Games

Plants vs. Zombies is a tower defense video game developed and published by PopCap Games for Windows, Mac OS X, and iPhone OS. The game involves a homeowner using many varieties of plants to repel an army of zombies. The homeowner, along with a neighbor called Crazy Dave, must defend the homeowner's house during day or night, in the front yard and the backyard (including the swimming pool), and even on the roof. It was released on May 5, 2009. An Xbox 360 version is reported to be in development, and was announced at Casual Connect in July 2009. The game received a positive response from critics, and was nominated for multiple Interactive Achievement Awards, alongside receiving praise for its musical score.

Game Play

Plants vs. Zombies sees players placing different types of plants and fungi, such as potato mines, peashooters, cattails, hypnoshrooms, Melon-pults, Planterns and many others, each with their own unique offensive or defensive capabilities, across the front lawn, back lawn {back yard}, and roof of a house in order to stop a horde of zombies from devouring the brains of the residents. The playing field is divided into a number of horizontal tracks, and in general, although there are exceptions, a zombie will only move towards the player's house along one track, and most plants can only attack or defend against zombies in the track they are planted in. In the game's initial levels, if the zombie reaches the player's house, a one-shot tool (a lawn mower) can be used to completely wipe out zombies in that track, but the tool will not be restored until the next level. In later levels, players have to purchase upgrades so as to adapt their lawn-mower to new environments like pools or rooftops. Zombies, except in special cases, will start to devour any plant in their way before continuing towards the house.

The player starts with a limited number of seed packs and seed pack slots that they can use during most levels. New seed packs are gained by completing levels, while the number of slots can be increased through purchases with in-game money. At the start of a level, the player is shown the various types of zombies to expect and given the opportunity to select which seed packs to take into the level. In order to plant a seed, the player must have collected a specific amount of sunlight. Sunlight is generated by plants which provide sunlight at regular intervals, or is automatically generated regularly for the player during daytime levels. Seed packs also have a short time delay before the same seed can be planted again. Several plants are nocturnal, like mushrooms, having a lower sunlight cost and are ideal for nighttime levels, but will remain asleep during daytime levels unless startled by a coffee bean. In the "backyard" levels that includes a swimming pool, seeds must be planted atop lily pads on water spaces (with a few exceptions, such as the spikeweed that cannot be planted on lily pads), while on the roof levels, all seeds must be planted in flower pots. The various plant abilities range from firing projectiles at zombies, turning zombies against each other, quickly exploding and wiping out an area of zombies, and slowing down zombies through a high defensive value. Certain plants are highly effective against specific types of zombies, such as a magnet-shroom that can remove a bucket or another obstacle being used for defense from a zombie's head.

The zombies also come in a number of types that have different attributes, in particular speed, damage tolerance, and abilities. As the player progresses in the game, the zombies will include those wearing make-shift armor, those that are able to jump or fly over plants, and even a Thriller-inspired zombie that is able to summon more zombies from the ground.^[5] In each level, zombies will approach the house randomly except at special points where the player will be inundated with a "huge wave" of zombies; a meter on screen shows an approximate timeline for the level so the player can prepare for these waves.

In some levels, the player will be provided with a random seed pack, with no sunlight requirement, at regular intervals, and the player must figure out how best to survive with the random seeds given. In another mode, the player can engage in "wall-nut bowling", using special plants to mow down advancing zombies.

Killing zombies and finishing the levels will earn the player money that can be used at Crazy Dave's store to buy new seed packs and other bonuses. The game also features extra modes that are unlockable as the player progresses through the game's main Adventure mode. These include an endless survival mode, a puzzle mode and a selection of minigames which include zombie-themed versions of other PopCap games like Bejeweled and Insaniquarium. The game also features a "zen garden", where players can care for plants they acquire from fallen zombies during game play. Plants stored here produce money for the player as long as they are provided with items they ask for, such as water and plant food. The in-game store also carries items that help with the zen garden. The versions available through Steam and the iPhone/iPod touch also feature 12 achievements.