‘Plants vs.
‘Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare’ Video Showcases Customization & Economy
With several strong releases on the horizon, it’s easy to forget about some of the smaller but equally exciting offerings that are nearing launch. One such game is Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare . Drawing from inspirations like the Battlefield series and Conker’s Bad Fur Day , the zany aesthetic and third-person shooter gameplay could prove to be quite a hit. Now, with the inclusion of a bunch of unlockable customization options and newly-announced gameplay mechanics, it’s looking like there’s even more reason to keep an eye on this title.
In a hands-on video narrated by Xbox Live’s Director of Programming Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb, a whole host of new features were announced for PopCap Games‘ upcoming third-person shooter. The focus this time around was on the customization players will have over theirexperience and how it will be fuelled by the in-game economy.
Following closely on the heels of the recently announced Xbox One-exclusive Battle For Brainz mode, Hryb showed off a new way to exert your plant or zombie-based dominance in the Gardens And Graveyards modethat harkens back to the series’ roots. Players will find the game’s maps littered with clay pots for the plants and dirt piles for the zombies. The respective teams will be able to interact with these in order to summon familiar faces from the originalthat will act as minions to further pester to opposing team.
Players do not have an endless supply of minions though. They are purchased in the form of stickers using coins that are earned in-game for everything from capturing points to scoring kills. Similar to Mass Effect 3 ‘s loot crates, these stickers will come in packs of different rarities that will contain a number of common and rare plants to summon as well as items that will allow players to customize their plants and zombies.
These customization items are not strictly for cosmetic purposes though. While the Shades of Authority may not augment a zombie’s abilities, there will be rare character pieces that will provide players with access to class variants. Shown off in the video, the Toxic Pea is a variant that allows the Peashooter to apply a damage-over-time effect to all its attacks, the Shadow Flower which seems to make the healing-oriented Sunflower into a more offensive class, and the Power Cactus which allows for a charged up attack.
It’s refreshing to see that PopCap is doing everything they can to provide players with a whole host of options that will augment their multiplayer experience and give them a reason to keep coming back. As evidenced by our positive previewof the game at E3 2013, the game is certainly on the right track. With multiplayer behemoths like Titanfall incoming though, it will take everything Garden Warfare has to stake its claim on a share of the shooter market. With the game’s release drawing near, check out the game’s live-action trailer.
Do you think Garden Warfare will be able to survive so close to the other massive shooter release in the coming months? What variant on a classic plant or zombie would you like to see?
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is slated to crash onto the Xbox One and Xbox 360 February 25, 2014 with a PC release date currently unannounced.
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Source: Xbox