E3 2013 - Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare Video Interview

Many folks were duped into thinking the opening of the EA E3 2013 Press conference was a new Battlefield game, instead what we saw was a interesting twist on the Plants vs Zombies franchise. Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare is a 3rd person action title powered by Frostbite 3 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC - best of all - it features a four player online co-op mode.
The mode we saw had a simple goal - defend the garden from zombies, just like a normal Plants vs. Zombies game. The difference though? There's a bit of tower defense strategy mixed with 3rd person shooter. The plants in Garden Warfare are able to uproot and attack on the go. The four player co-op mode has four character classes - Peashooter (Assault), Sunflower (Healer), Chomper (Damage Dealer), and Cactus (Tank). These characters all have special, complimentary, abilities. For instance in a demo for the game we saw Sunflower work around as a support character healing his teammates while the other players held back waves of zombies.
From what we've seen the game is colorful, light hearted, and potentially pretty strategy oriented. There's boss battles, upgrades, experience, and several other systems at play - though EA wasn't revealing many details just yet.
While the game showed a four player co-op mode, Garden Warfare will also feature a 24 player competitive mode and a campaign mode. Right now the game is only on Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC - though our interview with Jeremy Vanhoozer, Creative Director of Plants vs Zombies, revealed it should be coming to other platforms.
It's still pretty early on for Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare but it's definitely shaping up to be a unique take on the franchise, while still feeling like it belongs.

Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare

PopCap is taking the stars of its tower defense series out of the backyard and onto the battlefield in a team-oriented multiplayer shooter.

PopCap's reveal of Garden Warfare humorously aped EA's Battlefield series, but the similarities don't end there. While the game has a fun and cartoony art style that remains true to the series' roots, PopCap is creating a full-fledged multiplayer experience that includes both co-op and competitive modes. On the plant side of things, players choose between four classes: Peashooters (soldier class), Chompers (melee-oriented fighter class), Cacti (sniper class), and Sunflowers (medic class). PopCap confirms that players can also step into the stinky shoes of the undead, but isn't elaborating on classes or abilities just yet.

On-the-ground action is a blend of third-person shooting and tower defense, as players have the ability to purchase potted plants that act like AI-controlled turrets and lay traps like potato mines. Each class also has a rooted ability, which performs a more powerful attack, such as the Sunflower's blazing sunbeam or the Peashooter's gatling gun. The most powerful power-up we saw was a garlic drone, which hovers above the battlefield and can call in corn strikes that erupt in a shower of popcorn.
So far PopCap has only shown off the 4-player co-op mode, which pits Garden Warfare's cheery vegetation against waves of zombies, but despite the predictable format, the demo was impressive nonetheless. Not only is PopCap setting up scores of bosses based on the series' popular characters such as Disco zombie and the towering Gargantuar, but the cartoony visuals are surprisingly striking, as is the fluidity of the animation. It sounds like PopCap has plenty more reveals lined up for Garden Warfare, so we look forward to hearing more about it in the future.