Not your mamas shooter
Take the gameplay of Team Fortress 2 and mash it together with the characters of Plants versus Zombies, and whatever just happened in your mind will probably be close to what Garden Warfare achieves. As we discussed in our Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare review, the game is a good deal different than the PvZ you might remember, so if you were a fan of the original of Plants vs. Zombies then... well it doesnt matter. Sorry.
A online multiplayer shooter arena, PvZ Garden Warfare pits gardens of plants against hordes of zombies in a variety of different modes. Whether its team deathmatch (Vanquish Mode) capture point (Gardens and Graveyards), or simply wave-based co-op (Garden Ops), youre going to have a heck of a time bringing your team to victory. And how will you do that? Well with a cast of characters from each side. Weve listed them all out in following slides: sharing their loadouts and giving some helpful tips while playing with them.
Team Plant
Step aside VeggieTales, this team of vegetation means serious business. Running the gamut from snipers to melee units, Team plant is all about map control and preservation. Some modes are all about Team Plant defending a fortress, and so their skillsets are a little more geared towards holding positions. But even if youre on the offensive, these green machines pack a wallop. Read on to see the members of Team Plant.
Pea Shooter
His Loadout: The Pea Shooter is the foot soldier of the plant team. He has average firepower while being highly mobile--which is increased even more by his Hyper ability, which gives him a temporary insane boost of speed and jump height. If you find yourself in a secure spot while playing this guy, you can hunker down and root yourself to become a powerful gatling gun. And if all else fails his Chili Bean provides explosive, last ditch destruction.
Our Tips: Using the hyper ability doesnt just give you a speed boost, it also lets you jump to platforms not usually accessible. In a heated battle, use this ability to reach high ground, root for your gatling gun, and let the pain fly without any fear of a counter assault.
Sunflower
Her Loadout: The Sunflower floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee. The medic of your team, the Sunflower will be keeping you all alive from the back lines. She does this two ways: one is to plant a pot of marigolds that spring healing pellets continuously, the other is to follow you around a healing beam--similar to the medic from TF2. If shes cornered though, the Sunflower can zap zombies with a high powered Sun Beam that does a fair amount of damage.
Our Tips: The Marigold pot may be one of the best skills in the game, as it provides constant and endless healing for any plant near it. Find a spot near the front lines where your soldiers can hop back to heal up fast before going back into action. Careful though, once its dropped that pot becomes like a targeting beacon for zombie hordes.
Chomper
His Loadout: The close range menace of Team Plant, the Chomper will destroy anything that gets in range of his bite. Biting zombies from the front will do massive damage, but chomping them from behind will result in an instant KO. Powerful stuff. All of his other abilities are geared towards stopping all the slippery zombies out there, use them wisely.
Our Tips: The Chomper is pretty OP. His bread-and-butter is his Burrow ability followed up by this instant KO. Toggle his burrow ability to hide underground and move at accelerated speeds towards the other team. Once youre underneath a Zombie a reticle will appear indicating you can chomp em. The borrow ability also protects you from certain attacks, so be sure to remember its defensive use as well.
Cactus
Her Loadout: The Cactus is the long ranged unit of Team Plant, being able to fire powerful rounds right at the back lines of the zombie hordes. What she brings to the table in firepower is supplemented by her abilities, which she can use to fully control the domain around her. Planting a Wall-Nut barrier and peppering the area with potato mines will stop zombies in their tracks if theyre coming for you, and she can also use a remote controlled Garlic Drone to wreck havoc with artillery strikes.
Our Tips: Youre going to need to find the best position to hunker down in as the cactus, because you have a limited number of mines, and once you start planting them thats where theyll stay. If you dont have a good view of the battle, deploy your Garlic Drone to pick out a good spot from the safety of your home base (and maybe clear it out with an air strike or two).
Team Zombie
Not just the shambling corpses you once knew from games past, Team Zombie packs some brain in their decrepit skulls. This team is all about the offensive, and you best be ready to mow down some gardens when you strap up with the undead. Read on the find out about the pieces that make up the beautiful jigsaw that is Team Zombie.
Foot Soldier
His Loadout: The all-around fighter of Team Zombie, the Foot Soldier will be zipping in and out of the front lines in his effort to eradicate all living things. The answer to the Pea Shooter on Team Plant, the this zombie has all the gadgets: a stink cloud that acts as an escape, a rocket jump for maneuvering, and the massive ZGP for explosive damage.
Our Tips: Similar to the Pea Shooter, finding high ground with the Foot Soldier is a must. Use your stink cloud to obscure the enemies vision (and also do a bit of damage) and use your rocket jump to get to a safe place to blast everyone away with your tide-turning ZPG. Theyll never see it coming if you get it off before the stink cloud dissipates. Being able to blast into the air with a rocket jump and launch a ZPG from the sky is key to going from "alright" to "pro as heck."
Engineer
His Loadout: The Cactus has a nemesis in the form of Team Zombies Engineer. Armed with a long range cannon that does impressive splash damage, the Engineer takes up the rear of the zombie fight. If he feels threatened, he can use his Sonic Grenade to stun nearby plants and then run away on his speedy jackhammer. See a Garlic Drone in the air? Then use your Engineer Drone to rain havoc on the plants as well.
Our Tips: The Engineer is a great unit to pick if theres a nasty Chomper on the other team. Not only does your cannon do pretty good damage to him, but your Sonic Grenade can actually stun the Chomper while he burrows towards you. You be the hero your teammates need with you save them from certain death by consumption.
Scientist
His Loadout: A strange combination of a close range combatant and a wizard, the Scientist is the slipperiest of the Zombies to re-kill. His weapon is the goo blaster, which functions as a shotgun, and coupled with his sticky bomb, makes this skinny guy a foe to behold. Too far from enemy plants? Need to get over mines? No worries, the Scientist can use his warp ability to catch everyone--including himself--off guard.
Our Tips: The strange bit of the Scientists kit is his healing station, which is similar to the Sunflowers Marigold Pot. Remember you have the ability to heal teammates, and with your teleport ability, have the easy means to do so as well. If a teammate is losing a battle, warp in there, drop the healing station, and let your shotgun rip.
All-Star
His Loadout: The All-Star is reminiscent of TF2s minigun-wielding Heavy, and is the heavy hitter of Team Zombie. Obviously, his weapon packs quite the wallop, but he has other tricks up his sleeve too... like the IMP, which is his ability to strap an explosive to a small zombie and send it on a suicide mission. And if the All-Star is feeling a little cluttered by all the plants, he can use his Sprint Tackle to clear some space.
Our Tips: His last ability is the Tackle Dummy, which blocks projectiles from Team Plant. While youre pretty tanky, remember that your team is not, and so youll be dropping it for their benefit more so than yours. Also the IMP creates a fantastic decoy for enemy fire.
Feeling equipped?
Whether youre a long range or close combat type of player, Plants versus Zombies has a character for you. Study up with these bios, and get ready to roll some heads. Did you pick up the game? Find others to play with in the comments, below!
And if you're looking for more, check out the best Xbox One games and a discussion on Xbox One vs. PS4.
