The first hit is free: Plants Vs Zombies playable on the web

Bobby Miller 23 Sep, 2009 at 8:41pm ET Article published in Gaming

Breaking news!

I’ve managed to stay away from this one. I’ve seen what it does to people. I’ve watched my editor in chief drool at his keyboard after playing it for a tenth hour in one sitting (YOU SHUT YOUR FACE, BOBBY-ed.). The game deconstructs people, ruins lives, and all those other effects that come from the incredibly addicting gameplay found in all Popcap games. I’ve managed to keep my distance, safe behind a barrier of finances (or lack thereof). The game in question is Plants Vs. Zombies, and it is now playable on Popcap’s website for free. We’re all doomed.

Plants Vs Zombies is sold on Steam for $9.99 and at brick and mortar retail for $20. It has received much acclaim in its four months of release. In its simplest form it plays as a tower defense game, where the player is trying to protect their house on the left side of the screen from an ensuing zombie attack. The player builds, or rather grows, plants to protect the house. There are many different types of plants with different methods of attacks. Conversely, the zombies come in many different forms as well. The simple gameplay has a surprising amount of depth that sucks players right in. In typical Popcap fashion, the game is terribly addicting.

Today Popcap released a version of Plants Vs Zombies on their website that is playable in browser for free. The free version has three playable modes, Adventure, Survival, and Puzzle. The convivial sound and vibrant graphics hold true to the full version of the game. Chances are if you play it online, you’ll soon find yourself shelling out $10 for the full version

I’m holding strong. I will not get sucked into this realm of jovial casual gaming. I must be honest when I say I started the game just to get the facts for this piece, but nothing more! Well, perhaps I played the first round, but I had to understand the mechanics of the game! Crap, I need to collect more sun, GIVE ME MORE SUN! THE ZOMBIES WON’T HAVE ME THIS ROUND!!!

Doomed. We’re all doomed.

Comments

23 Sep 2009 ~ 9:04pm Obsidian Oh god, no.
23 Sep 2009 ~ 10:04pm ardichoke FFFFUUUUUU---- 10 dollars will be leaving my bank account once I get paid tomorrow. Damn you Lynx
24 Sep 2009 ~ 1:10am Starman cob cannons
24 Sep 2009 ~ 2:31am primesuspect Yeah, once you get cob cannons, it's basically pure pwnage
24 Sep 2009 ~ 5:44am FelixDeSouze Sounds fun, shame it's blocked in work!
24 Sep 2009 ~ 10:56am Cliff_Forster I played it for a little while last night. Strange, first few waves, it was like, meh, Prime is nuts for playing this all the time, then a couple more waves, then you start to chill with it, a few more waves, then suddenly your obsessed with its simple but suddenly engaging gameplay dynamic.

The more you play, the more you love.
24 Sep 2009 ~ 11:44am SPIKE09

primesuspect wrote:

Yeah, once you get cob cannons, it's basically pure pwnage

Lost hundreds of hours to this and the many many minigames it contains and never used the Cob cannon :bigggrin:;D
24 Sep 2009 ~ 3:46pm Starman Cob cannon is ridiculously fun, and it puts the player back in the game because you have to aim (more like direct) and manually activate it. Of course, the fact that it's one of the most effective plants in the game, especially when you get a group of them, helps.
24 Sep 2009 ~ 3:59pm primesuspect The bungee zombies are the BANE of cob cannons
24 Sep 2009 ~ 4:03pm Starman I always keep one ready to aim at the other cobs (or self) in case of bungees.
30 Sep 2009 ~ 3:09am primesuspect OHHH SNAP! BRING IT!

<img src="http://icrontic.com/images/prime/pvz_immortal.png">
9 Oct 2009 ~ 1:27am Starman I got that one too! I still need the goddamn vase breaker and I, Zombie achievements. D:<
1 Feb 2012 ~ 4:02pm Holster Chick Oh geeze. Plants vs. Zombies is just a way for the Zombies to get the rest of us to conform to their evil ways. Hahaha. Doomed is right.