Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare

 Xbox One
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 458 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 322 out of 458
  2. Mixed: 56 out of 458
  3. Negative: 80 out of 458
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Troublewalking
    Mar 6, 2014
    7
    After reading some user reviews on metacritic, I decided to jump in and buy this game. I was still worried the game would not be very good. My family and grand children, who love plants vs zombies just happened to come over just as I finished downloading it to my Xbox One. The game was a huge hit. Interestingly it was a bigger hit with some of the adults who like first person shooterAfter reading some user reviews on metacritic, I decided to jump in and buy this game. I was still worried the game would not be very good. My family and grand children, who love plants vs zombies just happened to come over just as I finished downloading it to my Xbox One. The game was a huge hit. Interestingly it was a bigger hit with some of the adults who like first person shooter games. Even those not playing enjoyed watching the plant and zombie carnage. It is certainly a great, family friendly party atmosphere type game. I'm horrible at first person shooters and even I was able to play this game at a level in which I could still have fun.

    The graphics are cute and the customization options are nice. It is a first person shooter multiplayer and it's cute aspect makes it so even those not really into first person shooters can enjoy it. The game uses the buying card packs mentality of many games these days and currently this is in game money that has no mirco transactions. So mom and dad don't have to worry about junior accidentally racking up a bill. The game money is earned easily as everything you do except for being vanquished seems to earn coins. Which means you can easily buy plants or zombies to help you in the different modes. This keeps with the game's cute factor and is fun. Early on it is great fun to buy these packs, customize your toons and enjoy the game.

    The best thing I can say about this game is I bought my Xbox One, bought battlefield 4 and Forza Motorsport. Which pretty much sat around with no one playing. I purchased Plants Vs Zombies, garden warfare for only 40 bucks. And bought Strider for 15 bucks. The 2 games together are about the price of one of the other games. My Xbox One is now used all the time by multiple friends and family. Which is what I was hoping for when I purchased the system.

    My son is a huge fan of the Mario Smash Brothers games. If you have a fan of that game this game will probably be loved and played over and over. The only thing he wishes Plants Vs Zombies had is the Mario Smash Brothers mode where you can watch matches, without playing. Being able to bet coins on matches you watch as Smash Brothers does would probably be popular also.

    The game is pretty much online multiplayer only. The Xbox One split screen mode is a nice offline option, which was a little confusing at first. It seems only the first player's unlocks affect what ranks your toons are. Or if they have opened all 3 of their abilities yet. As long as the first person has purchased some card packs to place plants and unlocked all the ranks of each plant or zombie the split screen action is just as much fun as the live game. Oddly though only the first person seems to earn coins and can buy packs. But the cards he buys are shared by both players. Which means if you keep playing split screen mode. You will have plenty of cards to enjoy the fray. So it is a nice off line option for 2 players. Especially if you have friends who are bit nervous about jumping into the online live action fray.

    The boss mode option is nice for those who want to try the action but are not at all into the shooter aspect. They get a far away view, and can click on sun or brains as the multiplayer action feverishly happens on the screen. And this allows them to buy "cards" like in the original PVZ , using those to help their side to victory in real time.

    The online game modes are fun enough. The Gardens and Graveyards mode has the plants defending 7 gardens. While the zombies have 5 minutes to try to capture each garden. The plants defend one garden at a time, so these are 12 vs 12 or more concentrated in one area battles. The Vanquish mode is a first to 50 vanquishes (kills) plants vs zombies free for all. And the Garden ops is a great up to 4 player co-op play mode, where the plant players have to withstand 10 waves (or more in some instances) of zombie attacks. A very nice addition for those not into player verse player stuff.

    Most players will probably bore of the game quickly enough. Though after a week, the matches are still put together quickly and full. A sign the game is retaining some popularity. I also have not experienced any real problems with the EA servers, others complained about when the game first came out. The price, and the family friendly aspect makes this game worth buying. If EA adds patches regularly, adding different types of matches, more customization options and more maps this game should be a game that fans of these types of shooters will love. Articles I have read say EA plans to add more content, possibly for free. Which should keep this game fun to play for a while.

    If EA adds a patch that allows people to play the original Plants vs Zombies one and two on your Xbox One with this game. It would be a 10. IMO that would make this the perfect online and offline game.    … Expand
  2. youlouz
    May 8, 2015
    7
    Nice game, worth buying

    PROS
    -Great Graphics
    -Good concept
    -Fun online

    CONS
    -Gameplay gets repetitive really fast
    -Not enough characters to choose from
  3. Teslacise
    Mar 8, 2014
    6
    When I first installed it I only played the "Garden Ops" mode, and it was a ton of fun. Now that I've tried playing the other multiplayer modes I've found the game to be full of server lag with a good stable internet connection which makes the game nearly unplayable. It's quite disappointing because if this worked I would give the game a 9 out of 10.
  4. Isten
    Feb 26, 2014
    7
    Is it fun? Yes for like 10 games.

    Is it deep? No. Is it just a kiddy version of Counter Strike/Battlefield/Halo: Yep Hook them young I guess. It is an interesting direction to take the PvZ franchise, but it is strictly a money grab that lets parents justify buying a Third Person Shooter for their 12 year old. And it is still full of the ragey XboxLive types. Will fade FAST    Is it fun? Yes for like 10 games.

    Is it deep? No.

    Is it just a kiddy version of Counter Strike/Battlefield/Halo: Yep

    Hook them young I guess.

    It is an interesting direction to take the PvZ franchise, but it is strictly a money grab that lets parents justify buying a Third Person Shooter for their 12 year old. And it is still full of the ragey XboxLive types.

