It feels strange writing about this game because it's strange that Electronic Arts went ahead and released it before it was finished. There are quite obviously several missing levels, and I would have gladly waited and paid for the whole game instead of just playing half of it, but it is what it is. I'm a big fan of the first Plants vs. Zombies. Popcap produced a casual game that you can enjoy no matter how much you actually play games. I honestly feel like the original was something anyone would like given enough time: it's the most basic defense game from a mechanical stand point, but with its silly premise, charming graphics and light difficulty curve, something about the game was magical. PvZ was proof that a product aimed at the mass market could be something more: a deep, interesting game that introduced a genre to many without treating them like toddlers.
Needless to say, I was upset that EA ended up creating PvZ2. When it was released as an IOS exclusive, I was even mad; I refuse to spend any money on Apple products and it felt like a punch in the gut that the sequel to one of my favorite games might not be available to me. Eventually, we got the game on Android, and now I'm kind of wishing it had stayed on IOS, at least until the full game was finished. EA decided to make the game free to play, pushing micro-transactions to either skip ahead to later content (what?) or purchase plants from the first game (huh?). Personally, I would have been fine with spending $20 on a PvZ game, which is beyond what mobile games normally cost in the first place. Instead, whenever I play this game I'm taunted with ads to unlock content for stupid amounts of money. Why buy a chili pepper for $4 when it was free in the original?
I didn't want this obvious money-making scheme to interfere with how I felt about the game, but unfortunately there is not much else to say about it. Since the game isn't complete, new additions barely have any time to shine. Sure, the mine cart idea for moving plants around is neat, but they barely scratched the surface of using it. Some of the new plants are neat (I love the peas that stack if you keep replanting them), some of them are dull (Did we need a punching cabbage when we had one-hit kill plants in the original?), and some are just repeats (The chili bean is just a reworked Hypno shroom). All in all, this game doesn't feel like a proper sequel to Plants vs. Zombies: it feels like a decent set of downloadable content that lacks the same polish. Plant food is an interesting gimmick, giving your plants a temporary huge boost, but it's nothing revolutionary. The super-powered screen wipes feel like a con to make you buy more coins for them and usually aren't necessary anyway. I can live without everything new added in this game, and I guess in the future I will.
If you're interested at all in Plants vs. Zombies, I'd have to suggest just buying the original game. It's cheap, it will last you a long time, and it's on every platform ever with no bugs and a guaranteed track record.
5.5 (Partial completion. Because it ISN'T FINISHED)
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