The campy and hilarious tower defense game makes it way to the Vita completely intact.
Already 3 years old, the tower defense game has made its way to nearly every possible system that can play it. The gameplay is deceptively simple: use various plants to defend against zombies out to eat your brains. Of course, this turns out to be quite challenging as each plant has its own uses and each zombie comes with their own tactics.
The basics of the game involve collecting through your plants or daylight to build a defense against the incoming zombies. Initially, that's that. Later levels in the game actually pit the environments against you as well. Pool levels require special plants as does foggy weather and rooftops. If the game was just merely this, I'd likely grow tired of it.
PvZ breaks out of the usual tower defense games by including various mini games to break the monotony. There are games like wall-nut bowling and vasebreaker which initially appear at mid and end points of the sections you play in the main game. Later, they can played individually at your leisure. In addition, to this the game also includes puzzle modes where you reverse roles with you taking control of the zombies. The game itself does a great job of tutoring you without completely derailing things.
There's an undeniable charm to the graphics and sound. Whether your stopping a football playing zombie from attacking or listening to Crazy Dave's insane mutterings, PvZ keeps you entertained. There are tons of pop culture references interspersed throughout and the game is just a joy to look even for its simple design.
The biggest draw comparatively is the fact that PvZ for the Vita is complete. What I mean by that is it includes all of the modes not seen in certain versions such as the mobile versions. This means you'll have access to Zen Garden, Zombatar, and puzzle modes that those are missing. You'll also get the trophy support that the PS3 version had including a new platinum trophy. The Vita also includes tilt-to-grab which lets you get coins and sun just by tilting the Vita. The only issue I have with that is it renders plants like the Golden Magnet useless, but it is optional however.
The only real knock I have is the price. $15 seems like quite a bit for a game that's three years old and when compared to much cheaper mobile versions (which only suffer from omitted material) it seems like a lot to swallow. Also, if you have the game for your phone, you may not feel there is a reason to purchase it again.
The Good: Still the same great gameplay, full trophy support, all modes included, tilt-to-grab makes the game easier.
The Bad: Expensive for how old it is, no real need to buy if you already own a mobile version of the game.