The most famous orchard in the video game removes the rifle again in a shooter that fits all types of players.
Electronic Arts in 2019 has given the good and not so good of its internal studies. There is more than enough case after Anthem, in which the Fiestas de las Calaveras, his new thematic event, is already available until the end of Halloween. On the other hand, Apex Legends, dynamited all the records by consecrating itself as one of the battle royale of reference today. Respawn itself is less than a month after the arrival of her latest work, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Without forgetting the momentazos that FIFA gives us year after year. The best is yet to come.
Today we face a shooter that was released almost in unison of Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Under the subtitle Garden Warfare, Plants vs. Zombies jumped to a genre that, a priori, did not seem to marry everything that should. The shortage of titles in the first batch caused many to sit in front of the television, which gave us a different way of understanding an unparalleled franchise.
Battle for Neighborville surprised to be based on the concept of early access. Its launch on September 4 offered the possibility of enjoying the full content, expected six weeks later. The germ that made it unique is still present, although there are certain nuances that require special treatment in future updates, especially in terms of balance. Already in the first impressions we saw that it did not finish fitting.
Garden of walking at home
Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville is everything that the followers of this imperishable combat expected. For those who are not familiar with the saga, we talk about a trilogy in which the great offer that it offers to all types of players stands out. Recently we talked about Gears 5 as one of those games that serve as a total package: we have the campaign, competitive, horde and escape mode; Four aspects so that all groups can enjoy the game.
That has always been a maxim within Popcap, which is appreciated, even boosting the support of the local game, that of a lifetime. That is the triumph of a brand capable of being decisive in any style of play that boasts. Therefore, this time we wanted to emphasize the short game, turn on the console and quickly connect with the action, through the inclusion of three areas of free will.
In these regions we can find many activities with which to follow the progress of the characters, either alone or with the company of friends in cooperative. This sort of campaign mode will allow us to complete missions that will have an impact on the money that we can use at any of the two Neighborville meeting points, according to the faction.
Do not expect an overly elaborate design; Most missions will take us by the hand for errands that lack interest. In fact, it is easy to make a ball, so it is better to vary from time to time with the confrontation scenario, the real sauce of this battle. The catalog consists of six different game modes, without forgetting the horde mode, one of the trident's tips in the garden.
New faces, old acquaintances
Three new allies are added to the faces of each side. Within the plants, the inclusion of Oak & Acorn stands out, an acorn whose transformation allows it to become a trunk capable of holding on to the front line longer than the rest of its companions. And it has been wanted from the beginning to impose a system based on the feature of the classes. Because the sharpener, as usual, is a purely offensive character, while the tangerine provides the necessary support in full teamfight. Now everything will be much better delimited.
There has always been a feeling that the walking dead have been above in power. We saw it especially in the second installment, with the introduction of the boxer. It does not seem that he has gone unless in the sequel, especially as another of the defensive characters, Space Cadet, has been involved. The little imp who pilots the ship is able to easily avoid rival impacts by using their shields. It is a pain when we find more than one pair in the same game, especially when it comes to defending goals.
That is the main problem we find in this installment: the imbalance. When we played the original, we were caught by the feeling that our ability was the only value that prevailed within the field of play, even in modes such as Turf War, where the objectives expand the map as we complete them. Here we find, to begin with, the choice of various passive abilities whose acquireable number varies depending on their power.
So far everything can be more or less normal. The problem is that every ten character levels we can increase the attack and defense strength of a character by using gold coins, a currency achieved simply by playing. This system makes the player who rewards more hours dedicated to the game in aspects that fully impact the gameplay. That if elite characters, that if five stars out of five … we have the feeling that there is no cohesion between veteran and new players. Something fails.
However, that does not take away the fact that it is a nice shooter to play. Although it already enters directly through the eyes thanks to the use of Frostbite (looks great on Xbox One X, the version we have analyzed), at the controls it offers a deck between the imagination of plants and zombies always next to the direct action referred to at the beginning of the text. Yes, there are things to clarify during the support that the company will give in the coming weeks, but Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville cannot be blamed for the opportunities it gives the player to jump from one side to another.
CONCLUSION
Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville follows the line that the previous two Garden Warfare marked during the present generation. What we have found here is with the greatest offer in terms of aspects, being able to jump in a few moments from the competitive to the history, from the horde to the local mode, all maintaining and progressing all the characters. The main problem we find is the lack of balance between characters. The zombie side is still above the plants, and some specific characters are usually present in greater numbers. Which does not mean that during the game support an intermediate point can be achieved, but so far it remains in a pleasant shooter to play, without competitive pretensions.
THE BEST
- Multitude of slopes in the same package.
- The originality of the proposal in mechanics.
- Frostbite creates a very colorful visual wrapper.
- Turf War mode remains the star of confrontation.
WORST
- Imbalance in the power of the factions.
- Free mode, a kind of somewhat bland campaign.
- Progression based on game time; It impacts on the gameplay.
Good
It meets the expectations of what a good game is, it has quality and does not present serious failures, although it lacks elements that could have led to higher levels.
