For the past few months, I have harped on Electronic Arts about proper multiplayer building and fan service. Many times, I've criticized how boring the publisher has made its latest games due to lack of content, most of my negativity being aimed at the ever-disappointing "Star Wars Battlefront." So, as usual, I was judging by recent events when I noticed the sequel to "Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare" being released.
I must have been living under a rock when this game was announced, because I was not aware of this game until a month before launch. The skeptical buttmunch in me kept telling me that mistakes were going to be made, especially since many gamers didn't seem to take a liking to the first "Garden Warfare" back in 2014. Despite being a fan of the original "Plants vs. Zombies," I didn't take much of a liking to it either, with its requirements of being online for the entire duration of the game. Menu navigation was nearly impossible if you didn't have Internet, making the game practically useless and unplayable.
This issue is back in "Garden Warfare 2," but it isn't enough to stop me from playing it. Not just because I have Internet, but because this is the best title Electronic ARTS has released in years! It's so good that I'm capitalizing ARTS in EA's name! (You've earned it, guys!)
"Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2" shows the same silly war that has been going on since the franchise's fabrication in 2009; an all-out war between Mother Nature's children and the dim-witted, brain-crazed zombies. As a Plant, you'll fight under the lead of the intellectually-challenged Crazy Dave, going on rescue missions and protecting gardens. If you desire a taste for brains, Dr. Zomboss will lend you tasks as a Zombie to travel and plant graveyards in order to exterminate all vegetation. Choose your side and fight for suburban domination!
In comparison to the original spin-off, "Garden Warfare 2" serves as a major improvement upon the first entry. In addition to the original four classes of Peashooters/Trooper Zombies (Speed class), Sun Flowers/Scientists (Healing class), Chompers/All-Star Zombies (Power), and Cactus/Engineers (Strategy), developer PopCap has introduced three new classes on each side. For the Plants, we have the defensive cybernetic orange Citron, the crowd-controlling mystic Rose, and the rapid-fire powerhouse Kernel Corn. The Zombies side allows you to take on Plants with the superpowers of the questionably-heroic Super Brainz, the trickery of the Imp and his giant Z-Mech, or the long-range assaults caused by Captain Deadbeard.
Each class gets their own small group of class variants. Some variants may have the advantage of additional damage while others may have status afflictions within a radius or improved reload speed. These variants allow players to unlock over 100 unique characters, and to make characters more personal, you can customize with hats and accessories. I'll have my Kernel Corn with a flair of Orville Redenbacher, thank you!
Upon booting up "Garden Warfare 2," one will notice the lack of a main menu in favor of a fleshed-out HUB world named the Backyard Battleground. Here, you'll decide if you want to complete the story and side missions as a Plant or Zombie, fight the odds against waves of enemies in Garden/Graveyard Ops, or simply pass the time by exploring Suburbia and hunting down enemies. On top of traditional multiplayer modes of Team Deathmatch and Capture Control Points, "Garden Warfare 2" offers another feature to keep you occupied through weekly challenges. Every week, you can accept a total of 15 challenges; five for Plants, five for Zombies, and five for general multiplayer. Completing these challenges will reward you handsomely, allowing you to further level-up your character, purchase new accessories or stickers to unlock new characters, or open the various treasure chests scattered across the world.
Despite the return of the constant-connection requirement, just writing about this game gives me the itch to go power on my PS4 and play it. This is the most fun I have had playing an online shooter in years and it's enough to keep me busy until Bethesda's new installment of "DOOM" releases. The visuals are beautiful, the characters and animation bring the silliness of "Plants vs. Zombies" to life, and the game is jam-packed with content. I have yet to grow bored with this game! And I get bored of shooters very easily! The game gives you such freedom to do what you want that you could play for three hours and still find yourself wanting to do more. I also love the fact that Electronic Arts is showing effort and support for the game's community. Daily Challenges are an excellent way for me to keep coming back for more. Weekly Challenges give me things to do if I ever grow tired and need to refresh myself.
That being said, "Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2" for Playstation 4 gets five overly-aggressive stalks of corn out of five!
