If someone had once said, that there would be a game developed that would allow you to become a zombie killing plant, I`d have thought you mad. However, 6 years ago, PopCap turned that into a reality, as they developed the original Plants v Zombies for the i0S, Xbox Live Arcade, Windows and several other devices. Many people fell in love with the game and the idea and concept of it, and it was brought to Xbox One and Xbox 360 2 years ago as a full retail game. 2 years later, the sequel is released, but can it carry on with being one of the fun games that PopCap and EA have produced? Or will it become a failure that some other titles that have had sequels become? Well, it certainly isn’t the latter.
Firstly, there is so much to do within the game. It offers two sides to it, a sort of single player mode story, where you can either take side of the Plants, or the Zombies, and you are tasked with either becoming an Agent of L.E.A.F if you are taking the side of the Plants, or to become the top Zombie if you are taking the side of the flesh-eating, or in this cases, plant killing creatures. Aside a Single player story, you are also of course blessed with a number of multiplayer modes, that some will recognise and distinguish with other shooter games such as Call of Duty, with mode such as Team Vanquish which is a form of Team Deathmatch, Vanquish Confirmed, a mode similar to Kill Confirmed from Call of Duty. You will be allocated the side of either the Plants or the Zombies when you enter the game, and you will have the choice of which plant or zombie you would like to that. Will you be the rose? Full of beauty, but able to hold her nerve against the Zombies? The Sunflower? As happy as she may seem, there`s more to her than just happiness and ray of sunshine, or will you join the side of the Zombies? The soldier like Zombie with his assault rifle, is on a spree to make sure the plants are not at the top of the pile, or the Doctor Zombie? Armed with his grenade launcher, he also wants to wipe out the entire plantation. There are so many classes to choose from, and then you have to rank up each character. The higher you rank up a character, the more you unlock, and the more XP you can earn which will then rank up your overall level.
If you`re someone who enjoys the single player more over the multiplayer (although in my opinion PvZ is very much a huge multiplayer game) then you are able to stroll around in the backyard, which is where the setting takes place. One side of the map we have Zomburbia, where the Zombies have taken over after the events of the first PvZ, and Suburbia the other where the plants are working out a method in order to take back the full kingdom. Within the Backyard, you are able to do a vast array of things, including customizing your plant or zombies, collecting stickers (which you can open in sticker packs that you can use your coins to collect, similar to EA`s other titles including NFL and FIFA), completing quests and side missions for Crazy Dave, and these will earn you XP and more coins. They change on a daily basis, and it may involve surviving a round of Flag of Power matches, or Vanquishing a number of Zombies in Multiplayer. However, the fun element for me is the Flag of Power matches, where in the middle of the map you are tasked with raising a flag, in a King of the Hill format style match. You are then tasked with using your vast weaponry and at several locations installing your plant friends such as the Pea Shooter, in order to survive and fend off the Zombies from taking the pole.
Garden Ops also makes a return to the sequel of the Plants v Zombies series, and this year also sees the addition of Graveyard Ops, which is the Zombie equivalent. You`ll be tasked with special objectives as you then will take your team of AI Plants or Zombies in order to fend off against the opposition coming. You are able to play locally or over Xbox Live and grab yourself a partner/s in order to fend off the colony and gnomes that are trying so hard to wipe you out. It`s a great mode that offers something else to the Multiplayer and single player quests.
Another great feature with Plants V Zombies Garden Warfare 2 is that you are able to import characters from the first game, fully unlocked, meaning that you don’t have to re-unlock their core skills. If you played the first one for endless hours and hours and hours and spent ages unlocking their skills, then you`re work has paid off, as you are able to import them into the game and get them to join the fight against the Plants or the Zombies.
There is a lot of room in this game for customization and to rank up a character’s stats and progression, especially through the Multiplayer. Once you hit Rank 10 of any character, you are given the option to “prestige” and start your ranking all over again (again, following the traits of other shooters such as Call of Duty). PvZ Garden Warfare 2 is massive in terms of its content, offers so much more in way of enjoyment, and quests and little bits and pieces that will help you to rank up overall, and then of course rank up the character. Many a hour will be lost in the Multiplayer aspect, which for me as I have said already, is the key part of the game.
Plants v Zombies Garden Warfare 2 has the potential to be a huge hitter with fans of the original games, and especially for the younger generation for the kids. It`s huge Multiplayer will keep you and the kids entertained for endless hours, and for those who don’t always like to throw themselves into the online nature, will be able to take on quests and objectives in order to become the top Plant or Zombie. For me though, it`s a cracking game, and one to be certainly looked at this year.
A huge thank you to XCN for supplying us with a review copy of Plants V Zombies Garden Warfare 2
