The initial announcement of “Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare” was met with a lot of skepticism and downright disapproval, including from fans of the original “Plants vs. Zombies”. The problem stemmed from the recent acquisition of PopCap by EA, a company with a somewhat poor reputation in gaming communities when it comes to the way they handle studios under their supervision. Many gamers, and even critics, were worried that EA would turn the game into yet another cash cow, along with the rest of PopCap’s products.
And while at first it really did seem that EA are trying to squeeze as much money as they can out of their newly acquired intellectual property, things have died down in this department, and the game is currently in a very playable state, without any annoying microtransactions getting in the way of gameplay.
Various reviewers have decided to give it an in-depth look after EA finished polishing it with post-release updates, and the general consensus right now seems to be that it’s a worthy continuation of the franchise, and a very enjoyable game for fans of the series. This is said despite the fact that the game saw some significant changes to its gameplay style, mainly turning it into a 3rd person shooter.
All in all, the game seems to work well, and online matches are well balanced and fun to play. EA are also learning how to properly attract customers, taking lessons from their competitors at Valve – the company has just recently put up “Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare” on a sale, giving a discount of 33% in their own Origin store. The game also offers a season pass for those who want to purchase all additional content at a reduced price, a marketing strategy that’s becoming more and more prominent among companies that release games with DLC.
It’s not what most fans were expecting the next “PvZ” game to be, that much was obvious from the very first reactions – but EA seem to have struck gold with this release, as it still managed to attract plenty of attention, and it’s currently one of the most popular games on Origin. It’s not known if the success of this title is indicative of what EA are going to do with the franchise in the future, but it’s not unlikely that fans will get to see another “PvZ” online shooter, perhaps one that crosses over into the original gameplay style in a more direct way. EA have been relatively quiet about their plans for the future of the game, so fans will have to wait for an official announcement and see what the future brings.