Plants vs. Zombies
Platform: Download (Mac, Windows)
How the zombies have fallen. Once they were a terrifying, cannibalistic reflection of our basest impulses, but decades of B-movie hackery have reduced them to an iconic geek totem, like ninjas or pirates or nuns. The Return of the Living Dead plastered them with a goofy catch-phrase ("BRAAAAAAAIINNSS"), and now, except for a couple of attempts to resurrect them as drooling sprinters, they're pretty much a joke. Just look at them here. They've literally been turned into plant food, getting pelted to bits by peas and cabbage.
Plants vs. Zombies is the strangest, most original game from PopCap yet. If you missed the teaser, starring an adorable sunflower voiced by Laura Shigihara and an entire rave party's worth of zombies, you might want to watch it now. It's one of the greatest promotional videos for a game in history.
PopCap has reason to be confident. While this is basically a melding of time-management gameplay with tower defense, it's so packed with colorful invention, it feels like a completely new concept.
You play the part of a home-owner in the midst of a typical zombie apocalypse, but exaggerated to a cartoon fever pitch. Beyond the suit-wearing regular zombies, you'll face zombies in football gear, zombies on pogo sticks, pole-vaulting zombies, and many more. The undead starving hordes are on the march, but your back yard is standing in the way, covered with fresh, fertilized topsoil. By planting various types of seeds, you must raise a crop of warrior vegetation that can defend your brains from the imminent devouring.
In gameplay terms, you have five lanes to defend (six on some levels) against the zombies, who enter on the right side of the screen and lurch slowly towards your home on the left. You select six plant types from your arsenal at the beginning of the level and then place them strategically on the lawn where they can fire on the approaching undead, who will fight back by munching on anything in arm's reach. You will gradually unlock a wide variety of plants (nearly 50!). Most of them act as stationary guns, periodically shooting peas or watermelons or what-have-you. Some protect the others, like the lovable Wall-Nut, some explode, like the Cherry Bomb, and some serve more specific purposes. Certain plants are effective against certain zombies, and vice versa.
Each plant costs a certain amount of sunlight to create. Actual globs of sun will fall periodically to the earth, and you must click on them to add to your supply. The sunflower will be your staple crop, providing another source of sunlight globs that can be used to power the rest of your vegetable army. Watching for and collecting sun occupies your time between planting, much like the resource-gathering of Popcap's own Insaniquarium.
There are 50 levels in the main Adventure Mode, spread across five different settings and about seven hours of gameplay. Each area requires a slightly different approach. At night-time, for example, you'll need to deploy bargain-price mushrooms to offset the lack of sunlight. In the pool, you'll need to support your plants on lily pads.
After completing the main storyline, there's still plenty left to do. The Survival Modes are like extended versions of a regular level, while the Puzzle Modes mix things up by hiding a variety of enemies in breakable vases, or by casting you as the zombies against a pre-figured squadron of plants. The real treat, however, is the Mini-Games, which riff on the main theme in just about every way imaginable. Look for bizarre hybrid call-backs to PopCap's previous games, like Bejeweled (here titled Beghouled) and Hammer Heads.
Having trouble with Zombies eating your brains? Are you always running out of lawnmowers? Don't miss our Plants vs. Zombies Strategy Guide!
Analysis: The surprise of Plants vs. Zombies is how much sense the match-up makes. Zombies are slow, but plants are immobile. Zombies can be decapitated, but plants can be eaten. It's like they were just waiting to co-star in a video game.
If you still shiver from dopamine withdrawal when you think back on the "Ode to Joy" from Peggle, you can get ready to kiss your social life goodbye for a few days. Plants Vs. Zombies rewards you constantly. The entire adventure mode is a parade of gifts—new plant seeds, new gameplay modes, threatening notes from your more literate zombie opponents. Each present comes right at the end of a level, so the desire to instantly hit the Continue button and play with your new toy is irresistible. The zombies even drop coins, which can buy upgraded plants and other goodies out of the trunk of your insane neighbor's car.
Because the plants are so specific in their look and animation, each one is not only a unique weapon for repelling the zombie horde, but a whole character, complete with a biography. Both the plants and the zombies get well-written, often hilarious entries in the Suburban Almanac, which is a source of both entertainment and valuable information.
The shine doesn't come off the game until you've completed ALL the mini-games, and ALL the puzzle levels, and ALL the survival modes, earning of course a golden trophy for each one. Even then, there are a handful of high score modes, and the surprisingly addictive Zen Garden, a mellow side pursuit which may awaken a gardening version of the Pokemon catch-em-all ethos in you. If I could cross-breed plants to produce new mutated soldiers for battle, you would not be reading this review right now, because I wouldn't have been able to physically tear myself away from the game to write it.
