Developed by Pop Cap Games, the downloadable strategy game Plants vs. Zombies is perhaps one of the most successful of that company’s iconic takes on classic gameplay concepts. The game elevates the traditional tower defense genre to a new level of kitsch and fun.
How to Download Plants vs. Zombies
To download the game click on the Download button located below at the end of the review. The full game of Plants vs. Zombies can be downloaded from Steam. There is also a free demo, so you can play it before committing to the purchase of the full version. If you like the game be sure to also check out other titles from the series that move the gameplay to a 3D environment: Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare and Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2.
The Game Review
For those that may be unfamiliar with tower defense games as a genre, the concept behind these games is actually quite simple. Given various choke points on a map, a player is tasked with preventing the coming of a string of invading bad guys from reaching the end of the line – whether this is a gate to your castle or something else.
Basically, through deploying defensive towers along the path of the enemy, you eliminate the enemy guerilla-style before they can have a chance to claim their prize at the end of the trail.
A concept simple in description but complex in execution, tower defense games are often beloved by people who can’t get enough of strategy games but who also aren’t quite up to a Civilization-level engagement.
Graphically speaking, Plants vs. Zombies resembles a well-done Cartoon Network television show and this aesthetic might not be for everyone. One of the huge advantages of deploying such an aesthetic is that it is easy to see what the plants do and what the zombies do as everything on screen assumes a clarity that often can be betrayed by a less cut and dry graphical art style.
Plants vs. Zombies takes this basic premise and does so much with it that the game is a master class in design and aesthetic. Basically, in a twist that will have many laughing and scratching their heads, in this game plants help protect your household from an oncoming horde of zombies.
Zombies, the purview of video games for the past two decades, are typically a bloodthirsty, deadly enemy but in this game, a houseplant not only shows you how to handle them but how to do it in style. Houseplants have different attacks and there are different advantages and disadvantages to each.
As you deploy the plants you will begin to learn which works best where. Taking into consideration everything from how long it takes the plant to attack again to just how much damage the plant does, Plants vs. Zombies is as tactical as it is charming. Though the game may reel you in initially with its depiction of an inexorable march of zombies towards your house it will keep you hooked with its depth and how well it keeps you challenged without feeling cheap.
