Despite all the vitriol the company's been on the receiving end of lately, it seems like EA isn't adverse to slinging things back in the face of the competition, naming its upcoming FPS in the Plants vs. Zombies franchise, Garden Warfare, a humorous jab at Activision, publisher behind Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and the rest of the CoD games.
But the company's sense of humor has been maintained (and I'd credit PopCap for that, not EA directly), it seems to have lost all others. PopCap confirmed that Garden Warfare is a multiplayer only title, leaving solo green thumbs stuck in sweet, fresh fertilizer.
Granted, I'm not the most social of people, often playing solo more than with people. Multiplayer is fine, and I have nothing against it. What I don't like is that it's a requirement in order to play certain games, especially ones we pay for, much like a constant online connection in the case of SimCity. Hell, Tekken Revolution has an arcade and practice mode, and that's free. All I'm saying is give gamers the option for things like multiplayer, sure, but don't ram it down their throats.
Provided the game is a hit, PopCap has plans on continuing to add on to the game over time, which explains the game's low cost - $39.99 for the Xbox One, and $29.99 for Xbox 360 and PC. Sure sounds reasonable, but funnily enough, Garden Warfare will be PopCap's most expensive release to date. Speaking to ShackNews, creative director Justin Wiebe said the team wants "to build on the game once it's launched...We're definitely taking a cue from Plants vs Zombies 2. Using DLC and new content updates, we want to keep players engaged in the long haul."
The game may be launching on several different Microsoft platforms, but it's only on the Xbox One that players will get to try the game's Boss Mode, which lets players play as either Dr. Zomboss or Crazy Dave, and smother the grounds with bomb strikes using a tablet.
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare hits Xbox One first, soon after the console launches in late November. It will eventually migrate over to the other platforms.