Game: "Plants vs. Zombies"
System: PC
Genre: Strategy
Published by: Other

Reviewer: -RoG-
Posted: 9/15/2009

Review: Let me preface this review by saying I'm a huge fan of tower defense games. I love how they're completely addictive, yet you don't need to spend 2-4 hours playing them per day just to make progress. You can get in a few quick games here 'n there and then get back to whatever you were doing.

With that in mind, I gotta say, Plants vs. Zombies is easily one of the most entertaining tower defense games I've ever had the pleasure of trying out. The premise of the game is simple enough: hordes of brain-craving zombies are headed straight for your home, and the only thing between you and them is your garden. It's up to you to place a variety of plants in the yard to defend your home from those pesky zombies.

The game gives you a wide variety of plants that can either be helpful for offense or defense. Some will shoot a variety of peas or catapult melons while others will slow down the zombies and distract them while your other plants continue their assault. Of course, you'll have to plan where to plant your veggies depending on what kind of zombies are attacking. Oh yes, for every plant you have, there's an opposing zombie with a way to take it down like a bucket full o' brains.

Comedy is definitely no stranger to this game, as if the title wasn't a clue (though I prefer the original "Lawn of the Dead" title to the one they ended up with), and as fun as the game is on the action front, you'll find yourself laughing at it quite often. With puns galore, the wide variety of zombies in particular will put a big smile on your face as you see how these so-called mindless creatures come up with innovative ways to make it past your defenses. Pole-vaulting zombies, Zamboni-riding zombies, pogo stick zombies, and of course a Michael Jackson Thriller spoof zombie complete with backup dancers. And that's just barely scratching the surface of what you'll see.

The game also has a nice inventory system which allows you to select what weapons you'll be using on any given level. Plus, you can purchase new weapons out of the back of a station wagon from a guy named "Crazy Dave" who wears a pot on his head and is more than happy to speak in gibberish as he tries to help you out along the way. Much of his merchandise is quite pricey, but if you find this game as replayable as I do, you'll find that it's not too hard to raise the cash to buy some of those high-ticket items.

Lastly, I gotta mention the fact that there are also a wide variety of mini-games in Plants vs. Zombies as well. I highly recommend completing the adventure mode of the game first, as you'll appreciate it all the more, plus you'll unlock some additional mini-games too. The mini-games range from to Beghouled" and bowling for zombies with giant walnuts to a vase smashing game and a game in which you take on the role of the zombies themselves. And there's still more in there. They even have a zen garden for you where you can grow plants that can give you more cashola if you take care of them.

The only reason I didn't give the game 5 stars is because it wasn't quite as difficult as I had hoped in the adventure mode. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely some nail-biter levels in there, but it didn't take me too long to beat everything in adventure mode. The boss fight at the very end is definitely a blast, as is seeing all the new zombies that pop up as you progress through the game.

I honestly can't recommend this game enough to you guys. At 20 measly bux, it's one of the best deals out there and it's the perfect game to play this Halloween season. A perfect blend of cute and violent. I also didn't expect the game to have such a high replayability factor, but with all the mini-games and unlockables, there's just so much here that makes you want to keep coming back to playing it.

And if that doesn't sell you, just look at the title of the game once more... Plants vs. Zombies. If that doesn't peak your curiosity, you're probably on the wrong web site to be perfectly honest. So yeah, get the game and maybe you too will be able to claim you killed a "ducky tube zombie" with your "gatling pea". Doesn't that sound like fun?

Overall rating:
(Scored on a 0.5 - 5 pickles rating: 0.5 being the worst and 5 being the best)