    Will fade FAST off the market...then show back up when Microsoft drops the price to the floor.

    (PS: Play on my friends' systems. Not an Xbox owner.)    … Expand
  5. DownByTheRiver
    Mar 28, 2014
    7
    Can be very fun in short bursts, nothing to really binge on, just a fun multiplayer game that can be fairly entertaining, if interested I would suggest giving it a try
  6. QueenAndrea
    Aug 3, 2014
    7
    Creativity is a really nice trait to have, and it's a must for those who want to develop a both great looking and nice playing game. While not perfect, PvZ:GW is definitely a good refreshment and alternative for most (if not all) shootists who are looking for something more than just Call of Duty, Battlefield, Team Fortress 2, GTA and etc.; simply put, for those who are looking forCreativity is a really nice trait to have, and it's a must for those who want to develop a both great looking and nice playing game. While not perfect, PvZ:GW is definitely a good refreshment and alternative for most (if not all) shootists who are looking for something more than just Call of Duty, Battlefield, Team Fortress 2, GTA and etc.; simply put, for those who are looking for something different in most possible ways but still fun. This game fills both of these critera. It's different because it's cute and it's fun because it's... fun.

    That being said still doesn't mean polishing isn't required. There are some ocassional bugs which while relatively harmless may actually cripple the overall experience. The ranking system is a little bit confusing since ONLY challenges contribute to rank promotions with some being very difficult, especially if you're just starting up. Still, the flaws don't seem to be critical but there are quite a lot of them. With updates that could both fix the problems and expand the game in both online and offline aspects, I am definitely seeing this game getting better and better real soon. I'm not giving up hope, at least not yet.    … Expand
  7. cpg716
    May 22, 2014
    7
    Fun game overall. FPS for those who are tired of COD/BF.. Can feel monotonous at time. This is a jump in an play for a few rounds type of game.. Nothing long or detailed.
  8. Barefoot_Gamer
    Mar 14, 2014
    7
    On the surface a really dumb concept - plants and zombies in open warfare. But fun rarely comes better than this. Great cartoon style graphics and a light hearted approach to the FPS. Obviously not in the same league as the AAA shooters but this is a whole load of fun.
  9. killershot707
    Jun 19, 2014
    7
    Wow another game from the Plants Vs Zombies series. From the game we all know in Love mixed up into a 3d 3rd person shooter against plants and zombies. Wow great sounding right? well the game is not totally sound due to not listening to gamer reviews before release EA has made gameplay on both the 360 and one hard to play as in gardens in graveyards mode because zombies are overpoweredWow another game from the Plants Vs Zombies series. From the game we all know in Love mixed up into a 3d 3rd person shooter against plants and zombies. Wow great sounding right? well the game is not totally sound due to not listening to gamer reviews before release EA has made gameplay on both the 360 and one hard to play as in gardens in graveyards mode because zombies are overpowered species in the game. so if your a plant you will most likely lose. I would also like to point out the system of coins they use is really messed up by how much you earn on different modes like garden ops you spend more time in one game then you do gardens and graveyards and you get less even when you win. All though it has it problems the game is still popular with many gamers including me.
    Killershot707    … Expand
  10. freviews
    Feb 14, 2016
    7
    I LOVE this game! So, many of you may be wondering why I gave it a 7, well that's because it doesn't capture my attention for long. I play it a bunch for a couple days, but then I just move on to some of my other Xbox One games because it just feels like it is the same game play over and over again. Like Troublewalking said, it becomes a bore after repetitive game play and even my friendI LOVE this game! So, many of you may be wondering why I gave it a 7, well that's because it doesn't capture my attention for long. I play it a bunch for a couple days, but then I just move on to some of my other Xbox One games because it just feels like it is the same game play over and over again. Like Troublewalking said, it becomes a bore after repetitive game play and even my friend who has played through almost all of the games he has (150 about), did not go for completion, and he doesn't even want to talk to me about it. Now that is some serious bore.… Expand
  11. GameCritque
    Jun 8, 2016
    7
    This game has a good price and is pretty fun with friends. Just your typical shooter and I don't have much to say about it. I would recommend it to people if they just want to have fun.
  12. ZackH25
    Mar 30, 2023
    7
    This is just a fun simple game then has some quite chaotic multiplayer moments. The best mode by far was capturing or defending territories- and then the final territory to defend or capture was a huge base-this part of the game got very chaotic. The plants and zombies classes were all very unique and fun to use. Defending the tower was also very fun as there was a variety of zombies toThis is just a fun simple game then has some quite chaotic multiplayer moments. The best mode by far was capturing or defending territories- and then the final territory to defend or capture was a huge base-this part of the game got very chaotic. The plants and zombies classes were all very unique and fun to use. Defending the tower was also very fun as there was a variety of zombies to defend against. There was not much to the game but it also did not do much wrong.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

37
#37 Best Xbox One Game of 2014
15
#15 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2014
34
#34 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 65 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 44 out of 65
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 65
  3. Negative: 0 out of 65
  1. GameCritics
    May 16, 2014
    75
    With a variety of interesting characters and well-balanced gameplay, Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare should have been a perfect entry-level team-based FPS, letting younger and more casual audiences learn about the fun of meeting others online and shooting them in the face. Sadly, the frustrating unlock system puts a damper on that, and it never manages to make players feel rewarded for playing.
    Read full review
  2. games(TM)
    Apr 9, 2014
    80
    Thoroughly and unexpectedly wonderful. [Issue#146, p.102]
  3. Games Master UK
    Apr 7, 2014
    68
    Like homemade fertiliser, it does the job, but not like the proper stuff. Also, it whiffs a bit. [May 2014, p.67]
See all critic reviews »