PopCap will be launching free-to-play Plants Vs. Zombies 2 for iOS platforms next month.
Plants Vs. Zombies 2 will launch with 3 worlds that each take place in different time periods and maybe even universes. Players will join Crazy Dave has he travels through time in search for the best taco! You’ll find yourself traveling to Ancient Egypt, Pirate Seas and The Wild West. Each world will feature different zombies and levels. Each world will be made up of 10 or so levels, each level can be replayed up to three times in different ways.
“There might be a limit on the amount of sun you can spend, for instance, or the number of plants you can have on screen at once. Branches off the critical path lead to the sorts of challenges and mini games that were buried in menu screens in the original game.”
Just another money sink?
The fact that Plants Vs. Zombies 2 is free-to-play scares a lot of people (including me), however PopCap have said that,
“…there’s no energy system, no limit on lives and that the game can be played and finished without spending a cent. There are no paywalls, no Candy Crush style insistence that you either badger Facebook friends or pay a nominal fee to get to the next level.”
There are however premium items and permanent boosts, like starting with more sun (resource) then you normally would. Producer Allen Murray in an interview explained:
“…the team has really struggled with: how do we do it right? We’re just trying to find a really good balance. We want people to play and enjoy the game, and not feel like they’re being bilked all the time.”
Bigger and better plants!
When gardening, it’s always important to keep your plants nice and healthy, although we might not be gardening plants in Plants Vs. Zombies 2, plants can now be fed plant food. Plant food changes the way that the game plays. Once a plant has been fed some of this high-in-protein plant food, it will briefly become a powered up version of that plant. “Peashooters become gatling guns, unleashing a volley of fire that will take out four or five regular zombies at once.” Other plants will change and act differently when fed plant food. Aside from being able to use power-ups, there’s also been some new plants thrown into the mix. They come in all types and sizes: Coconut Cannons, Chili Beans, Bonk Choy and the snapdragon are a few of the new plants that will be in Plants Vs. Zombies 2.
More zombies = less brains.
If you thought that it was only the plants that were getting visual and gameplay changes, then you were sorely mistaken. There’s piano-playing zombies that cause the undead around them to change between lanes, undead chicken farmers that get their flock to charge you whenever you hit them. The normal zombies have been reskinned to fit the setting of the levels you’ll be playing through and they look wonderful.
Zombies shall be slain and sun will be collected.
PopCap has been making games that entertain people of all ages for years and they’ve been doing a good job so far. If anyone can make this free-to-play model work, it’s them. So if you’re looking for a casual tower defense game then you should give Plants Vs. Zombies 2 a try when it’s released.
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