Plants vs. Zombies Review
Biological warfare.
Version tested: iPhone
What if the games industry was one big party? Picture the scene. As you walk in you pass Blizzard and Activision, snogging in the hallway. Heading into the lounge you see Microsoft and Sony are the centre of attention. They're arguing about who's got the best new car, but neither will let anyone else have a go. Nintendo is looking out of the window, barely listening to the row, too busy making sure no one's standing too close to its Bugatti Veyron.
In the kitchen, EA and THQ lean grumpily against the cupboards, wishing they were the ones in the hallway with Blizzard. Ubisoft lights another Gitane and tries to start a conversation about art, but everyone's too busy complaining about how Nintendo never buys a round.
One figure stands out from the rest. Not because of the smart suit or highly polished shoes, but because of the crowd gathered around. While everyone else at the party fights amongst themselves, PopCap Games is the one getting all the chicks.
The secret to its success? Smart, highly polished casual games. More than a billion PopCap titles have been downloaded in the last ten years, an awful lot of them by people who wouldn't know Metal Gear from Gears of War. The company is responsible for the likes of Peggle, Zuma and Bookworm, plus Bejeweled - 50 million copies have now been shifted, making it one of the top ten best-selling games of all time.
But Bejeweled isn't PopCap's fastest-selling title. That accolade belongs to Plants vs. Zombies, the tower defence game first released for PC last May. It's popular around these parts, scoring 9/10 in our review and heralded as one of our favourite games of 2009.

Relax, men! PvZ has zombies in so it's OK to like it.
For those who didn't play it and can't be bothered to click on those links, here's the deal: Plants vs. Zombies sees you battling against waves of zombies as they shamble across your lawn. You decide what stands in their way, choosing from an arsenal of wacky plants.
There are exploding potato mines and cherry bombs, projectile peashooters and zombie-eating venus flytraps, red hot chillies for burning up entire rows of enemies and hallucinogenic mushrooms which make them turn on their own. There are also plants which generate sunshine, the currency required to buy seeds. An extra plant is unlocked each time you complete a level so there's a constant stream of new toys to play with.
New types of zombies pop up as the game progresses. Some wear traffic cones or metal buckets on their heads for protection. Others are dressed in athletic gear and able to pole vault over obstacles, or tied to balloons so they can float over projectiles. The highlight is the Michael Jackson zombie, who comes complete with a red leather tracksuit and a troop of dancers doing the Thriller moves.
Happily, PopCap hasn't felt the need to remove the zombie Michael Jackson from this new iPhone version now the actual Michael Jackson is dead. In fact, PopCap has removed little in the transition from PC to iPhone and iPod Touch. Survival, Puzzle, Zen Garden and Mini-Game modes have been dropped but you still get Adventure and Quick Play, and there are still 50 levels
There's an almanac with a guide to all the plants and zombies you encounter. There's a shop where you can buy special items, like a garden rake which takes out enemies when stepped on. There's a long list of achievements to earn (PopCap fans should scroll right down for a couple of great in-jokes).
Most importantly, nothing has been lost in translation when it comes to gameplay. Like the PC game, Plants vs. Zombies on iPhone features a finely-tuned difficulty curve and a smart reward system. The balance between resource collection and weapon management is just right. The game is instantly accessible and introduces new concepts gradually, encouraging you to develop new strategies and evolve ideas. And like the PC game, the iPhone version is more addictive than Pringles dipped in heroin.
It's also just as polished. All the environments are the same as in the PC game and they look great. The level of detail is stunning, from the individual hairs on zombies' heads to the sunlight twinkling on the pool in the back yard. The sound is superb too, with funky eighties-style tunes punctuated by zombie groans for "Braaiiiins".
In fact, the iPhone version looks and sounds just like the PC one 95 per cent of the time. The game struggles, however, when there are large numbers of enemies and projectiles on the screen. With a dozen three-headed peashooters and a huge wave of zombies going full pelt, the frame rate often stutters. But this is a rare rather than regular occurrence, and when it does happen, the stuttering isn't significant enough to render the game unplayable.

Not to be confused with Robert Plant vs. Zombies, which would be amazing.
