One of the most popular ‘casual’ tower defense style games has to be Plants vs. Zombies.  The original game was even reviewed on this site (not by me) way back in the day (2009).  There’s been a few spinoffs as well.  I reviewed a pinball game based on the franchise in 2012, and there’s also the 3D Garden Warfare games (I hated I missed out on those, they look like fun).  I also remember seeing the game a lot at PAX and E3 in years past, like costumed zombies from the game and they would give out paper cone hats to showgoers.  And now, more than 15 years later, you can play a HD version of it on modern consoles with new levels and features.  Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted is available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch 2 here.

If you’ve played the original game, nothing has changed here gameplay-wise.  You have a grid based yard and zombies will approach from the right side.  If they reach the left side they’ll get run over by a lawn mower, but after that the next one will reach your house and if that happens, it’s Game Over.  So you must plant various seeds to fight off the zombies.  For instance, pea plants will shoot at them, but snow pea plants will freeze them as well and slow them down.  In order to plant you’ll need sun energy, so plant some sunflowers so you can get more faster.  You’ll unlock more plants as you play, too.  You finish a level by defeating all the waves of zombies.  As you play, you’ll earn money to unlock goodies and new levels which feature things like night (less sun), fog, water, and more!

The remake adds things like HD graphics and new gameplay modes.  You can play two player either co-op or vs., and unlock mini-games, puzzles, and a survival mode.  The Switch 2 version even includes mouse controls!  My only problem with this game is a personal one.  Since this was published by EA, they make you try and sign in with their account system every time.  I could skip past this, but it was still annoying.  Other than that, this is a great new way to enjoy a classic, whether you’ve played it before or not.  I hope they do this with another PopCap game: Bookworm!

Kid Factor:

Plants vs. Zombies Replanted is rated E-10 with ESRB descriptors of Simulated Gambling, Mild Blood, and Fantasy Violence.  I don’t remember seeing any gambling, maybe it’s in a mini game I haven’t unlocked yet.  I also don’t remember seeing any blood, and the violence is just silly cartoony stuff.  Defeated zombies lose their heads and fall over.  If they reach your plants, they’ll just eat them and if they get in your house, a B-Movie horror screen says “The Zombies Ate Your Brains!” and you hear a scream.  I think only very young kids would be frightened by this, and otherwise I’d say it’s a great game for all ages.

Tags: Game Reviews