Plants Vs Zombies Deserves ‘Game of the Year’ Accolades

I'm a sucker for cheap, addictive games. I have Pocket Frogs for the iPhone and I must have played it for two weeks straight before giving it a break. So you can imagine how happy I was when I received Plants Vs Zombies as a gift on Steam.

While I love video games, I can be a bit of a stickler. I love to try them all but I find few that keep my interest for a long period of time. PopCap has a pretty good history with me. Insane Aquarium gave me endless, mind-numbing hours of entertainment. And then there is Bookworm, another game I have spent many an hour playing.

PopCap is all about discounts and specials and for Halloween, they offered their multiple-Game-of-the-Year-winning classic Plants Vs. Zombies for 50% off. After playing it every spare moment I had over the past few days, I can see why it earned Game of the Year. Here are some of my early impressions.

Synopsis: In Plants Vs. Zombies a group of zombies is marching to your home to eat your brains and your only defense are a selection of zombie-killing plants. You start off with a simple peashooter but lucky for you, the zombies move slowly. As you progress through the levels of the game, you will gain different types of vegetation and tools like cherry bombs and walnuts to help you fight the zombie hordes. Don't think it gets easy, however, because the zombies also grow more challenging with each level. They will move from your front yard to your back yard trying to get in to those delicious brains. Your crazy neighbor will help you out with tips and once you open access to it, a store to buy upgrades and goodies to help your zombie-fighting efforts.

Entertainment Factor: The entertainment factor is high in Plants Vs. Zombies, being one reason it is so popular. Who would have thought to pit plants against brain-hungry zombies in the first place? In addition to the ridiculousness of the entire idea, the entertainment doesn't dry up because new zombies with interesting abilities come along with each level. You have pole-vaulting zombies, bob-sledding zombies and more. There are also new, creative ways that the zombies get to you, as well as night attacks where you won't have sun to grow your plants. You have to be creative and strategic at figuring it all out.

Replayability: The replayability factor is here because the game is highly addictive. You want to keep trying to win against those attacking zombies and you also want to see what you will get with the next level. In addition to the regular Adventure Mode, there are also mini games that you can unlock and tons of achievements. If you play online (like I do via Steam), you can share and compare achievements with friends. In total, there are five entertaining modes to enjoy, increasing the replayability of it.

Value for Price: The value for the price is definitely there. My gifted version was only $4.99 with the 50% off sale. On my iPhone, it's available for only $0.99. I love it so much on my PC, I might grab a copy of it for the phone as well. In addition to the many game modes to play through and master, there are 49 different plants for you to collect and play with. There are tricky challenges like setting sun and fog to boot. While the game is simple in nature, the incredible variety of the levels, the plants and the attacking zombies is really what keeps it entertaining for so long.