Plants vs. Zombies is a tower defense and strategy video game developed and originally published by PopCap Games for Windows and OS X in May 2009, and ported to consoles, handhelds, and mobile devices, and in remastered versions for personal computers.
In Plants vs. Zombies, the player takes the role of a homeowner in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. To defend their home from zombies, some of which have unique abilities, the player uses plants that can fire projectiles at, or have other detrimental effects on, the horde of advancing zombies. The player collects "sun" with which defending plants can be bought. Zombies approach along several parallel lanes on the lawn, and the player must plan defenses in these lanes. If a zombie makes it to the house on any lane, the level is over.
Director George Fan was inspired to make the game after playing other tower defense titles and desiring to eliminate the typical strategies of sending advancing enemies through mazes of defenses, instead adapting the lane approach to remove this strategy.
The game received critical acclaim and was nominated for multiple Interactive Achievement Awards, alongside receiving praise for its musical score. It was followed by one direct sequel and another made for mobile devices, Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time, released in 2013 for iOS and Android, and Plants vs. Zombies 3 respectively; two third-person shooters, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare and its sequel, and a digital collectible card game, Plants vs. Zombies Heroes. On October 18, 2019, Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville was also released. On February 25, 2020, Plants vs. Zombies 3 was soft-launched.
Storyline
Release Date
- Windows, macOS
WW: May 5, 2009 - iOS
WW: February 15, 2010 (iPhone/iPod Touch) - iOS (iPad)/iPadOS
WW: April 5, 2010 - Xbox 360
WW: September 8, 2010 - Nintendo DS
NA: January 18, 2011
PAL: May 6, 2011 - PlayStation Network
WW: February 8, 2011 - DSiWare
NA: March 14, 2011
PAL: May 6, 2011 - Android
WW: May 31, 2011 (Amazon Appstore)
WW: December 14, 2011 (Google Play) - Kindle Fire
WW: November 14, 2011 - Windows Phone
WW: June 23, 2011 - Nook HD
WW: November 11, 2011 - PlayStation Vita
NA: February 21, 2012
EU: February 22, 2012 - BlackBerry 10
WW: January 30, 2013
Also See
- Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time
- Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare
- Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2
- Plants vs. Zombies Heroes
- Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville
- Plants vs. Zombies 3
Sound Effects Used
- Hollywoodedge, Dolphin Chirps Vocal PE024601/Dolphins Chirping TE015902 (Heard when the Dolphin Rider Zombie shows up; also heard during "There's a Zombie on Your Lawn".)
- Hollywoodedge, Duck Gargling CRT011305 (Used whenever a Snorkel Zombie dies in Zombiquarium.)
- Hollywoodedge, Gigantic MonsterG CRT2035603 (Used when a zombie finishes eating.)
- Plants Vs. Zombies Scream (Heard when getting a game over.)
- Sound Ideas, BODYFALL, HUMAN - BODYFALL ON GRASS (Used when a zombie collapses on the ground after losing its head.)
- Sound Ideas, CARTOON, BOING - JEW'S HARP BOING, MEDIUM (Used for the Pole Vaulter Zombie)
- Sound Ideas, CARTOON, BOING - JEW'S HARP SPROING (Used for the Jack-in-the-Box Zombie.)
- Sound Ideas, CARTOON, YELL - YEE HAW, HUMAN 03 (Used when a Bungee Zombie appears.)
- Sound Ideas, CARTOON, YELL - YEE HAW, HUMAN 06 (Used when a Bungee Zombie appears.)
- Sound Ideas, CARTOON, YELL - YEE HAW, HUMAN 07 (Used when a Bungee Zombie appears.)
- Sound Ideas, EXPLOSION - GRENADE BLAST, HAND GRENADE (Used when a Cherry Bomb explodes.)
- Sound Ideas, HUMAN, EATING - POTATO CHIPS: SINGLE BITE, SLOW, HUMAN (Used when a zombie eats a plant.)
- Sound Ideas, PLUCK, CARTOON - VAROOP (Used when a Hypno-shroom hypnotizes a zombie or a Tangle Kelp grabs a zombie, Also used when failing to make a move in Beghouled and Beghouled Twist and when a Bungee Zombie steals a plant.)
- Sound Ideas, SQUISH, CARTOON - LITTLE SQUISH (Used when explosive plants go off, but it's almost inaudible in-game.)
- Wayzata Technology, BIG LAUGHTER (Used on the title screen as the player presses the Adventure button and a Zombie's hand rises from the ground.)