PvZ 3 Limited Test Feedback
Now that a new beta has been released, I thought I'd provide my two cents on how I think this game is coming along.
Hand holding tutorials
Currently I believe that the only positive change betwee...
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Pvz 3 got another beta. First project hot tub and now this. Well its better than pure silence.
Its not looking great tbh.
I played all 50 levels and here's my thoughts.
I still don't know how to feel about the pvz3 artstyle (thank goodness they brought color back to the title though, the post bfn color choice was bland as heck) it looks fine on some characters and objects like sunflower, crazy dave, and the new cast but looks horrendous on others like gargantuar, imp, and the suns (seriously why is it a still image). Also can anyone tell me if the male coneheads have wierd shadow lighting or actual hair now?
Once again the problem with the early build wasnt that it was in 3d but that it was terrible looking 3d that looked like it was from a 1st wave 3ds game.
I think pvz2 still has my favorite artstyle it rounds out the pvz1 style while also adding a bit more charm in the animations like the pult family.
STOP CENSORING THE BUCKETHEAD YOU COWARDS!
The new plants are meh. Even if he has a cool sound silversword is just gloomshroom. Bamboo shoots is ok but he definetly has to be set up in advance and doesnt do anything too unique.
The new zombies are a bit better the barrel imp (I cant remember his name) is all right and his speed being affected by elevation is a decent concept.
Bowling zombie impressed me yet it looks ridicolous how he still throws his ball even when his arm fell off. Also why is every other zombie arm that falls off leave a green stump yet bowling zombie shows his bone clearly like a pvz1/2 zombie, is it simply a visual choice or somekind of censorship?
Duck float zombies return and they move slower on land but faster in water. Good idea especially with the water surges.
Not being able to pick plants is a pain but the selection is small now but I hope they change it in the future as being given a limited roster feels more like a play at gimping the player rather than actually being necessary for a level. This seems to he a common complaint and i get it.
The story so far.
The gardenscapes approach is so bizarre. It just feels out of place and the fact that its being used to tell the story is weird, why isnt it just level story based progression since we have to play levels anyway to earn taco tickets?
We help dave fix up his house on neighborville (ya know at this point after bfn and project hot tub I think this title/name is just cursed) than go to find a robot lawn mower called Mo and then his neice patrice blazing from the comics (so is blazing dave's last name? Ok) we help build her a fort and build a zombie detector only to find out they're everywhere after zomboss sent them a card saying his minions would get their brains. I do like dave's relationship with patrice especially with the little picture with him pushing her on the tire swing, its wholesome.
The beta ends here after the zombie signal detector. I wonder why it isnt level based progression instead of this wierd gardenscapes version and the still image of dave standing around still just looks really cheap.
Pvz1 and 2 dont really have groundbreaking stories but i think intergrating the story into the actual flow of gameplay progression would work better like in 2.
Music
Its alright. The changes to grasswalk aren't great and the campground theme sounds like the intro to a halloween show rather than a pvz level.
The gameplay and animations.
This is where I think pvz3 lets me down the most.
I remember back in the first beta but why is the zombie eating animation still so bad? In pvz1 and 2 they actually eat plants by picking them apart with their hands than taking it to their mouth and chewing. Why do they just fling theit arms toward plants rather than actually eat them.
Squash doesn't actually flatten zombies they just fall apart like legos, why.
Tangle kelp just kinda slaps zombie rather than strangle and drag them into water like 1. 2 slapped as well but it looked a little better.
How did pvz1 on ds do this better?
Chili bean stun just looks less appealing.
Zombie bodies just sinking into the lawn to despawn looks super awkward.
Grapes of wrath felt pointless most of the time since it only activated in most levels near the end when there were only 2-3 zombies left and it was wrapping up anyway. Also randomly targeting tiles just got in the way sometimes.
The powers ups seem kinda pointless. I never really used them and in cant see why they cant just be instants like p vz 1 other than microtransactions yet i rarely use them due to how easy the game is.
The levels feel disjointed since we have Dave's lawn, a campground with water, but then a volcano with slanted tiles what? In pvz1 the levels were simple and made sense due to the house being used itself as the levels with the pool using water and roof using slanted tiles which made sense. Pvz 2 also had the different eras so it could introduce concepts to each of them like dinosaurs and water. Maybe the story will give reasons for why we got here later?
The rapid tides and volcano blasts are ok gimmicks but thats only if theres enough water and you haven't planted enough in the volcano yet. I'll see how it turns out in the full release.
I dont really like only having MO as a single lawnmower since it takes away prioritising or sacrificing a lane for the greater good of the defense especially since we could one time kamikaze launch a mower in pvz2 to save our defensive.
Overall the game felt way too easy. I breezed through all 50 levels in roughly two and a half hours. I never felt challenged even when a Gargantuar appeared. It gets worse since the game gives you the blover safety net when they reach your house and you can even get rake or stun boosts before hand. Heck if I could choose seeds cabbage pelt would be spammed because he has no weakness in the beta. He has a good fire rate and damage unlike bamboo and peashooter and can ignore elevation rules all together.
