First Impressions: Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare Continues to Grow with a Sequel on PS4

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 focuses on expanding the original title, which was already such a great success. For those living under a rock, Garden Warfare is a third-person shooter where the plants and zombies from the popular mobile game go head-to-head in order to defend their homelands from each other. We gave the first game a well-deserved 8/10 in our review, which concluded: "Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare stays true to its roots, while at the same time branching out to new audiences by switching up the franchise's familiar format a little." So, how does Garden Warfare 2 compare to its rather good predecessor?

Well, as mentioned, the sequel expands upon the first title by adding an extra six different classes – three zombies and three plants – to the original eight. This totals up to 14 playable classes, but hundreds of different types of characters within those can be unlocked. The new classes include a zombie imp who can summon a powerful z-mech (our favourite), a rose with a magic wand that can turn zombies into goats, a corn – appropriately named Kernel Corn – who uses a rather corny chain gun, and three other weird and wacky classes that we're not going to spoil here. These extra special abilities that the new characters bring with them make the title even more enjoyable, chaotic, and fun to play, which is a very impressive feat going by the quality of the last release.

We've managed to get our grubby green fingers around a controller long enough to try out the new co-op mode, Graveyard Ops. This time, though, as the name suggests, the zombies are defending Zomburbia from those pesky plants – where's the weed killer when you need it, eh? This mode is pretty much identical to Garden Ops from the last game, which isn't a bad thing – the only obvious difference is that the zombies and plants have switched roles, with plants now launching an assault on the undead. The extra game modes aren't the only appeal here, however, as all of the modes from the previous game return, but they've been altered and upgraded for a better experience.

All of the gameplay that we experienced brought back fond memories of playing the original with friends and family members, and generally having a great time. Heck, this particular author even enjoyed it so much that he managed to Platinum the quirky title. The sequel generally feels like more of the same, but it's a definite evolution of what's come before. Tweaked balance, the addition of new modes, new maps, and the ability to transfer all progress from the previous title will bring fans of the original back to the fray, while hopefully spreading its scent to attract new players, too. This is an outing that, if kept well fertilised by the developer, is sure to bloom with juicy fruit upon its release.

Will you be digging up some room on your hard drive for Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2? Lay down your roots in the soft soil of the comments section below.