Plants Vs. Zombies

When I first played the video game Plants Vs. Zombies, I didn't even realize that it was a tower defense game. The few games I've tried in that genre were confusing and more war-like with tanks and guns and such. Plants Vs. Zombies is nothing like that. It is tower defense for the casual gamer crowd.

The premise of the game is that there are zombies trying to get into the house to eat your brains. Before they can have their lunch, they have to make it across the lawn. Your job is to plant some killer flora to stop the brain munchers. A couple hitches are that you need to have enough sunshine to use certain plants and once you plant a certain variety, it takes a little time for that variety to recharge before you can plant it again.

Frankly, most casual games aren't worth $20 to me because they are one-note wonders. I'd rather go on an ad-supported site and play a free match-3 game than buy Bejeweled. For me, Plants Vs. Zombies beats this hurdle by using their basic theme in several different ways. There is the basic adventure mode where you defend different parts of the yard until you get to the big boss. This mode unlocks puzzle games and mini-games where you can play zombie-fied versions of other games like Whack-a-Mole.

How did this game play in our house? Everyone in the house except my husband has taken a crack at it. I've played all the way through the adventure mode, which is rare for me because I usually get bored before making it to the end of a game. My kids fight for computer time to take their turns. I would say that this game is definitely worth the wrist pain I've developed playing it :-).