Plant This is a strategy game with a garden theme. At first, I thought this was just a version of Plants vs. Zombies, but it is not. Although it shares the same idea of plants that can fight against some of type of invaders, this game introduces a new element that gives it a completely different touch. Instead of the invaders coming in straight lines or following an already set path (as in Rescue Garden), they must find their way along a maze that you have built with your plants.
Now let us meet the two contingent groups. On one of the sides, there is your army made up of plants, with the sole purpose of preventing the invaders from reaching the bottom of the defended area. On the other side, there are different insect waves. Plants cost you money, and the bigger their power, the higher their price. Insects, in turn, have a value, too. Again, the more powerful the insect, the higher its value. So, you should kill them to get the necessary money to buy more plants and strengthen your defenses. As I mentioned before, it is important that you build a maze to complicate the path, so that the insects get lost and you have more time to shoot at them. Not only it is important to construct a very intricate maze, but also to use the plants wisely according to their different powers. Provided you have the money, you can also upgrade a given plant to increase its fire range. Sometimes, some plants are no longer useful in the current position, so you can just sell them and place a different one there. At the beginning of every level, you are given an amount of money and a number of lives. As with the money, you can get more lives by killing some specific insects. For every insect that reaches the bottom of the screen, you lose a life, and the game will be over when you lose all your lives. Fortunately, you do not have to start from scratch - you can begin at the current level instead. The game will even allot you a fair amount of time to organize your defenses more carefully. Apart from the money you earn by killing bugs, you can also win trophies and power-ups. Once in a while, the defended field will expand to give you extra space.
The game has an interesting background story that will be unveiled as you advance through the levels. Unfortunately, this story has almost no relationship with the gameplay, so you might prefer to skip it. The game has three difficulty levels: normal, medium and insane. Although the game is challenging because you will need to use your brains to take advantage of the available resources effectively, the mechanics are not difficult to grasp thanks to the detailed instructions provided. In addition, it also helps that new elements are always introduced in tutorial mode. To make it even easier, some enemies show bubbles with very funny texts that give you a clue of how to fight them better. By advancing in the game, you can unlock books in which you can read about the plants and the insects, which can help you plan your strategies more accurately.
The game features very simple but nice graphics. There are also various options, such as full-screen mode and adjustable level of detail. The sounds are appropriate to the actions. The music is nice but - as in almost all games - it may become boring after a while. However, you can always mute all the in-game sounds and play your favorite music on your media player.
In general, Plant This is a game I really enjoyed playing. It is not about your ability to move your mouse quickly but to use your wits. Although generally underestimated, this type of game can definitely contribute to forming thinking skills. This one in particular can be used for instructional purposes, particularly with young children. This way, they can reinforce their strategic thinking and gain environmental awareness as well.
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