Plants vs Zombies – by Mr. Ng Chongming

Posted for Mr. Ng.:)

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It was a dull, tired night when I started surfing some game portals for new games that might recreate a few sparks in my life while I slog through my work. Somehow, the words “Plants vs Zombies” seem to pop up from everywhere. The amazing part of it was the scores that were tagged along the game; easily 8 and above in almost every single review. I skimmed through the reviews but wasn’t at all impressed. “Another Tower Defense game? Casual? Nah.” And I shrugged it off, together with all the crazed user reviews praising the game to the high heavens. That was, until, I saw the music video.

The song easily brought back 80% of the excitement and happiness I felt when I reached the end of Portal. From the music video, the game seemed curiously lively, and resembled something like an overdose of cuteness. I downloaded the trial and voila, I could not stop! And to think I thought I already had my fair share of Tower Defence games.

The game pits zombies against you, right in front of your doorstep, right on top your lawn. Except, you are not the one fending them off, your plants are! This whacky manifestation of pure fun not only breaks down a fast-paced and often gory genre into a simpler offering with lovable characters, but also packs it full of character and charm. As the player, you have to gather Sun credits, be it from Sol, Sunflowers or Fungi, and use these credits to create plants that will help you take down equally well-developed and thought-of zombies, before they step through your front door and have your brains for brunchner.

There are a total of 50 levels in the adventure mode, and the game advances progressively in difficulty and flexibility, unlocking one new plant every level to add into the fray. The 50 levels are adequately divided into 5 arcs of 10 levels each on a different venue. With each advancement, the terrain and conditions change to make some plants obsolete, while the game gives you cool new plants to take care of the situations, keeping the game fresh throughout. As if this wasn’t enough, the game also comes with additional puzzle modes and a staggering 20 mini-games that make use of the same game elements. Each one is varied enough to provide an alternative experience with the same lovable characters in the game.

Each plant and zombie is suitably named and given a short background description that fits its purpose, giving each one its own charm and character. The artwork is brilliant with much color and sunshine, and is one of the key points that make the game so pleasant to look at and so enjoyable to play. Coupled with a soundtrack that is nothing short of excellent, one cannot help getting his/her heart gently lifted while playing the game, and break into giggles on hearing the hilarious light voice-acting of the zombies, especially when one of them chews on a garlic. Last and most, the messages that the zombies sneakily leave you before each major attack are to die for.

Seriously, plants vs zombies? What? Trust the creators of Bejeweled and Peggle to come up with something as weirdly entertaining as this. I never dreamed that zombies could be cute, and Tower Defence could be casual. But in the end, Popcap managed to do it again, creating this gem of a virtual mass of fun. Give it a try, and I assure you that you will be thinking to yourself: ““Just one more level”, 2 hours past your bedtime!

(Pictures from Gamespot)