The only real problem is that Plants vs. Zombies never does get very difficult. This is partly due to the silky-smooth learning curve. You barely notice the increasing challenge, since your skills and resources grow perfectly to match it. The other reason is that there isn't really a very wide range of strategy. Many of the later plants are just slight alterations on earlier ones, gauged to the needs of the current enemies. Despite a massive effort to inject variety by mixing mini-games right into the main adventure, many levels feel too similar to each other. This is especially true at the start of a level, when you're setting up the first few sunflowers the same way you did the last twenty times.
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But these minor hiccups pale in the face of the endless barrage of cheerful absurdity. The fact that a zombie's first choice of armor is an orange road cone hat. The way a potato mine explodes with a deep-fried SPUD-OW! The angry eyebrows on a powered-up pea-shooter. Of course a zombie comes in riding an ice-making zamboni; it's a ZOMBoni! Of course a zombie bobsled team comes in after that; there's ice for them to slide on!
Without a doubt, this is one of the defining casual games of this generation. If you're a fan of Insaniquarium or Farm Frenzy, this is a no-BRAAAAIIINer (sorry), but there is enough quirky appeal in this title to seduce practically anyone. PopCap proves that following a goofy idea to ridiculous extremes can be a winning proposition. There won't be any Plants vs. Zombies clones, because you could never copy its force of personality. Highly recommended.
Windows:
Download the demo
Order the full version
Mac OS X:
Download the demo
Order the full version
Plants vs. Zombies is available from these affiliates: 
Walkthrough Guide
Plants vs Zombies Strategy Guide!
I'm not going to go through and list all the plants and zombies because they are listed under the Almanac you will get within a few levels of starting the game.
General tips:
For the most part in adventure mode, and survival mode you will want to start by getting two rows of sunflowers as fast as you can, at the back of your lawn
While you are trying to get your sunflowers up, try to only build plants that you will need immediately. Such as a peashooter only in a lane where a zombie is approching.
Once you've got your sunflowers up, start focusing on your defences. You will need to use different strategies depending on what level you are on.
Try to keep at least one bomb type plant in your inventory on each level just in case things get bad.
If there is a lull in zombies use the break to dig up and replace badly damaged wall-nuts or tall-nuts.
It may be worth it in later levels to bring coffee beans and magnet-shrooms with you in daytime battles. to help deal with metal weilding zombies.
If a snow pea shoots through a torchwood then it will cancel out the freezing effect.
Adventure:
Adventure mode isn't terribly difficult and shouldn't give you too much trouble so I've just listed off a few tips for each of the five level types.
Daytime:
These levels are fairly straightforward. Just build a few peashooters in each lane and you should be okay for most of these levels.
Build wall-nuts, and repeaters once you unlock them
Not much to these levels except for learning the basics
Night:
Night time has arrived! No more free sunshine for you!
Dont underestimate the power of free things. Although the puff-shrooms are pretty weak, they are essential to your defenses at night time, especially when the amount of sun you get is lower.
Make sure the first plant you buy is one of the two that will give you sun, otherwise you wont be able to afford better plants as the level progresses.
If you keep these two things in mind the night level shouldn't give you too much trouble
Pool:
Ah now its getting interesting. Zombies will usually ignore the two pool lanes in the beginning, so you should too.
Make sure to build at least a peashooter and a repeater in the pool lanes by the first huge wave of zombies, as there will be extra zombies that pop out of the water part way down the lane already on top of the ones that come from the back.
As long as you remember to have some defences in the pool lanes by the first wave you should be alright.
Remember you can place wall-nuts and tall-nuts on the lily pads.
You should put spikeweeds at the right of your lawn in case zambonies show up.
Fog:
Starting to get tricky now. Pool, night, and now fog! Keep your head on your shoulders (har har), and you will do fine.
Although you can't see in the fog you can still build in it.
Build up a solid defense by combining what you did in the night stage with the pool stage.
If you really need too you can build a lantern to help you see, but its not too much of a big deal.
Just build up a solid defense and you should be alright.
Roof:
Its going to get a little tricky now. Peashooters and repeaters don't work well on this level, unless you build them at the top of the slope.
You can get away with building them on the first column after the slope on the roof starts but after that they will be useless.
Basically for this part you will need to replace peashooters and repeaters with Cabbage-Pults and Kernel-Pults.
Other than that theres not too much to this one, other than keeping an eye on what zombies you will have to fight.
It might be worth your effort to build a magnet-shroom and use a coffee bean on it in later levels.
Minigames:
Zombotony
In this one the zombies are also plants! But they still want your brain.
Guard your sunflowers because you will need all the sun you can get.
Zombies act like the plants on their heads act. Peashooters will shoot at your plants, wall-nuts take a lot of hits. Keep this in mind while building your defenses
Wall-nut Bowling
Just like the wall-nut bowling you had to do in adventure mode.
Higher combos earn you more gold
Save a bomb or two for emergencies.
Slot machine:
Use then sun you collect to play the slot machine at the top
Try and keep the slot machine going as often as you can to earn extra plants and sun.
Shouldn't be hard to get this with a little luck.
