Here is the classical chicken and egg puzzle, but with a twist. What came first, the name or the idea? By naming a game, “Plants vs. Zombies” (PvZ from hereon), Popcap Games got us wondering. Did the name crop up in one of their brainstorming sessions and then they decided to go ahead and make a game around it? Or was it the other way round? No matter what the answer might be, Popcap games sure have sprung a surprise upon us with PvZ. Tower defense games have been here for ages now but we never expected one to look like this, pitting the unlikeliest of the enemies against each other. The result is just the right combination of cuteness and addictiveness, all hallmarks of Popcap games.

In PvZ, you have the zombies that go “Braaaaiiiinnnssss” and separating them from their favorite meal is a small garden. Getting across this garden for them should have been a walk in the park if not for the plants. Dotting the six horizontal lanes that make up a garden are plants of different shapes and sizes. And these are not your garden variety plants either. Plants in PvZ come armed to the teeth with a variety of weaponry, including the ability to shoot peas, go ka-boom or even gulp down zombies whole. The developers of the game have come up with such twisted plants that rouge nations would be much tempted to divert their defense budget in bio-tech research.

Of course the zombies are not going to take it lying down either. They make up for their lost brains in form of buckets and street cones acting as helmets, newspapers shielding them from the ranged attacks as well poll-vaulting enemies that will jump clear over your defenses to land right on top of your weak spots. Newspapers reading grandpas will go berserk at the prospect of having their favorite daily torn to shreds by the pea shooters while the zombie rugby player (!) will charge in for his bowl of salad by munching on the plants before moving on to the main course of brains. Irresolute in their aim, they keep pouring from the right side of the screen as they move towards the house.

PvZ excels in taking the simple concept of a tower defense game and making the game play fun and addictive. To counter the waves of zombies that descend upon your garden, you have to plant a variety of plants. To get the plants in the first place, you have to stock up on “sun”, in-game currency for buying the plants. This commodity drops in at regular intervals where upon, you have to click on it to collect it. However, if you need a steady supply, you will have to plant Sunflower plants, much like you will have farms of gold-mines in RTS games. The Sunflower plants will spawn a “sun” at regular intervals, enabling you to buy your arsenal of plants.

Once you have enough “sun” in stock, you get to buy weapons like pea-shooters which will shoot peas on the oncoming horde, shoot icicles, melon-catapults and even the trippy looking Hypnoshroomes; one of these and you get to turn one of the horde on its brothers. How you plant these makes for the core of the game. While the basic pea shooter will do just nicely against the normal zombie, a fast zombie like the pole-vaulting one has to be slowed down with the ice shooters. Plants spewing zombie-repellent gases have to be used against zombies carrying screen-doors. Landmines and big potatoes places at the right places will take out or slow down the zombies for easier takedown.

Night time levels will have you doing a complete re-think on your strategy. With no sunlight, Sunflowers are all but useless. Instead, you will have to go in for the smaller mushrooms, which generate “sun” at a slower rate but are cheaper as well. Different worlds throw in such twists, like having water lanes. Of course you get to have water based defenses to counter the attack of the zombies. Other variations include a steep roof garden for angular projectiles and gardens which need to be illuminated to see the oncoming zombie. Completion of a level unlocks a new plant enabling you to stock up on various such plants to be mixed and matched as per the strategy needed for that level.

Mid level mini-games prevent the game from slipping into monotony. You get to play pinball with the zombies, whack them on the head with a hammer and many other such fun diversions. These mini-games vastly differ from the core game play and are a welcome break. The mini-games can be accessed later on also from the main menu as when you have the desire to introduce a hammer with a zombie head or try to take down multiple zombies by bouncing a well aimed walnut off them. What’s more is that you can turn into a zombie yourself and get to return the favor by attacking and devouring the defending plants until you get to the prized dish.

Graphically, the game excels, clearly crossing all standards set for budget titles like these. Nice and clean cell-shaded design, incredibly cute sprites and well implemented physics where required make it a visual delight. With no guts and gore on-screen, it makes for a good choice for kids as well while the game play itself doesn’t confine itself to any age bracket. Sound department has done a decent job with the music in the game. Thankfully, the music, even though basic, does not get on your nerves at any point in the game. Everything blends in incredibly well, right from the pea shooting out to the zombies munching slowly on the plants, without anything standing jarringly out.

At Rs.199, PvZ is a game worth the purchase. Losing hours at end with this game will come as no surprise once you start the game. Popcap games have clearly outdone themselves this time with Plants vs. Zombies by crafting a game that appeals to all your senses. Get the game; it is worth it.

IMAGE GALLERY

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