Final Score: Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2

Between street fighting for supremacy, hunting and gathering in the Stone Age, and catching 'em all like it's 1996, it's been a little too easy to forget that the fight between the undead and the shrubbery is raging strong. Last week, EA released Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 and now that it's had a week out in front of public servers, Shacknews is compiling some of the best reviews from across the online space to see what they had to say about this battle of the ages, but the consensus appears to be that it's a step above the original in every way.

Shacknews 7/10: "Maybe the same solid foundation with more robust content is all Garden Warfare 2 needs to be. The package feels more whole and satisfying, and while that may dampen my thoughts on the first game a bit, it's really only by comparison to this one. If Garden Warfare was the seed, this sequel is the harvest."

The Jimquisition 9.5/10: "Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 is a masterclass in sequel creation, an example of what happens when you listen to criticism and strive to create a fun game more than an addictive business model, something people want to spend time and money on as opposed to something they feel compelled to do. Fast becoming my favorite online shooter of choice, Garden Warfare 2 is lovable, preposterous, and completely rampageous. Never thought I'd say this about an EA game, but it's everything a modern premium experience should be."

Giant Bomb 4/5: "With its less-than-full-price and short list of features, the first Garden Warfare felt like EA wasn't willing to risk much on the odd idea of turning a cutesy mobile free-to-play tower defense game into a console online shooter. It feels like a little piece of cosmic justice that while the Medal of Honor reboot failed to make any inroads with that audience, Garden Warfare somehow became a runaway success that warranted a full-priced, fully featured sequel. While a potential third Garden Warfare will need to do more than simply pile on additional plants and modes to justify itself, this quirky shooter's second installment ought to stay green for a good long while to come."

Gamespot 7/10: "With more generous pacing and worthwhile single-player content, Garden Warfare 2 would have been a truly outstanding game, but even without those things, it's a robust shooter with an astounding level of mechanical diversity that all but guarantees you'll encounter something new every round you play. And of course, its endearingly ridiculous presentation remains true to the series roots, further proving shooters don't have to be gray and gritty to offer a rewarding experience."

Polygon 8/10: "If Garden Warfare was an attempt to make a multiplayer-only shooter that just about anyone could enjoy, Garden Warfare 2 takes that a step further by removing the original's budget-priced compromises. Making the original PopCap concept into a shooter isn't novel anymore, and I hope that the developers pay attention to the game's potential balance challenges over time to make sure that 'asymmetric' doesn't become 'lopsided.' But Garden Warfare 2 stands strong on its own, and with friends."

EGM 7.5/10: "It might be easy to write off Garden Warfare 2 as a kid-friendly alternative to the more violent shooters out there, but you’d be passing up a unique class-based shooter in the process. I don’t see any Pop-Tart fires being caused by Garden Warfare 2, and I definitely won’t be dipping out of work to play it, but I can see myself returning to the lands of Zomburbia in the future."

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?