Plants VS Zombie Heroes
To be honest it’s a bit of a surprise that it’s taken this long to come out. But that’s not the biggest shock here. The biggest shock here is that there’s actually a lot of meat on these bones.
It plays around with the shape of the genre, adding some elements from the PvZ canon to make an action-ish card game with a lot of interesting ideas.
It’s probably not escaped your notice that there are a lot of collectible card games on mobile, with more coming more or less monthly. And yet Plants vs. Zombies Heroes doesn’t care.
There are probably two reasons for the way it unabashedly leaps into the fray. One is that it’s based on an IP that people know and love after EA and PopCap have spent years building it up. The other is that unlike many other CCGs that have tried following the leader (Hearthstone, until there’s evidence to the contrary), Plants vs. Zombies Heroes brings a number of its own ideas to the table while retaining the distinctive aesthetic of the PvZ franchise.
Though not as serious as some, this card battle game does have a complexity and depth that will appeal to fans of the genre -- if they have a sense of humor. While Plants vs. Zombies Heroes doesn't mark the first time the mutant flora have battled the undead, and it won't be the last, this card battle game does put more of a strategic spin on things than we've seen from the ongoing conflict since the original Plants vs. Zombies game. This also adds a fresh take on this war by adding new boss characters, each of whom not only commands the usual minions but also has its own individual attacks. Just don't be fooled by the cartoonish antics of the flowers or flesh eaters; this is a deep and somewhat complicated card battle game that requires strategy. It's possible younger gamers might get frustrated at first, or their parents might get frustrated when their kids get the hang of it sooner than they do. Of course, fans of serious card battle games won't appreciate the goofy humor or silly characters, while fans of action games won't like that you have to politely wait your turn. But if you're looking for a chuckle while fighting for your survival, or if you're as big of a fan of card battle games as you are this series, Plants vs. Zombies Heroes will give smart warriors a strategically good time.
Plants vs. Zombies is one of the all-time great iOS and Mac games, putting a colorful and approachable spin on the oft-hardcore tower defense strategy genre—and while the free-to-play shift muddled the impact of sequel Plants vs. Zombies 2 just a bit, it remained a pretty essential mobile pick.
Plants vs Zombies was a cute mobile game that has since become as giant as a redwood tree. The tower defense-like title has not only gotten a sequel but even a spin-off series in Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare. Crossing over into the third person shooter genre wasn’t enough for this franchise, however, as it is now getting a collectible card battle game similar in style to Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. Behold — Plants vs Zombies Heroes.
Players will take on the role of a Plant or Zombie hero and use hundreds of cards based on characters from the franchise. The game features a campaign mode with 80 adventures and 400 levels. Those who want to compete against real opponents can face off against friends (or random strangers) online in ranked or unranked multiplayer matches.
According to the game’s senior producer, Brian Lindley, Plants vs Zombies Heroes started off as a prototype card game that he and his team created to play during their spare time. Over time, it became a more fleshed out collectible card game full of secrets, depth, and strategy. Since the team was having such a blast playing it, they decided to create a full-blown game that everyone could enjoy.
The series’ third mobile entry keeps the freemium edge, but changes quite a bit else about the experience: the charming plant and zombie units are still here in Plants vs. Zombies: Heroes, but now you’ll battle with a deck of digital cards in turn-based showdowns. Card combat games are super hot right now, especially with Hearthstone’s continued success, so this might be seen as a cynical cash-in. Play for a while, however, and you’ll find that PopCap has developed something surprisingly unique and addictive here.
As he often is, Dr. Zomboss is at the heart of this new game, with the framing story explaining that he developed an experimental ray that would give his zombies super-powers. The problem is that it exploded with plants nearby, granting some of them powers and abilities far beyond … well, beyond what this series’ plants already had over normal plants.
That gives us the titular hero characters, a total of 10 on each side. They become your avatars in battle, using four special powers (three shared with other heroes and one unique) and two different classes of cards from which decks of 40 cards each are taken into every duel.
Parents need to know that Plants vs. Zombies Heroes is a collectible card game in which the living-impaired take on mutant flora for control of the backyard. It's part of a popular series of apps and games. But while zombies like to eat people, and the plants attack by shooting seeds at their enemies, the violence in this game is strictly cartoonish and neither bloody nor gory. Players can use real-world money to buy gems, which can then be used to buy packs of new and better cards. Also, while the zombie versions of Ben Franklin and other famous people might prompt kids to learn more about these historical figures, this game itself might also prompt kids to ask for some of the many, many Plants vs. Zombies toys or other games that are available at fine stores everywhere. Read the app's privacy policy to find out about the information collected and shared.
While the battle between adorable foliage and the silly undead continues on unabated, the tactics have changed for Plants vs. Zombies: Heroes. Here, you’ll play as both forces along the way, and instead of actively dropping in units to defend your base from an onslaught of enemies, you’ll have to try and outsmart your opponent by playing offensive and defensive cards in the head-to-head, turn-based skirmish.
To celebrate the launch of Heroes, Plants vs Zombies 2 and Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 will have their own “Lawn of Doom” events. These will have Halloween-inspired levels, costumes, items, and bosses.
