Review for Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville. Game for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 18/10/2019
We left the summer behind to immerse ourselves in the duller colors of autumn but to spice up the season PopCap Games with Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville, a new chapter in the ten-year struggle between plants and the undead. Small tower defense has come a long way, especially since Electronic Arts decided to acquire its development studio, transforming itself into a broader genre such as the multiplayer shooter. In fact, just like its predecessors, The Battle of Neighborville is a Third Person Shooter / Action mainly devoted to online multiplayer which does not differ from Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare and most importantly from Garden Warfare 2.
Talking about the plot relating to The Battle for Neighborville is quite simple: the threat of zombies has now dented the vast suburban area of Neighbroville and Dave, enjoying his beloved tacos, has set up a headquarters to organize resistance through his loyal plants against the now highly organized zombies. There is not much to add to a plot as simple as it is well-established and which continues the tradition of the series with touches of irony and insanity.
Naturally what interests most in Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville is multiplayer mode as can be seen from the layout of the headquarters: Dave's Mansion for the plants and Zombotron for the zombies. From here we will move as a vast explorable game menu where we can decide to customize our character, chosen from the ten available for each faction, of which six new entries, and which differ in three classes (defense, support and attack), It will therefore be possible to check the board of challenges, spend the game currency to buy collectibles or level up, make a sortie to Divertilandia and, finally, venture into free roaming mode in different distinct areas depending on the faction or engage in multiplayer matches.
The interesting thing about the headquarters is that we will be able to choose whether to be visible online, seeing various players wandering around (as is the case for example in large MMORPGs) or whether to play "offline" with bots. Of course, the first option is the most interesting, from the point of view of the fun multiplayer games that await us or the co-op sorties in the free areas.
Before analyzing the multiplayer, however, it is good to remember the presence of a sort of story mode in the freely explorable areas of the Town Center of Neighborville (plants), Monte Scosceso (plants and zombies) and Bosco Bislacco (zombies). Here we will be able to face some missions and challenges in solitary or co-op, against artificial intelligence, useful to unlock some accessories for plants and undead, coins and so on. Furthermore there will be some challenging and fun boss fights, thanks to the demented humor that permeates the entire title, to seal the conclusion of the main missions. Without a doubt a good way to familiarize yourself with the game mechanics of third person shooter and with the skills of the various classes and characters.
The icing on the cake of Plants vs. Zombies: The Battle of Neighborville is naturally represented by the multiplayer sector that goes from online games in various modes through the dozen maps present (certainly expanding with the various scheduled updates) up to seasonal and timed events, able to give us different collectibles and various skin accessories for our characters. Just arrived on Plants vs. Zombies? For those who are beginners, the best way to experience multiplayer is to take a trip to Divertilandia, a real amusement park where, between ferris wheels and various rides, plants and zombies will give a lot of reason in an almost infinite team deathmatch.
As for the actual multiplayer, we will have the team deathmatch modes "Battle Arena" (4 vs 4) and "Team Elimination" (8 vs 8) and finally "Grassy Supremacy" domain mode for up to 24 players in which one team attacks and the other defends its territory. Garden and Tomb Operations are also returning, cooperative modes in which we will be able to choose whether to impersonate plants or undead to protect your garden or your tombstone, in this case it is classic PvE.
An original and fun way to try out further multiplayer game variants is the "Mixed Mode" which, as the name suggests, catapults players into a series of 8 vs 8 where games modes already seen in Garden Warfare will alternate in rotation: "Gnomba", a sort of search and destroy in which one team will have to place a gnome bomb on the target while the other will have to defend and defuse it if necessary; Suburbination, a mode of domination in which there will be areas to be conquered and whose simultaneous control will guarantee the accumulation of points and coins; "Elimination confirmed" variant of a classic team deathmatch in which each kill will result in the release of a sphere capable of accumulating points for your team, until the objective for the final victory is reached.
As expected, the title has a varied multiplayer sector able to guarantee many hours of play, also thanks to timed events, all driven by the excellent Frostbite Engine, used by PopCap Games also for Garden Warfare. Its presence can be seen and felt: the graphic sector of The Battle of Neighborville is a successful mix of colors and definition that is not affected by annoying drops in frame rate even in the most agitated situations. It is surprising how a graphics engine designed for shooters of a completely different ream such as Battlefield 1, can be so well adaptable to the colorful and cartoonish settings of Neighborville but this is justified by the maturity now reached by the development team.
As for the sound sector, on the other hand, we settle on canonical levels for the series with catchy and recognizable songs, sound effects of all sorts and voices that babble incomprehensible languages. in conclusion a melting pot of noises and sounds that manage to create a unique and familiar atmosphere typical of the Plants vs. Zombies. Undoubtedly a sum of all that good has been "harvested" from the seeds planted by PopCap Games and Electronic Arts on this series.
Plants vs. Zombies: The Battle of Neighborville is a successful title that continues a formula tested and refined after the transformation of the series with the two Garden Warfare. A multitude of modes, events, characters and maps, will guarantee many hours of game together, both locally and multiplayer. Visually and soundly satisfying, PopCap Games' work has satisfied us from various points of view. Of course, a more refined single player mode would not have hurt but it is now clear that Electronic Arts wants to exploit this brand to create a solid community and bring different age groups to multiplayer. The Battle of Neighborville is certainly not a title for hardcore gamers but it represents a good interlude and a valid multiplayer entertainment.
► Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville is a Shooter type game developed and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 18/10/2019
