Whenever Electronic Arts rears its head, much of the internet's gaming population does a sort of collective shudder. The company has risen to infamy by tossing gobs of cash into acquiring successful developers and grinding their beloved franchises into the dust, all in a myopic bid to reach the wallets of that nebulous critter, the casual gamer. Our best defense is to shrug and give our cash to someone else, but sometimes it gets a little personal. Sometimes EA buys PopCap, creator of the beloved Plants versus Zombies, and we learn that the long-awaited sequel will be free-to-play with more in-app purchasing opportunities than you can shake a reasonably large stick at.
Well, it's here, and it's Plants versus Zombies in all its glory. Just... better. The action, charm, and replayability that made the first one such a smashing success are captured and improved. But it's also leaves me a little sad. Because while the game retains all the charm and grace of its predecessor—and then some—it also bears the hallmarks of the most odious forms of the free-to-play genre. You'll have a great time and likely won't even spend a cent. But that pervasive need to nickel-and-dime, however optional, leaves a slimy sort of film on the goodwill PopCap has earned through excellent game development.
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