Review: Plants vs Zombies HD
by Staff Writer
April 9, 2010
Overview
Plants vs Zombies HD is nearly a full port of the PC version that has more modes and better graphics than the iPhone version. You can read about the premise and background of the game in our review of the iPhone version.
Features
The iPad version features the entire adventure mode as well as quick play mode which is unlockable after completion of adventure. That’s where the iPhone version ends, and the HD one still has more. There are 18 mini-games including the iPad specific buttered popcorn.
Six levels of survival mode are included, and there are 17 local achievements. The game features 11 multi-touch points. Plus there are the old stand-bys of 50 levels in adventure, 26 types of zombies, and 49 plants.
The Good
The same hilarious themed casual take on tower defense is now on the iPad. It takes the great touch interface of the iPhone combining with game modes from the PC version giving you a great iPad experience.
It’s great to see a Michael Jackson zombie doing thriller, bucket head zombie, zombie boblsed team etc. as you plant peashooter, wal and tall-nut, plus your assortment of mushrooms including doom shroom. Every time you play this game it brings a smile to your face in the absurd hilarity of Plants vs Zombies
The game has you coming back for more as you look at the screen with a dazed look with your mouth slightly agape, kind of like a zombie. The game isn’t engaging as could be, and can be played while you’re doing something else as it only requires part of your attention. It just has a certain quality that makes you keep playing.
Having mini-games, and survival modes add a bunch to the replay factor that was desperately lacking in the iPhone version. Every one provides a different challenge, and is fun to play. The best aspect is that they’re much tougher than the adventure mode that lulls you to sleep, and are the most fun to have in the game.
The game is definitely nicely designed playing at the same resolution as the PC version of 1024 x 768. It’s great to see the animations of all the varying plants and zombies. The iPhone version looks terrible running at 2x on the iPad while the full HD iPad app looks quite beautiful, and absolutely amazing in comparison.
The Bad
The game features some modes of the PC version, but it’s still not everything. Just to put it in comparison, there are 20 mini-games, 11 survival modes, 18 puzzles, and Zen Garden. Puzzle and Zen Garden are completely left out, and survival mode lacks the hard survival mode for each of the five areas.
This isn’t a negative for this particular version, but rather the entire game in that it’s not particularly engaging. This is extremely casual, and once you get the technique down of planting a back row of sunflowers, and then passively waiting for enough sun to plant various attacking plants you’ll monotonously go through each level.
If you ever get in a dire situation there is a row of lawnmowers at your house that kill all the zombies in a row if they ever make it through your lane defense. Then you have plants that work one time like cherry bob, jalapeno, and doom shroom that kill a bunch of zombies at once.
Challenge doesn’t really begin until the latter half of the backyard at night once you’re already 35 boring levels in. The best aspect to keep you going in the game is getting to survival, puzzle, and mini-game modes which thankfully this game has some of, but sadly not all of.
The iPhone version is $2.99, the PC/Mac version is $19.99 (occasional sale for $14.99), and the iPad version sits at an in between price of $9.99, and gives you more features than iPhone, but less than PC.
The Verdict
Plants vs Zombies HD presents nothing new, but yet has that same great game, just filling the iPad wonderfully. The game takes full advantage of the touch interface, and size of the iPad giving you those absurd zombies and plants in great detail. Thankfully mini-games and survival mode are included adding to replayability, but only half of survival is included, and puzzle and Zen garden are left out completely.
For $9.99 Plants vs Zombies is worth considering depending on how many other versions of this game you already own. If you’re new to the franchise this is an amazing game, but for everyone else it is just, been there, done that.