It feels like 50 levels of a tutorial at times. Kinda wierd since this is the third game in the series. Pvz1 got its mechanics in a lot easier and faster than this. I hate being hand held in what every new plant and zombie does it the start of a level. The Alan and let you knkw what a new zombie does after you've seen it like pole vaulter showing up and countering your wallnuts with mo warning that that's his ability at first. Do it really need to know how an imp works popcap?
Its also jarring since the game explains that zombies are sllwed down by water after like 5 levels of zombies getting slowed by sater already.
I was genhinely shocked when a gargantuar appeared in a level because he randomly appeared and the game didnt tell me it was coming in a popup. Seeing zombies before the level to plan was something even old pvz 3 got right.
Im not asking for big wave beach soul crushing difficulty but i'd like to still be challenged a little.
The levels feel way to short and are over right when it starts picking up.
Than there's the life system. You lose one then you die and have to wait for it to charge back overtime, however since the game can give you infinite lives for a time period and the games so ridicolousy easy at times you'll hardly need it.
Even then whats the point? Don't you want me to play your game Popcap? I could binge play pvz2, however if I lose enough here enough ill have to wait. That's bull and its gonna make people not wanna play the game.
Vasebreaker got butchered. You have to wait after beating it to play again (23 hours and 5 minutes wtf) and its mind numbling easy to the point of putting me asleep. How do you screw up Vasebreaker?
Many seem dissapointed as I will now roughly quote some youtubers: T3rr0r: " I played a little bit of it and hate how you can feel its a 2022 mobile game, especially with the U.I and homescapes style "customization" pvz3 just doesnt expand on 2 the way 2 did on the original. The plants arent really that different and the new gimmicks dont really add anything that changes up the gameplay too much. They should just release and market it as a spinoff like heroes rather than try to be the third entry in a trilogy that has already set the bar very high".
From the channel 660nj: "It's impressive how after 6 months popcap all that pvz 3 got was a hub world a ranking system based on where you killed a zombie, shuffle arpund the story to only be the first 24 levels, and add a vasebreaker you can only play every few hours, phenomenal job, popcap."
A common complaint: "The main problem I have with any sequel is whether it will add anything to the story. There sill come a point where a series just cant add anything to improve the gameplay. So im only here to see if it continues the story".
It seens many are dissapointed with pvz3 and wont live up to what pvz2 at its best has established.
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Since we're this far into a 3rd beta now i fear gameplay will stay like this now and this appears to be a common fear for pvz3. I think fans in general have a vary low opinion on the series right now as we been faceplanting from one misstep to another from, treatment of past games, bfn, hot tub, and now this.
One thing im disapointed with is how the series keeps going further and further to mobile tactics. Imo pvz1 worked because it was everywhere: PC,console, DS, and mobile. I just think ths series wouldve been better if it stayed a more dedicated way to play rather than simply mobile.
Tldr this videos still relevant:
Comic patrice
Pvz3 patrice
Easiest big wave beach level gameplay
Hardest pvz3 beta level.
Personally I gave it a 4/10 on the survey. Its playable and does have some charge but that can't save it from just being boring and a bit too mobile gamey. The survey feedback also seemed far too limited to what we could say.
Makes more sense when you realize that pvz 2 and pvz 3 sere made by two seperate teams.
I've not kept up on PvZ3 much, but from what I've seen it's much better than it was at first, but not as good as the original or PvZ2. I enjoy both of those games but stopped playing 2 since there were serious problems with the arena mode, and too many new plants added that cost real money.
Part of the issue is that losing the IP's creator, George Fan, means the person that came up with this wondrous idea is no longer part of the universe, so things added may not always jive well. In general, they've done a decent job, especially with both GW games, but there's been some serious problems too; BfN's failure being a big one.
I want PvZ3 to succeed, so I want them to make it work. PvZ2 is the only game in the franchise right now getting any real updates and support, and it's not a great place to be. I was getting quests done in GW2 last night and was bemoaning the fact we still have no news on a new shooter just makes things look worse and worse with PvZ3 not getting the best reviews. Not the best time to be a PvZ fan right now, but I'd love to be proven wrong!
- @Iron_Guard8 I think a lot of people consider 2016 one of pvz 2's best years as i believe it was before a lot of the leveling and heavier arena style monetization came in. The progress through adventure mode was also balanced more along the gargantuar mini bosses in each world.
Some of the new plants are really cool but eventually some begin to overlap in purpose or are too powerful. five dollars for chomper will forever be a massive oof.
A lot of the people that worked with George also left when he did and its the reason a lot of the better pvz 2 was removed. Also hurts knowing that Popcap was the one who wanted more microtransactions in 2 which Fan was very much again and then he got layed off when Popcap/EA purged the studio of employees. Though there are differing tales of what the full story was.
Gw and heroes at their peak show that the series can branch out and be successful when supported but bfn and late no support also shows how easily you can drive something into the ground that was once easily praised.
It isn't so much that i care about pvz 3 that much but rather that the franchise needs a win right now after everything that's happened.
Crazy how pvz 2 still gets supported heavily yet pvz 3 feels almost like a fan game and communication is non existent with popcap.
I just wish gw2 had gotten a better final update as the portal rotation is so @##*. Imagine if we got spooky squash for Halloween and not team vanquish but with specific variants every time except that one month that its capture the taco.
Really hoping the series can climb back up because we're definitely in a dark age for the franchise right now
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