That's really the only negative point to be made about the iPhone port. Scrabbling around for other criticisms, you could complain its similarity to the PC version means it's all a bit familiar if you played the previous game. You don't get the same pleasure from trying out a brand new plant or discovering a new strategy. Those players of the PC game who complained it was too easy are likely to find the iPhone version even less challenging as any lessons have already been learned.
However, that's not a fair criticism. Plenty of iPhone owners won't have played the PC game anyway. As someone who did, I enjoyed playing through it again on a handheld. Yes, it was easier and true, there were no surprises, but that doesn't change the brilliant balance or the addictive nature of the gameplay.
Plus in one way, I enjoyed it more. The touch screen controls work perhaps even better than the mouse - there's something deeply satisfying and intuitive about plonking plants down with your finger. The playing area is large enough that the iPhone never struggled to register exactly where I was pointing, so there were no problems with precision.
So, occasional frame rate issues aside, there's nothing bad to say about Plants vs. Zombies for iPhone. The gameplay is just as well-balanced and finely tuned as it is in the PC version. The presentation is up to the same high standards, while the control system is perhaps even improved. Like so many PopCap titles, PvZ is slick, pretty, charming and funny. If the games industry was one big party, I'd get off with it.
9 / 10
Plants vs. Zombies is out now and costs £1.79 on the App Store.
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Comments (90) Latest comment 2 years ago
Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!
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Ipso facto, if I were the games industry, I'd shoot you with pepper spray, Ellie.
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Nearly cleared Peggle (after what seems like a gazillion hours of playtime)
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Came out at the right time, too, seeing how I had just finished the not any less brilliant Space Miner: Space Ore Bust.
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Perhaps they should ignore the developers who are producing great games? That makes more sense, huh?
Anyhow, I've been looking forward to this after falling for the charms of Peggle. Hopefully this'll live up to the hype!
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I really like Space Invaders Evolution. It's the game I play most next to Bookwurm and Peggle.
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This is why PopCap are brilliant. Wonderful games at eminently affordable prices.
/Salutes our new casual gaming overlords
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I got frame rate issues on a 3G, but I hear it's on all devices. It's not game breaking, it's only when the screen is filled with plants and zombies, but it is noticeable.
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eurogamer or poundgamer?
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[link url=http://www.pocketgamer. co.uk/
]http://www.pocketgamer. co.uk/
[/link]
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Touch Arcade, Slide To Play, AppAdvice and to a lesser extent FingerGaming, PocketGamer and IGN Wireless.
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http://www.148apps.com/ a> They are consistent.
So are: http://ww w.iphonegamenetwork.com/categor...
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Game without tits and childlike graphics that please women = 9/10
Conclusion: take reviews by Ellie with a pinch of salt
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Intelligence ineptitude.
"tits in it twice"
Maths ineptitude.
For the failed comedian
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priceless.
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Yeah that's exactly what I thought. The size or simplicity of a game should not and can not define the higest score it can recieve.
It's either good or not good regardless of if it's a chap small casual iPhone game or Mass Effect 2 with it's multimillion pound budget and zillion hours of game play
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It's true. Scores should not be based on the quality of a game, nor how enjoyable it is too play. It should be based entirely on how fiendishly complicated it is.
Idiot.
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.. Not that im saying reviews are bought or anything.. oh no.. i'd never consider saying that... *cough*
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I too feel like I have an app addiction and I've only had my touch 32gb for under two weeks, i'm now out of credit on the app store again and MUST buy plants vs zombies, just seems I can't stop buying stuff and I thought I was bad on xbox live lol.
So far I am SO SO SO impressed with the touch/iphone as a gaming device, amazing and I haven't played any other handhelds since I bought my touch! the graphics of gta chinatown and skies of glory are amazing for such a small device!
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Nah, don't worry. It's not just the staff.
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Maybe EG should include alternative scores for if you've played the game already. Maybe one for "played already on the same platform" and one for "played already on a different platform"... :\
Even better would be to just ditch scores.
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Im sure if other iphone game makers had the money of popcap - they'd get proper reviews too
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It's not an accident when there's a feature/exclusive (or large) review combo. (or triple whammy with ads).
Dont understand why people are negating me though - i never said i didnt like the game, played it on pc, loved it. And I never said it wasnt worth the score either.
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Do you think the game is good or not? Do you fucking like it?!
Shit.
Going to bed.
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go away you smelly twat
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Nothing like Bomberman but still a great game.
