The zombies have taken over Suburbia. Now named Zomburbia. And it’s up to the plants to take it back.
Plants and Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 places players back in the goofy, hilarious shooter that pits foliage against the undead. Garden Warfare 2, while still funny and fun, is far too similar to its predecessor. And in some of the areas in which the game attempts to improve upon what it has built, it falls short of the original.
My first big gripe with the game is the inclusion of the backyard battleground as a main menu of sorts. The concept is actually pretty cool. Plants and zombies are holed up in their respective bases on either side of Zomburbia. As the player nears the plant base, things look more like a normal neighborhood. As gamers near the zombie fortress, the surrounding area is more dilapidated yet bizarrely futuristic.
The problem is that the setup lacks clarity. To access the game’s garden and graveyard ops, players have to walk to the corresponding icon in each base. While some of the animations are cool, the addition is hardly worthwhile when contrasted a boring yet clear and streamlined menu screen.
Another big change to the series is the inclusion of a single-player story mode apart from just running multiplayer matches with bots. Plants and zombies alike rise through the ranks of their respective factions by completing various quests. Unfortunately, the actual quests are rather lackluster with most boiling down to kill this, collect that or defend “x” location. It’s disappointing because Pop Cap games could create a short, creative and fun narrative. Instead, we’re given fetch quest after fetch quest.
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 introduces new characters to the scene. Unlike the playable characters of the first game, these new characters seem unbalanced and overpowered. One of the plants’ new heroes is Kernel Corn, a tall corn stalk that shoots kernels and can call down buttery airstrikes. The green warriors branch out into the realm of fruit with Citron, a cool orange who sports black shades and a vitamin-C fueled laser. Finally Rose joins the plants as a magic-wielding sorceress who can turn enemies into goats.
The Zombies have brought some reinforcements as well. Ol’ Deadbeard is a zombified pirate who can alternate between scattershots and precise shots. His parrot also functions as a drone much like the flying onion of the cacti. Super Brainz is a superhero zombie who excels in melee combat and can unleash devastating energy attacks. Finally, Imp is a small zombie who dual-wields blasters and can call down a mech to aid him in punishing his foes.
While I do like some of what these characters bring to the table (Rose, Imp and Super Brainz have unique styles that offer a different way to experience the game), I don’t believe these characters should be included with the standard eight from the previous title.
These new characters seem overpowered, often having more health and two or even three special abilities that match the best abilities of the standard plants and zombies. It would make much more sense to have these characters function as unlockables or power-ups that standard characters can obtain. Part of what makes Plants vs. Zombies work is the balance, which these characters disrupt.
The game’s Garden and Graveyard ops modes call for four players to defend gardens or tombstones against waves of enemies and then get to an extraction point. It’s a survival mode and it’s nearly identical to the dozen or so survival matches gamers play through in the single-player mode.
The multiplayer introduces a new mode called Herbal Assault, which contains up to 24 players.
Apart from Herbal Assault there is Turf Takedown that plays a lot like Gardens and Graveyards in which plants and zombies take turns attacking and defending various strongholds on the map. The game ends when the attacking team captures all the strongholds or the defending team repels the enemy and time expires.
Many old game types return including Vanquish, Vanquish Confirmed and Gnome Bomb.
At its core, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 has little to stand on as its own game, and relies too heavily on the tried-and-true methods the first game incorporated. First-timers and fans of the series will still enjoy this latest installment because it’s still fun. It’s just nearly the same fun game Pop Cap released two years ago. It’s more a Garden Warfare 1.5 than a 2.
GAME ON SCORE: 2.5
4 stars = Get On It!
3 stars = Nice Job
2 stars = Meh
1 star = Avoid It
0 stars = Nooooo!!!
Hugh Johnson: 303-954-1037, hjohnson@denverpost.com or @HughJohnsonDP
