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9 years ago

Solved

Garden Warfare 2 Took The Series In The Wrong Direction

This is just my opinion, so please don't get too upset about it.

This is going to be hard for me to translate into words, but I'll try... As a huge fan of the original Garden Warfare I was obviously going to be hyped for a sequel, and after the announcement of GW2 I was pretty excited. This was my #1 most anticipated game before it's release... My hopes were very high for it... That was until I put a day or so's worth of playtime into it after launch. Now, despite the balancing troubles the game went through following the months after it's release I still thought the core gameplay mechanics were tight and generally fun (except for a few abilities such as the Turbo Twister, Gravity Bomb, and Goat Spell).

When it comes down to it, the gameplay is, overall, pretty solid despite some balancing issues. But really, the single, biggest problem with the game, for me, is the overall atmosphere, art direction, and new character class choices. Simply put, Garden Warfare 2 is too goofy. Now, before you laugh, just hear me out...

The original GW didn't really take itself too seriously, it had plenty of charm and some humor thrown in as well. The game was ironic in the sense that you're playing in a world where plants battle zombies in all-out warfare. It was serious yet silly at the same time, but I feel as though that gave the game a very unique charm that you really don't see very often.

GW2 on the other hand, took the silliness to a whole new level. It's as though PopCap forgot they were making a game about warfare, and instead turned the game's goofiness up to 100. I feel as though this ripped the charm right out of what made the original Garden Warfare so unique... You played as silly characters in a serious setting, whereas GW2 you play as silly characters in an even more silly setting. The maps are more cartoony than ever, dropping any sort of realistic art direction, and even the new character "classes" felt way too cartoony and really don't fit within a warfare theme or atmosphere.

Super Brainz in a warfare setting? Captain Deadbeard? Maybe even Rose? These characters don't belong on a battlefield, and completely rip the feel of "warfare" out of the game. The game feels more like Garden Wacky 2 as opposed to Garden Warfare 2. Even the customization items are so goofy and off-the-wall that you'd be more likely to see them in a Skylanders game than a game about warfare. The original GW's customization items were at least more grounded and fit with the more serious tone of the game.

Just imagine a future Garden Warfare game that has:

A serious tone and setting
Classes that feel more like classes rather than characters
Classes that fit the warfare theme (No superheroes or pirates -_-)
Maps that have a more realistic art direction (some of GW2's maps looks like they could have been ripped straight out of Adventure Time)
A grittier overall feel to the game (That's where the irony comes from, serious warfare within a world of Plants and Zombies battling it out)

Perhaps one day a future Garden Warfare title will emerge that takes it's warfare setting serious again (like the original), but ups the ante with new classes (not characters) that can fit the warfare theme properly.

The original Garden Warfare looked like the start of something amazing, but as it stands, like I previously mentioned, Garden Warfare 2 might as well be called Garden Wacky 2, because it doesn't feel like you're fighting on a battlefield, it just doesn't feel like war at all. And that's a shame, because this is a universe that has so much potential, and making it into a Third-Person Shooter was one of the best ideas ever for the franchise, and I would really hate for it to continue to go downhill because the devs lost sight of what made the original so ironic and unique of a game.

To anyone that read my whole post, thanks for taking the time. I hope others might feel the same way I do about GW2 and the direction the series should take in the future. Again, this was all just my opinion, so if you disagree, more power to you, no hard feelings. I just had to get my thoughts out on this, in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, PopCap might take notice, because I really do want the series to get back on track and in sight of what it was originally about for it's maybe 3rd time around.

Jetset575
9 years ago
This post prompted me to reminisce about the memories of the original first being revealed...

https://youtu.be/ShMootQvl_0

Now this^^ is the sort of style and tone the Garden Warfare series should have continued with. It's such a shame it didn't imho.

11 Replies

SonicMaster92
9 years ago
Garden Warfare 2 is supposed to be more crazier, with the all-out war between the Plants and Zombies going through much of Suburbia/Zomburbia. It also involves the appearance of Gnomes as well (don't know why).
Anonymous
9 years ago
Approved
I don't like the direction they took for different reasons I just find the whole gnome thing not for me. I've done the trials but never enjoyed them they have made the game just a grind fest most of the time.
I've played over two hundred hours and still no legendary, I feel like I'm play a free to play game sometimes for the price they are asking for some packets.
realitysquared
9 years ago
If you look at the series history, going back to its roots as a silly little tower defense game for the PC, it's always presented itself as being weird.

The original version has your neighbor Crazy Dave teaching you how to keep Zombies from eating your brains with such oddball tactics as knocking down the hordes with walnut bowling and using lawn mowers as your last line of defense.

The sequel, Plants vs Zombies 2 greatly expanded the number of plant varieties you could use and introduced the concept of Crazy Dave traveling with you through time in his cobbled together time machine/RV which talked to you throughout the game as you hopped from time period to time period fighting the zombie menace, which was now thematically tricked out to match whenever in time you were.

From there the series jumped from a silly tower defense game to Garden Warfare and suddenly those static, immovable defensive plants are running around in combat.

Looking st the series overall, especially the direct Garden Warfare predecessor, the franchise has always pushed the silly factor to the forefront.
Jetset575
9 years ago
You're right PvZ never really took itself seriously. But I feel GW2 pushed the cartooniness to a whole new level, something I'm personally not a fan of in the slightest.
realitysquared
9 years ago
You are correct that the art direction steered a little more towards the cartoony.

I was, and still am, a big fan of the original maps. The originals definitely gave more of the impression of a more-or-less regular place being invaded by goofy looking Zombies.

GW2 definitely introduced more exotic locations, Zen Peak and Time Park for example and that is a bit of a departure from the suburbs, Main Street and fishing villages of the first game.
Jetset575
9 years ago
Right, and just to be clear I'm not saying the game isn't fun. It's still decently enjoyable for me, but the overall feel and look of the game (the maps, classes, & customizations I stated in my OP) lowers the experience quite a bit. The charm that made me love the original just isn't there imo.
Jetset575
9 years ago
This post prompted me to reminisce about the memories of the original first being revealed...

https://youtu.be/ShMootQvl_0

Now this^^ is the sort of style and tone the Garden Warfare series should have continued with. It's such a shame it didn't imho.
realitysquared
9 years ago
I have actually never seen that particular trailer before.

Watching that one it definitely parodies Battlefield initially before spinning off into ridiculousness and its undeniable that the game presents itself now more as it's own little thing rather than trying to piggyback quite so much on parodying the genre.
Newjames
9 years ago
Speaking of the old maps of the original.....I miss those two. I wish GW2 would feature them in a future update.
Iron_Guard8
Legend
9 years ago
I miss them (the old maps) as well.

I understand they mentioned that certain characters, especially and most particularly, the Imp Mechs are too large for certain points on the old maps but it is in the same engine, albeit GW2 uses a newer iteration of it, so surely bringing them forward with some tweaks would be feasible. A large portion of the playerbase mentions it. Aqua Center seems to give evidence of this since it's not only a visual revamp of Garden Center but also changes areas of the map. I still hope to see them return, even Garden Center despite the existence of Aqua Center.

The first game did also have taco bandits which is pretty silly although I'm not disagreeing with your point OP. I like the silliness personally. I just want to see a lot of maps and game modes, and I really want taco bandits back! With the gnomes and all the time travel implications we can surely justify its return to the game modes.