Not every game needs to make a deep statement. If you're just looking for a good way to waste your time, the most important factor is often how much fun the game can pack into bite-sized pieces. One of the kings of this sort of gameplay is Plants vs. Zombie, an incredibly successful game that was a huge hit on smartphones and that eventually landed on PCs and consoles. While the game itself is now old enough to have a few sequels and spin-offs, it's still worth examining.

Concept

The concept of Plants vs. Zombies is so simple that it's almost dumb. There's a zombie outbreak in the neighborhood, and the only thing between the zombies and your brain are the plants in your garden. It's not exactly the most serious take on the genre, but that's the point - this game is much more about tower defense than it is about anything resembling horror. In fact, you're really looking at more of a comedic game than anything else here. It's filled with colorful zombies and plants, all of which engage in very silly warfare.

Graphics and Audio

One of the best parts of the game is the graphical presentation. It's not cutting edge by any stretch of the imagination, but it's charming and unique. You'll recognize any character from this game immediately, even if you see it in a radically different context. Characters are all very easy to identify on sight in the game, but the art style is so uniform that everything really feels like it's part of the same universe.

The audio here is also lovely. Flung projectiles have a satisfying thud, the zombies are hilariously over-the-top, and the music is catchy to a fault. Don't forget to listen to the last song in the game - it's sure to be a favorite of anyone who spends time playing.

Gameplay

Plants vs. Zombies could probably be described as a tower defense game. Instead of towers, though, you build different types of plants with a variety of powers. Learning how to best position and combine these plants never feels like a chore, though - you learn something new every round, and you'll eventually perfect the art of zombie defense. The original iteration of the game doesn't really have any gimmicks beyond a few genre-standard bombs, but it's still the kind of game that's so engaging to play that you'll forget you're mostly tapping and letting the computer do most of the work.

Conclusion

Plants vs Zombies remains one of those lovely mobile games that's fun to play whenever you have a bit of extra time. Though the newer versions have perhaps too many microtransactions to be fun, the original is definitely one of the best mobile games ever made. If you're looking for a nice strategy game that you can play for fifteen or twenty minutes at a time, this one just can't be beaten. Replay Value - 5

Plants vs. Zombies is a light strategy game with a ton of personality.