It's raining seeds:
This one is just like the kind of level in adventure mode where the seeds come on a conveyor belt at the top, only you need to use them almost right away
Beghouled:
Just like bejeweled! You fought zombies in bejeweled right?
Make matches to earn sun and upgrade your plants
Start with your offensive plants first
Combo's earn you extra sun
Invisi-ghoul
Its pretty basic, other than the fact that the zombies are invisible. So build evenly in the lanes since you can't tell where they are coming from!
Seeing Stars:
This one is pretty basic too, You just need to fill in the stars on the lawn with the starfruit
Might be a bit tricky to get "Star"ted (haha!), but once you get some basic defenses up you should fill in the star as soon as possible.
Zombiquarium:
This one is a basic clone of insaniquarium. Just save up and buy 5 or 6 zombies then let the sun roll in. Don't forget to feed them!
Beghouled Twist:
Just like bejeweled twist! Same concept as beghouled
Big Trouble little zombie:
All of the zombies are tiny, but they still have big appetites! Use the basic pool defense here and you'll do just fine.
Portal combat:
This ones a bit tricky. Keep an eye on where the portals are but still build evenly as the portals will move around the map.
Make good use of your wall-nuts, and make sure to have a Cactus in each lane, and you should be alright
Save a bomb or two in case things get a little tight.
Column like you see 'em:
This one can be a bit tricky. For the most part you will start with the same few plants each time.
Potato mines should go one column from the right, and your tall-nuts right behind them.
After that leave a space then put your magnet-shrooms down.
If/when you get chompers put them right behind your tall nuts.
Try to have at least one clear column somewhere for placing bombs. Save the bombs you get for ladder zombies, Gargantuars.
As long as you don't let the ladder zombies bypass your tall nuts, and you put lots of pumpkins down you shouldn't do too badly here. Might take a few trys to get it just right though, since you don't always get the same plants each round.
Bobsled bonanza:
Build spikeweeds to pop the tires of the zombonies. If they can't make ice the bobsled zombies can't show up!
You can also use jalapeños to melt the ice.
Zombie nimble, zombie quick
No crazy tricks here, everything is just faster
Use your basic pool level strategy and you'll do just fine here, just make sure to keep collecting the sun, even though it might seem hard since it shows up so fast.
Whack a Zombie
This one is pretty simple. Just hit the zombies with the hammer as they pop out of the graves
Once in a while a zombie will drop some sun, use it to buy Grave Busters and eat the graves closest to your brains.
Last stand:
you start with $5000 to build your defense and you will get $250 between each round to top up.
Build a nice solid pool style defense and you should be okay. Remember to save some money for buying new tall-nuts in case things go sour.
ZomBotany 2:
Just like zombotany only harder.
Wall-nut bowling 2
Just like Wall-nut bowling only harder.
Pogo Party
Sunflowers, cabbagepults and tall-nuts will be your friend here. If you have the imitator, use it to get a second tall-nut
Dr. Zomboss's revenge:
Just like the final level of the game so you should be okay here. Just remember to always keep at least one jalapeño and one ice-shroom on you at all times for when he throws fireballs or iceballs at you.
Puzzle
There are only really two puzzles here, one is vases and the other you play as the zombies.
Vasebreaker style:
Start with the vases that have plants in them
After that start at the back and work on one lane at a time.
Don't put too many plants in one lane, you will need to make sure you have at least one offensive plant in each lane or its impossible to win.
In the later levels keep some squash for Gargantuars.
I, Zombie style:
In this one you get to play the zombies and try to eat the brains.
There is no time limit so sit back and think a bit before you start throwing zombies at the plants.
Try to find the spot where you can send one or two cheap zombies and still manage to get a sunflower, or two.
Once you get some sun use stronger zombies in combination with the weaker ones to get to the harder brains.
Survival
In survival you will get a chance to change up the plants you picked at the start between each level so start with the basics on each one, and go from there. Don't get ahead of yourself. If you start with all the expensive plants you won't be able to afford a good defense and will leave your brains venurable. Use the same basic defense skills you developed for each of the adventure levels, but after a few waves upgrade your plants to be able to deal with the later levels. There isn't much new here it's just harder.
Easter eggs:
Type the following codes during gameplay to enable the 'cheats', type them again to disable.
daisies - zombies push up daisies when they die. (You need to have a tree of wisdom that's at least 100 feet tall for this code to work)
future - zombies sport cool, futuristic shades.
mustache - zombies grow a 'stache.
pinata - zombies cause a shower of candy when they die. (Your tree of wisdom needs to be 1000 feet tall for this to work.)
trickedout - for tricked out lawnmowers.
sukhbir - activates zombie "THEIR BRAIIINS" call.
dance - Makes the zombies dance! enabled at 500 feet.
(Offer up your own strategies, Plants vs. Zombies hints and tips in the comments!)
Read our Plants vs. Zombies Guide - for even more information including each Plant and Zombie you will meet in the game.
http://jayisgames.com/walkthroughs/plants-vs-zombies/
Posted by: Kero
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May 5, 2009 10:44 AM