This week Popcap games, makers of casual games like Bejeweled and Peggle, released their new PC/Mac game, Plants Vs. Zombies. I’ve been eagerly waiting for this title ever since I’ve seen their marketing campaign with there infectious music video. Is the game worth it or was it just really good marketing? Hit the break for my review.
PVZ takes the recently developed Tower Defense genre and adds some great humor and wit to it. The story drops you right into the midst of the action. You’re backyard starts getting invaded by zombies and your only line of defense is your botanical friends. It uses the traditional methods by putting prices on resources(solar engergy) for every different plant(one attacks, one defends, one makes more resources, etc…) which limits your choices and makes you think out your moves. While all this works very effectively, the game really shines with it’s artwork and writing.

The character design in the plants and zombies are very unique and funny such as a peashooter plant and a buckethead zombie. The loosely tied story breaks up the levels with intermissions with your crazy next door neighbor that gives you info and sells you upgrades.

Currently you can get Zombies Vs. Plants on Steam for ten dollars, which is 50 percent off the original price. This game is a steal for full price and it is a must have for ten dollars. There is also a demo you can download that lets you play for up to 30 minutes. With over 50 levels, plus 4 different game modes, and it looks like 30 mini-games; PVZ makes other ‘casual’ games look like rip-offs.

By: Kiel Cross