9/10/2021

Review of Plants vs. Zombies
Developed by: PopCap Games
2009, PC

Roof level.

My favorite plant in Plants vs. Zombies is the sunflower, because it makes the game an RTS. I like the start of each level when you're planting the first sunflowers and waiting for them to produce their solar currency, because it feels like the first few minutes in an RTS, when being as efficient as possible makes the biggest difference. The sunflower also makes you micromanage picking up the money it creates. I don't know why, but the combination of long-term planning the layout of your plants with constantly clicking on the screen to collect the sun money occupies my entire brain just the right amount.

Before I played Plants vs. Zombies, my favorite PopCap game was Insaniquarium (8). Insaniquarium is a similar game in that you're growing the economy of a fish tank and clicking even more constantly on the screen to pick up coins. It feels especially like an RTS because there're too many fish to visually keep track of, so you kind of guess how much food to add to the tank and which fish to buy next. This might be my own problem, but when I play an RTS I don't know how many new units to buy, so I just click to fill up the queue with as many as I can. And there are so many units spread out across the map that I kind of guess which types I need. Insaniquarium matches that hectic feeling exactly.

In Plants vs. Zombies, it's much easier to keep track of the status of your plants. The number and types of plants you choose is much more deliberate, and when something interupts your plan, it's easier to recognize what you need to fix. Plants vs. Zombies has all of the micromanaging of units and building up of a system in an RTS, but it's simplified to just the fun parts.

Plant Selection.

I didn't realize when I started playing Plants vs. Zombies that it was designed by the same person who made Insaniquarium, George Fan, but when I unlocked a new type of plant I was immediately reminded of unlocking a new pet in Insaniquarium, a game I hadn't played in 18 years. They both have the same feeling of getting a thing that's going to help you be more efficient, and there's also some strategy to which combination of plants, or fish tank pets you choose. With both games, George Fan figured out exactly how fun building an efficient system can be.