Plants vs Zombies
Rating: E-10+ - Everyone 10+

I reviewed this game a year ago, but with the Holiday Season upon us, it's so good that it deserves to be remembered. You may have missed it because it was a downloaded game but it is now on the shelves in stores and by next January, it will be available on the DS.

How much fun is there in this game? Let me count the ways: 45 different plants; 25 different zombies; 20 mini-games and 50 levels plus a survival and a puzzle mode. The game is so enjoyable that players will end up licking up every crumb - even the read-me.

The format is tower defense, in this case, plant and sun defense. Instead of playing the aggressor, you strategize at defending your turf - in this case your brain residing in your house. You are defending against zombies marching across your lawn, in their burial suits and red power ties mumbling, "Brains - brains - brains".

At first they are easy to down, but soon they protect themselves with traffic cones, bucket hats, football suits, screen doors. Other types of zombies attack - pole vaulters, snorkeling zombies, a red suited dancer doing a space walk, who spawns back-up dancers, and that's just 5 of the 25. Your defense against these zombies are plants propagated by the amount of sunlight you collect - some shoot, some devour, some squash. Your job is to place your plants in the optimum positions. The plants that become available are well matched for the increasing strengths of the zombies. All this action takes place on your front lawn - a 3X5 grid of rolled out turf. As the game progresses this area gets creative embellishments - a lap pool, tombstones, vision obliterating fog.

The music doesn't fit into a specific genre but it is varied, and surprisingly pleasant for a zombie movie. There is a commendable attention to detail, which you will notice as you spend hours in the game - all the plants have eyes, munching plants have to finish off the arm before they are ready for another zombie, and all the plants are boppin' in their own way to the music.

Plants fighting zombies is so absurd, but that's crux of the humor. Not only is it graphically funny, there are irreverent jokes about our cultural icons - Scary Potter, Dead Zeppelin - and in this release - you can create your own zombie with the Zombatar.

Hybrid disk plays both Win and Mac.

Fun Factor: You becha'
Female Factor: No female zombies
Player Friendly: Saves upon exiting.

Reviewed by: Editor - Nov/10