Plants Vs Zombies 2 Review

Plants Vs Zombies 2 is, according to its suffix, about time. It’s also about money. Should that really be a problem?

Plants Vs Zombies 2: On the plus side

Plants Vs Zombies 2 offers much the same simple tower defence gameplay that the original game offered, and if you’re after a lightly strategic challenge, that’s no bad thing. The sequel upgrades the visuals with a lot more plant animation, a whole host of new plants and zombies and a variety of settings across time as you chase Crazy Dave’s Taco. Which he’s already eaten, but wants to eat again. Or, in other words, the comedy aspects of Plants Vs Zombies have also made it into the sequel.

It’s also free, and that, in one particular context, could be a very good thing. If you’ve never played Plants Vs Zombies beforehand, there’s an awful lot of content here to be enjoyed for the low, low price of nothing. Plants Vs Zombies 2 would be excellent value from a gamer’s perspective… but for a pair of problems.

Plants Vs Zombies 2: On the minus side

The biggest problem that Plants Vs Zombies 2 has isn’t — and this may surprise some — the fact that it relies on in-app purchases, although that is an issue that I’ll get to shortly. I spent a fair amount of time over the weekend grinding through Plants Vs Zombies 2’s free sections in order to give it a fair shake. After all, games developers deserve the right to get paid for their content if that’s what they wish — and EA clearly does wish that — so simply charging for it shouldn’t be a crime if it’s properly implemented.
No, the biggest single problem with Plants Vs Zombies 2 is that so very little has really changed. It’s still simple and light strategy, and on almost any level where you’re not playing a constrained mini-game, the tactic of 1-2 lines of sunflowers built as quickly as possible will usually give you more than enough sun to survive the zombie hordes. It’s the same model as Plants Vs Zombies, with the added layer of IAP.

OK, so I guess IAP is a problem — but it’s not the core problem. If Plants Vs Zombies 2 was offered up as a free title with, say, a couple of simple levels of unlocks, leading to a $10 or so game, that would be one thing, and the argument could be made that new plant and zombie models would keep it charming.
The issue is that the gameplay is still so similar to the original as to make the sequel functionally redundant for repeated play. That’s a big issue in a game where you either pay up for the IAP for keys to progress, or repeatedly play through a bunch of levels in order to qualify enough times for it to happen.
Somewhere along the way, while playing it, I found that I didn’t so much care for the IAP intrusion, which is only irksome, as much as I did that I felt I could just as well be playing the original game. You know — the one that didn’t pester me with IAP or block my gameplay progress if I was in fact passing level after level. I got bored, and no game that leaves me feeling bored is one that I’m going to heartily recommend.

Plants Vs Zombies 2: Pricing

Plants Vs Zombies 2 is a free download, currently only in the Australian and New Zealand app stores. I’d imagine the same tricks that can be used for getting access to overseas app stores would work for international gamers if you just can’t wait. Did I mention there was a fair bit of IAP to contend with as well?

Plants Vs Zombies 2: Alex’s verdict

I’d like to like Plants Vs Zombies 2. I really, truly would, because I love the original for its quirky style, its ease of play and variety of challenges. Plants Vs Zombies 2 has those… but not enough, and not enough that’s either behind an IAP layer, or that I haven’t already played a whole lot.

If you’re absolutely new to the Plants Vs Zombies experience then there’s some clear and obvious value in Plants Vs Zombies 2, but beyond that, every time I sit down to play it, I start wondering why I’m not playing the original, buy-it-once-and-be-done-with-it title instead.