of Titanfall will mean that this little gem doesn't get played as much as it deserves. We would have liked to see some traditional PvZ gameplay thrown into the mix to allow players to earn extra sticker packs or coins, but as this isn't a full price title, the omission of this feature is entirely forgiveable. Less acceptable is the infuriating matchmaking system which means that, like many Xbox One games, playing with members of your party or friends happens more by luck than design. Although it isn't perfect, the well thought out player progression, multiplayer modes and well balanced gameplay make this an essential game for lovers of the franchise and fans of shooters alike.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 10, 2014

Despite some setbacks, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is a fun game. The map count may be low, but you absolutely have the urge to play just one more match, an aspect that's always important in multiplayer titles. Getting into servers is easy, and the servers are well populated no matter which mode you choose. The aesthetics are clean and very family friendly, and the promise of more maps and modes for free could take the sting out of the random nature of unlocking new character parts and variants. For those tired of the military themes used in shooters and those not quite sold on Titanfall just yet, Garden Warfare is a great alternative for multiplayer shooter fans.

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Digitally Downloaded
Nick H.
Top Critic
Mar 23, 2014

It would be easy to dismiss Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare as a quick cash-in on a popular franchise, especially when one considers the somewhat questionable response to Plants vs Zombies 2 and its pricing structure. Fans of the shooting genre might be tempted to overlook this title because of the cute design, but they would be doing themselves a disservice in doing so. Given the quality of the content and the sheer fun of the gameplay, the asking price for Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare is more than reasonable and makes for one of the best Xbox One titles released to date.

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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
Mar 16, 2014

A great, simple shooter for all ages.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 5, 2014

Don't let the thought of a Plants vs. Zombies shooter scare you off; it actually is a really fun game. Yes it needs more game modes and split-screen play options, but everything else about the game shines.

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4 / 5.0
Feb 26, 2014

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.

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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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Feb 28, 2014

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is the perfect antidote to Call of Duty and Battlefield fatigue, replacing the grim, decrepit, gray-and-brown battle zone with vibrantly colorful gardens and crypts, where unlikely nemeses face off in hilarious, and strategic, skirmishes.

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Feb 25, 2014

Garden Warfare is a remarkably refreshing shooter that retains the Plants vs. Zombies charm while upping the action.

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Aug 20, 2014

Overall, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is a thoroughly enjoyable experience on the PS4, much like it was on the Xbox One. It still remains one of the best shooters of the year, and that's with no story or campaign mode being attached to the game. PopCap Games and EA have a gem on their hands and if we could be so lucky, we'll see a return to the garden sometime in the near future.

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