The Plants vs Zombies franchise has proved that it can succeed by having games in vastly different genres so there is no reason to believe that Heroes won’t be another winner. The fact that collectible card games are a big thing these days should also be a big help. Don’t be surprised if this game becomes as popular as Hearthstone was when it first released.
When you start playing the game, you soon realize that unlike CCGs like Hearthstone, PvZ Heroes is a lane-based card game where your minions usually fight with the ones in the opposing lanes. Just by making this change, the developers have managed to make PvZ Heroes a different experience than Hearthstone since lane-based CCGs require different strategies. The other interesting mechanic in the game is how the two outside lanes either require specific plants or zombies (for instance only amphibious ones can be placed in the far right one) or offer a bonus to a specific class of plants/zombies. As you can already see, the cute theme and visuals hide a game with plenty of strategic depth. The basic gameplay is turn-based, with the mana increasing by one each turn and each player playing one or more cards a turn. There's also the ability to play 'tricks' later in the turn, making for some fun interactions.
Another interesting feature of the game is an emphasis on 'tribal' synergies; for instance there are Bean plants that can synergize with other Bean plants, Mushrooms that do the same, and on the Zombie side you have Zombies that get buffed when a card with the Gravestone keyword is played and so on. All these synergies (and there are many more than the ones I've mentioned here) offer many deckbuilding opportunities, and I can see that when players start figuring out the various cards, we'll see some very tight and effective decks appear. Add to that the numerous Heroes on each side of the Zombie/Plant divide, which work well with specific kinds of minions, and you can see how PvZ Heroes isn't either a cash grab nor a simplistic CGG.
Controlling either side, you’ll pick a plant or zombie hero and then build a deck of 40 cards using whichever ones you’ve unlocked or purchased so far, and then jump into either single-player or competitive online showdowns. The five-lane game screen is a callback to the earlier entries, albeit now with your hero at the bottom and the opponent along the top. You’ll take turns playing cards on the screen and using abilities, and the first to erase the other’s hit points is the victor.
Momentum builds in each match through resource points, which comes via sunlight for plants or brains for zombies. Each round sees you start with one more point than you were given the previous round, which means your costly, high-powered cards aren’t going to do you much good until late in the game—when they can be absolutely devastating. It also means that if you pack your deck with only big, expensive cards, you might get knocked out before you can even use them. That plays into deck strategy, of course.
The cards consist of nearly every plant and zombie you’ve ever seen in a Plants vs. Zombies title to date, along with many more making their debuts here. The designers deserve a lot of credit for being able to dream up so many more memorable additions, and a lot of effort clearly went into details like their animations, sound effects and flavor text.
None of that would matter much if the game wasn’t fun to play, but it succeeds on that front as well. The board on which you battle has five lanes, which feels instantly familiar if you’re already a PvZ fan. Plants and zombies played in the same lanes attack each other at the end of a turn, while unopposed characters do direct damage to the opposing hero. The goal is to reduce the opposing hero to zero health just as in many other CCGs.
The game follows a similar lane-based structure as the original Plants vs Zombies. This time though there are two heroes at the top and the bottom of the screen.
You play the hero at the bottom, and you use the cards in your deck to try and knock out your opponent before they do the same to you.
The game is turn-based, in a way. You throw your cards onto the board, your opponent does the same, and then some fights break out. Cards have hit points and a damage number. Once they lose all of their hit points they’re taken off the board.
A dead card still gets to use its attack, so you can cancel out any damage your hero might take by using them to block out the incoming hit.
You also get special skills that your hero can use. And these recharge when your hero takes damage. There’s more to consider too, including figuring out the best deck and hero to use.
And it’s not just multiplayer either. You’ve got a fully fledged single player campaign to sink your teeth into to learn the ropes and try out different strategies.
Many card combinations have a certain comfort level to anyone familiar with the genre, and the wide variety of cards available at launch provides for numerous different deck-building ideas. But Heroes also solves the question of who goes first in an interesting way: The zombie player always goes first, but then gets an extra phase for “tricks” once the plant player has acted. A “super block” mechanic adds just the right touch of randomness to every duel and gives players one more thing to consider when they make their moves.
New cards can be acquired from packs purchased with both standard and premium currencies, and the game’s lengthy soft launch period allowed PopCap to drill down nicely in terms of the single-player levels and missions so it always feels like you are progressing toward earning more gems for those rarer cards. But like any CCG, Plants vs. Zombies Heroes will fly or flop based on its multiplayer, and it’s in this area where it’s harder to give it a finished grade right off the bat.
There’s a huge amount of content here, and it means you won’t pick up the game as quickly as you might like. It’s nice to see a game with more weight, but there’s also a chance a lot of players will stop playing before they get to the good stuff.
That lack of immediacy might be a boon to some, but there’s a chance it might limit the size of the player base, which could be detrimental to the longevity of the game.
Pants vs Zombies?
Even taking that into consideration, there’s a lot here to like. This is a fun game with plenty of concepts that gel together, even if there are a couple here and there that don’t quite click.
Is it likely to dethrone Clash Royale? It’s unlikely. It doesn’t have the momentum of Supercell’s behemoth, nor does it have the same tight compulsion loop to suck you in.
What it does have is a sparkling charm and a massive amount of content. It’s going to draw comparisons to Clash Royale, hell I’ve spent most of the review doing it, but it’s worth checking out on its own merits.
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