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It's excellent, and it definitely belongs on a touch-screen, but it's very misleading to say little has been cut. The Puzzles, Minigames, Survival Mode and Zen Gardens feature a vast amount of gameplay, easily as much as if not more than the basic adventure mode, not to mention increasing the longevity of the game by weeks and weeks. Of course new players won't notice, but the iPhone version is less than half the original game. If cost was an issue for Popcap they should have put all the features back in and charged their usual £2.99, it'd still be an absolute steal.
I'm surprised those modes have been culled, especially when the likes of Rockstar can release full DS/PSP games onto the App Store for just £6. I bought PvZ on iPhone anyway, and it is a lot of fun, but I know in a couple of days once I've finished the adventure (for the 3rd time across Mac and iPhone) I'll be sorely missing those other modes...
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*EDIT*
I don't like Apple because they seem rather elitist and cult-like. Maybe it's just my perception but I can't stand those Applephiles in coffee shops with their Macs and talking on their iPhones. I dread seeing them with their iPads...
I don't like the way Apple charges a premium on their products, you can get similarly functional devices for much cheaper. In the US, you have to use AT&T for the iPhone. I could get an iPod but I don't really listen to much music on the go.
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why?
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(pun not intended but I'll make out like it was so that I look clever...)
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That, and all the stuff culled from the PC version in an expansion please. I'd happily cough another £1.79.
Oh, and Peggle Nights while you're at it!
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That's not a completely fair comparison. Don't want to be the Apple evangelist again, but to many people the increased usability and coherent way in which Apple products (both hard- and software) interact have more value than (just) the raw hardware specs.
Unfortunately, Apple doesn't have real competitors in that sense yet which enables them to charge that premium to people that value what only Apple can offer. What they charge for options on their base configurations is close to criminal though. Getting memory expanded or a bigger HDD placed at an Apple reseller can sometimes save you hundreds of euros.
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I'm the last person to join a cult. Do you know why I like the iPod Touch? Cos it's feckin' brilliant, that's why. It's a great product and avoiding it just because of the brand is reverse snobbery. Give me a decent competitor and I might listen, but I didn't go near an iPod for years - went through many of the other brand mp3s. Nothing has come close, not even in price.
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Get over it, dude, life's *far* too short and when you die nobody will give a crap that you hated Apple and their customers. Just think of all the time and energy you've wasted - certainly more than I've spent here pointing out what a silly attitude it is to have, and I already regret even starting this comment.
Ah well.
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The irony is that you're blatantly a much bigger marketing victim than any turtleneck-wearing iPhone user in a coffee shop will ever be.
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sorry.
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Anyhow, anybody know if they are going to do any other games besides this. I was prospecting GTA Chinatown Wars but tried it on a guys device and the controls were a bit iffy to be honest.
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Google has failed to convince software developers you can actually make money selling software for Android. Plus, for the moment every iPhone/iPod Touch has the same screen size, whereas different-sized Android sets have already appeared, which leads to a need to support different-scaled sprites. Plus, the Android Marketplace is not available in all countries: If I developed an Android app targeted at my Norwegian home market I cannot actually charge money for it, whereas as an iPhone developer I can...
(By the way, have they removed the stupidity of requiring developers to have a second handset in order to use one for development and one for shopping on the store?)
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"Les: I think they do have real competitors, nobody from the mainstream press really talks about them though."
Not sure if we understand each other correctly. Of course Apple does have competitors in each of the separate markets it operates in (e.g. personal computer, music player, smartphone business). But there is no other company that offers hardware and software solutions that span all those separate markets.
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Les: Ok, I see what you mean. My point was that I think there are phones out there which is on par with the 3GS, or at least very soon
AOFanboi: No clue, but you need at least a Mac (OS X on a PC will not do it) and the developer license for $99 a year (or something like that.)
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If you're having slowdown mid-level without that amount happening on screen and it's affecting your ability to play the game, you have a more serious problem with your hardware, I'd say.
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I don't like the way Apple charges a premium on their products, you can get similarly functional devices for much cheaper.
"I don't like the way Porsche charges a premium on its cars, you can get similarly functional cars for much cheaper." - See what I did there?
In the US, you have to use AT&T for the iPhone.
Then come and live in Europe where this isn't a problem. Or stay in the US and unlock your iPhone.