If you own a smartphone, chances are you’ve played a couple of games of Plants Vs. Zombies before. After all, it’s an adorable yet creepy tower defence title that has captured the hearts of many. Perhaps that’s why its transformation into a 3D, third-person online shooter seems so odd. Still, that doesn’t entirely mean it’s a bad game.
In a nutshell, Garden Warfare takes all your favourite PVZ characters, transforms them into full 3D beings, and pits them up against each other in an assortment of game modes (like traditional deathmatch or the wave-based Garden Ops) – similar to many other online shooters on the market. Each character embraces a traditional class system, however it’s handled in a much more jovial way that smartly sticks to the franchise’s lore. Chompers, for example, are more melee and attack focused – capable of burrowing and spitting goo onto foes in an effort to slow them down and deactivate abilities – while Cacti are great for setting up shop on higher ground and sniping with their painful needles.
When everything works, the action can be quite a lot of fun, as teams come together to secure victory. The only issue is, with the odd online niggle very much present, things don’t always work as well as they should – meaning it won’t be entirely uncommon for you to experience some serious lag or start floating through the floor. It’s also a bit of a shame that there’s zero single player content available, especially when you consider the origins of the original game.
That said, Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is an enjoyable romp – just don’t expect it to blow your mind. It’s not the total genre twist we hoped that the odd mash-up would provide, but there’s certainly plenty of room for improvement with a sequel.
3.5/5.
