Plants vs Zombies began in 2009 as a very successful tower defense game on PC, consoles, and most notably on phones. At the time, Bejewled developer PopCap games was riding high on the success of Peggle. After being acquired by EA in 2011, PopCap released the free-to-play sequel Plants vs. Zombies 2: It’s About Time and then pivoted to making class-based third-person shooters with Garden Warfare and its sequel.
Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville is an expansion upon these shooters, once again including competitive and co-op multiplayer modes, but it adds a whole new MMO-style layer. When players boot up the game they will enter Giddy Park, a public hub with other players where they can experiment with classes and weapons, launch missions and multiplayer, or spend their in-game currency.
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Giddy Park begins with a tutorial style mission walking players through the different game modes and ways to spend currency. The game introduces two new Destiny like areas per faction, Town Center and Weirding Woods/Mount Steep, and includes multiple PvP modes and the return of Garden Ops from Garden Warfare. Coins are spent primarily to unlock new cosmetics and auto-level twice a day, while Prize Bulbs are given for completing certain objectives can be used in the Prize Map to unlock new items.
The core gameplay of Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville remains largely similar to what PopCap offered in the Garden Warfare games. Visually it shares a cartoon-like aesthetic with those games that feels like a well-considered evolution of the original tower defense game, bringing the Sunflower, Peashooter, and myriad of other fan-favorite plants to vivid life.
The shooting genuinely feels good. The weapons variety and class abilities are all distinct and unique. Some basic classes are shared between Plants and Zombies, but for the most part, each faction has an entirely different set of iconic PvZ characters. One of the best classes in the game is the Plant’s orange Citron, a ferocious tank reminiscent of Overwatch’s best that mixes Reinhardt’s shield with Wrecking Ball’s roll.
Every class is unlocked from the start and all level up individually. This player-friendly choice means that unlike in other games that pull from MMOs, Battle for Neighborville encourages player experimentation with classes. Of course, they are less complicated that even a game like Overwatch, but offer a great variety in both the Plants and Zombie factions.
Going to Town Center and the other quest areas can be played solo or co-op, but cannot be experienced with the same MMO-like wonder of Giddy Park. Each area has five missions that follow the same basic structure that sends players on different missions to gather three story items and then combine them all for one final encounter and big boss fight. It is not especially creative as an overarching structure, but there is decent objective variety in these missions.
Missions rarely last more than 15 minutes so getting through the main story content should not take longer than 8 hours. There should be no worry about lack of content, though, as these hubs are filled to the gills with collectibles and bonus missions and bounties. There is quantity, for sure, but quality-wise there is only a limited amount of engaging single-player content before the game starts to get repetitive. It is also worth mentioning that support characters like the Rose or the Sunflower won’t work when playing solo in this mode as they can’t output the damage needed.
The sheer amount of content suggests Battle for Neighborville is designed for a younger audience. The writing for the various characters that appear in quest hubs feels aimed at a younger audience as well. Crazy Dave is there and recognizable, but the new plants and zombies don’t really operate as more than quest givers and joke spitters.
The modes from Garden Warfare are back too. The Ops mode, previously Garden Ops, lets players tackle waves of oncoming zombies, or plants, in a Gears inspired co-op mode. The take on horde is a fine way to experience Battle for Neighborville’s shooting, even if it doesn’t include a 50-wave mode.
The competitive multiplayer is where Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville is the biggest letdown because there is not a ton of new ground covered on this front. The Battle Arena mode doesn’t translate well to the character class shooter Battle for Neighborville attempts to be. The game includes objective and team deathmatch modes as well, but these aren’t inventive either. Turf Takeover is the closest the game gets to Overwatch, and yet the mode highlights how, while the characters are fun in co-op, they don’t synergize as creatively or consistently as the games it takes inspiration from.
It’s been over a decade since Plants vs. Zombies was a breakthrough mobile hit and today, it feels like the brand is about taking popular shooter game types and presenting them to a younger audience. But the aim isn’t the problem, it’s the approach that has Battle for Neighborville falling short.
Good core gameplay and distinct classes don’t make Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville stand out in the competitive landscape of games it emulates. The co-op modes can be a blast to play with friends or solo, but the game spreads itself too thin and never feels like it has tuned its mechanics specifically for any of the included PvP modes. The result is a fun experience with tons of content to grind through but Battle for Neighborville never gives players meaningful incentives to stick around long enough to see most of it.
Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Game Rant was provided Xbox One code for this review.
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