Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville Complete Edition Review

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Fast Facts

Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville Complete Edition

Developer: Electronic Arts
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Website: https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/plants-vs-zombies/plants-vs-zombies-battle-for-neighborville
Genre: Adventure, Action, Multiplayer
Platform: Nintendo Switch (Also available on Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC)
Age Rating: PEGI 7
Release Date: 19/03/2021
Price: £34.99

A code was provided for review purposes.

I used to love the original Plants vs Zombies game on the Xbox 360, planting my plants and killing those zombies, as you do. The game has evolved so, so much since then and the feud continues today with Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville Complete Edition on the Nintendo Switch.

Kicking Grass and Taking Gnomes

For those that aren’t aware, Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville is a multiplayer game that puts two unlikely candidates up against each other. Yeah, you guessed it – Plants and Zombies. The premise is simple, whichever side you choose, you must destroy more of the others in all-out warfare.

This game features two different online modes to choose from which are Turf Takeover, a 16 player PVP over an ever-expanding map. The attacking team must reach their objective whilst the defending team must hold the line. There is also Garden and Graveyard OPS which requires a team of 4 to work together to defeat waves of enemies. As well as these modes, various event modes change every couple of days. It’s worth noting that if you open a private game for friends, there is a lot more choice in game modes.

Although this is primarily an online multiplayer game, the option is there to play offline. Though, it doesn’t offer a lot to do – just the opportunity to play offline multiplayer matches or free-roam the areas of the game. To get the most out of Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville, it’s best to play online.

Choose A Side

You have a big decision to make in Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville – Plants or Zombies?

Okay, you don’t really have to choose between the two, you are free to choose between them as you like and you will often find that in each match you will be playing a variety of each, so it’s a good idea to get familiar with both sides.

Each side has 10 available characters to choose from with a further 1 that can be unlocked after purchasing with in-game currency for the Plants and a further 2 unlockable characters for the zombies. Which is an insane number of characters to become acquainted with. So, let’s have a quick look at the characters you will be playing as.

Plants*

Night Cap – “Stick to the shadows with Night Cap and sneak more sneakily than you’ve ever snuck before. Then unleash the mushroom martial art, Fung Fu.”

Oak and Acorn – “Team up to launch Super Sap Traps and more with Oak & Acorn. Log tree-mendous vanquishes with this mighty pair.”

Snapdragon – “Blaze a trail through zombie foes with flame-blowing Snapdragon. Crabby as they may look, they’re always ready to fight fire with fire.”

Chomper – “Chompers are best thought of as the plant equivalent of a family dog—rambunctious, loving, and dedicated to eating everything.”

Kernel Corn – “Raised in the military tradition, Kernel Corns come off cold as frozen niblets, but their hearts are as warm and soft as melted butter.”

Pea Shooter – “Since simplicity and spirit are the bedrock of a Peashooter’s charm, their innocent appearance may lead enemies to underestimate them.”

Cactus – “Rarely tempted into the chaotic fray, coolheaded Cacti hang around the field perimeter, picking off zombies with relish.”

Citron – “To other plants, Citrons—snazzy bounty hunters who previously resided in the future—embody concentrated style devoid of artificial flavour.”

Rose – “Roses are time-travelling enchantresses from the medieval era who voyaged to Neighborville to prevent zombie domination.”

Sunflower – “The sweet-faced Sunflowers’ healing abilities make them indispensable, but they also take (slightly jarring) delight in vanquishing zombies.”

Wildflower – “Team up with other Wildflowers to form a group, then weed out your zombie foes with their Dual Rapid Fire Petals!”

Zombies*

Electric Slide – “Live wires in every sense, Electric Slides light up every battle with their relentless dancing and shockingly amped up attacks.”

80’s Action Hero – “Zombies of few words and fewer thoughts, their bows have been looking to “make friends” ever since a plant insulted their hairdo.”

Space Cadet – “Space Cadet may be small, but don’t let size throw you. Her targeted laser and boosters make up for it. And when she teams up – get ready!”

