I love Plants vs Zombies, but in the case of Plants vs Zombies for the Nintendo DS, the port wasn’t done very well. Or rather, all the game elements are there, but with no attempt to compensate for the DS’s weaknesses. I recommend against it if you’re new to Plants vs Zombies – in that case, get the PC version. If you already know the game and don’t care about the problems mentioned below, you’ll be fine with the DS version.
Due partly to its massive 2009 success, Plants vs Zombies is available in many formats for many systems. I recommend it for anyone with time and a big screen to play it on. Note the “big screen” comment: I say this because PvZ was originally designed for Windows and MacOS systems. In the case of this review, it’s also been ported to smaller systems like the Nintendo DS.
If you haven’t played Plants vs Zombies, stop reading this review right now and buy it for your Windows, Mac or Xbox 360 system.
Thanks to the excellent gameplay and many quality mini-games, Plants vs Zombies is something you’ll keep playing long after you’ve won it. To be clear, this article was written from the perspective of a die-hard PvZ fan. Any other fans will understand just how much time I’ve spent playing when they look at my scores in the two pictures below.
This review of Plants vs Zombies isn’t for the PC systems, it’s for the Nintendo DS version. And the DS version, unfortunately, falls short.
I leave it up to the reader to determine if the Nintendo DS PvZ will be appropriate for those who have never played PvZ before, or if there’s benefit to getting this one versus the PC version.
Graphics
I think it’s appropriate to show what you’re getting. The Nintendo DS’s 256 x 192 resolution in this case makes for blocky graphics and choppier gameplay. Examine the pictures below. If you were playing the game for the first time, how easy could you identify individual plants, or explain what all the pictures are supposed to be?
Here are plants you might see during the action sequences (when the zombies are actually attacking your house). The black “cutoff” of the top of the picture below is not the fault of my camera, but the actual graphics edge on the DS screen.
My point here is that all graphics in the original game seem rescaled to fit the DS’s smaller resolution. That’s fine, but there also seems to be little effort given to tweaking those results to make them friendlier on the eyes. So you get cramped screens from low-quality graphic ports.
Nintendo DS bonuses
The Nintendo DS version does have some DS-specific additions:
- Five DS-specific game modes (for example, one game has your flowers falling “asleep” after making so much sunlight. You have to speak, whistle, or make a noise into the microphone to “wake up” the flowers to keep them producing sunlight)
- Two-player “versus” mode (this is one I wanted to try but couldn’t – I only have a single DS)
- The top screen of the DS: This I felt was a waste. During the course of the gameplay, the top screen is sometimes used as a level progress bar, and at other times shows animations of zombies and ravens that, from what I can tell, have nothing to do with the game play. The developers missed an opportunity here to really add to the game interaction or more information. They could even have pulled off sections from the bottom screen to improve the playing experience. Instead we get a few animations that don’t benefit play at all, and a line indicating progress:
- The Zombatar – design your own zombie, including face, hair and other features. I personally don’t see the point, since it doesn’t affect the game in any way, but it might be a nice diversion for others who like such things. Here’s me as a female pirate viking zombie:
Gameplay and Fun
Plants vs Zombies on the Nintendo DS is very similar to the original PC/Mac versions, with a few extra perks thrown in as detailed above. The stylus control works about the same as the mouse. Like the PC game, the learning curve is negligible. Assuming you can interpret the smaller-sized graphics, PvZ is very easy to play, is a game you can win quickly, and its excellent replay value is in the Adventure mode as well as the many fun mini-games and puzzles.
One annoyance for the gameplay was that, when you want to stop playing, you can save your level, but not your place in the level. So during the Adventure mode, you’ll have to start that particular level over again. Not that big of a deal. But for long-playing mini-games like Vasebreaker or I, Zombie, the time to advance far may take hours. And if you can’t save progress… you’re out of luck if you want to quit and come back later.
Conclusion
Plants vs Zombies is a great game, but it’s best on a higher-resolution screen. Smaller screens at lower resolutions force a cramped gameboard with irritatingly jumbled graphics, especially for those who have never played the game before. I hate to give a negative review, but that’s what this is.
I don’t recommend Plants vs Zombies for the Nintnendo DS. Play it on a Windows PC, Mac or Xbox instead. If you really want it small, get it for high resolution iPhone or Android smartphones. The Nintendo DS version, while well-intentioned, is a limited-scope port and a missed opportunity.