Oh Yes Finally! Plant vs. Zombies 2: It’s about time!

Yes, it’s back! The virtual game that almost everyone has been crazy about comes back with a whole lot of crazy and challenging adventures. And this time it is free to play! Yehey! Want to know what’s more in this new installment? I bet you do!

 Time for another sleepless nights!

It was just last August 15, 2013 when Apple App Store launched this free-to-play tower defense virtual game and I know everyone is so excited to know what will be the twist for this sequel. PopCap Games (the developer) has promised that it would be more exciting because of the new features, settings and situations which they know game players would be keen on. (We hope so!)

The Plants vs. Zombies 2’s game play is no different from the first installment. Same basic rule: protect your lawn mowers from a horde of attacking zombies. But here’s the catch, you’ll get to experience the battle through time traveling from Ancient Egypt down to the Far Future. Thus, it makes the sequel more interesting!

Map 1

Map 2

Map 3

Agenda is to rally round Crazy Dave who is dying to find the same taco he had eaten long before. And to help him, you will be introduced to Penny ‘The Time Machine’ that will bring you to different time-space taco map. First is the Ancient Egypt where you’ll start the game with a basic set of plants like Sunflower, Peashooter, Potato Mine and Wall-nut which I know you can play reasonably easy. As you succeeded different battles, new plants will be unlocked eventually.

Before you can advance to the next map that is ‘The Pirate Seas’, you need to earn a certain number of stars to open the star gate. This applies along the course of the game until you reach the last map – ‘The Far Future’.  How to earn a star? All you got to do is win a battle against aggressive zombies but the thing is – you need to meet certain conditions before the battle finishes. You can earn as much as three (3) stars per one stop location. 

Crazy dave and Penny 'The Time-Machine'

Sample of conditions you need to meet per level in order to earn a star

Here are some of the new plants in PvZ 2:

Plant	Power
Bloomerang	Can hit up to 3 targets, with two hits each
Power Lily	Creates one Plant Food
Coconut Canon	On impact, explodes in medium area
Grave Buster	Removes graves
Bonk Choy	Can attack ahead or behind
Snapdragon	Damages all zombies in the 6 tiles in front of it
Spring Bean	Pushes zombies back, or into the water
Chili Bean	Eating Zombie is destroyed and releases stunning gas
Lightning Reed	Chain attacks to multiple targets
Imitater	Can imitate any other plant

*The new PvZ has what they called “Plant Food” that boosts the powerful effects when fed to the plant. Like for Peeshoter, it will turn into a faster-shooting gatling peas for 3 seconds (20 peas per second).

Here are some of the new zombies in PvZ 2:

Zombie	Special Details
Ra Zombie	Tries to steal sun
Camel Zombies	Arrive in a group of three Zombies or more
Explorer	Torch destroys plants on contact
Tomb Raiser	Creates tombstones on the lawn
Pharaoh	Moves like a hungry zombie once free
Seagull	Passes over low plants like spikeweed and iceburg lettuce
Barrel Roller	Imps thrown from barrel when destroyed
Imp Cannon	Explodes into shower of imps if not destroyed quickly
Pirate Captain	Parrot pet steals plants
Prospector	Appears on the left side of the lawn after dynamite explodes
Pianist	Summons cowboy dancers who switch lanes
Poncho	Randomly wears a protective metal grate
Chicken Wrangler	Summons zombie chickens when damaged
Zombie Bull	Launches a low flying imp rider over plants
Treasure Yeti	Runs away after a short while but this zombie carries treasure

Also, to help you win each encounter, they have what they called “Power-Ups” mechanics which allows you to effectively wipe out zombies in one run through touching the screen. This is very useful when you’re in a moment of panic especially during the final wave. But to use these powerful options, it will cost you coins earned by playing the game otherwise you’ll need to purchase it through your credit.

Power Up	Cost of Game Coins
Power Pinch	800
Power Toss	1200
Power Zap	1000

  

This second installment may not be as interesting as the first but personally I find PvZ 2 more compelling because of its new features. I’ve been playing this game for 3 weeks now and I really find it very exciting.  One thing that really challenges me the most about this game is the list of conditions I have to meet in order to gain a star. I have already unlocked three (3) maps and I’m intrigue to know what’s in the last map ‘The Far Future’. 

Tips: (1) Plant at least 8 sunflowers per battle. (2) Use Potato Mines on the first or two zombies in a level so you’ll have time to produce more sun. (3) Save up coins as much as you can to buy power ups for difficult levels. (4) Plant food is very useful during waves when you only have few plants produced. (5) Go about the zombie preview to make sure you have the right plants to win the battle. (6) Be patient and strategize!

This application is available now for all iOS users and I’ve heard that Electronic Arts (the publisher) is also planning to have it in computers. Plants vs Zombies Android launch is expected sometime in October.

All photos are iphone snapshots from the  PvZ EA Game itself.