Foot Soldier – “With high morale and no trace of fatigue, Foot Soldiers consider it an honor to serve in the ongoing siege upon Neighborville’s brains.”

Imp & Z-mech – “Meet Imp, the smallest of the zombies, and his massive secret weapon – Z-Mech. Built with Z-Tech, this duo is down to do some damage.”

Super Brainz – “When Super Brainz sees a mirror, the gorgeous face staring back is almost makes him forget his quest to liberate Neighborville’s brains.”

All-Stars – “All-Stars are the go-to zombie for pushing the line forward—however, they’re unsure about the purpose of a football.”

Captain Deadbeard – “The Captains Deadbeard—pirate zombies accompanied by robotic, heavily armed parrots—are the embodiment of shivered timbers.”

Engineer – “Free spirits who fly by the seat of their butt-baring pants, Engineers help hammer Zomboss’ inventions together while battling plants.”

Scientist – “Scientists are incapable of pondering mysteries deeper than “brainz or plants,” so Zomboss hooked them up with easy-to-fire Z-Tech weaponry.”

Wizard – “Wizard’s a crabby old coot – and a mighty magician! He can cast spells and potions, and even ride the heads of his allies.”

TV Head – “Use TV Heads in a group to overpower your plant opponents. Just try not to get struck by his Rapid Fire Tape Ejector.”*

As you can see, there are a range of characters to choose from, each with their own stats, weapons and abilities. For example, the Peashooter shoots pea’s (because what else?) one at a time as its main weapon. The Peashooter then has 3 abilities, the first is to shoot a chilli bean that will explode, killing anybody in its way. The second makes Peashooter able to move quickly and jump a lot higher. The final ability turns Peashooter into a Gatling gun – stuck in place but can shoot extremely fast.

Each character in Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville is divided into a subcategory; Attack, Defend and Support. This determines what kind of playstyle that should be used with this character and what they are best used for.

Does My Stem Look Big in This?

Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville has a vast amount of customisation. Each character has its own customisation options and they’re great. Whether it be making your Peashooter look like something out of Cyberpunk 2077 or giving your 80s Action Hero some funky hair, there’s plenty of choices to make your character stand out.

Each plant and each zombie level up the more you play with them, allowing you to unlock more upgrades for them. For every 10 levels your character gains, you are able to promote them, unlocking a new upgrade. Each character has 7 upgrade points to use. Each upgrade will require so many points in order to equip. It’s about finding the right balance that fits your play style. Upgrades can allow you to regenerate health faster, gain XP faster and allow you to move faster – to name but a few.

Welcome To Neighborville

As well as your battle to be the best in Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville, you also have a whole town at your disposal. The town of Neighborville has a lot to offer, but the most important thing is a little bit of story to break up the battles. Both the plants and the zombies have their own questline that players can play through which was a pleasant surprise. These quests offer players a quick and easy way to earn some nice rewards in the way of coins and cosmetic upgrades.

As well as these quests, Neighborville will be home to your plants and zombies base. In this base, you will find many things to help you on your journey. This will be home to the changing room – where you will change the look of your character as well as its upgrades. You will find the prize map in which you use prize bulbs (which are unlocked through completing daily and weekly challenges) to unlock numerous items such as expressions, victory slabs, emotes and even rare clothing items. These tend to get upgraded often so you will run out of things to unlock.

Neighborville is also home to what is known as the Reward-0-Tron 9000. A device that allows you to pay 15,000 coins to unlock a random cosmetic item for a random character and it’s highly addictive.!

Summary

Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville is a ton of fun to play. There’s a lot of content to unlock and a lot of characters to get to grip with so you certainly have a lot of hours to play with here. The graphics do take a little bit of a hit in handheld mode but it’s not enough to ruin the experience.

Rapid Reviews Rating

4 out of 5

4

You can purchase Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville from the Nintendo eShop here.

*Taken from the official plants vs zombies website*