Unfortunately, GW2 isn't taken too seriously by shooter fans. It's too bad considering the accessibility + depth the game offers.
I made a post about a month ago saying I think GW2 took the series in the wrong direction. Reasoning is that the game is just too goofy in it's characters, customizations, and maps. We literally have superheroes and pirates fighting in what is supposed to be "warfare". It just doesn't really fit. Then, the maps...
Zen Peak, Time Park, Great White North, Lunar Landing, Sandy Sands... I've said it before, but some of these maps feel like they were ripped straight from Adventure Time. I understand that GW2 is supposed to be a fun-loving "doesn't take itself too seriously" type of game world, but by doing that you really aren't going to sell any outsider on the fact that it's a game about warfare.
I know this isn't PopCap's desire for the series' direction... But if Garden Wacky 2 would have adopted a more serious art style, character choices, and maps, I feel the game would have felt much more epic & deserving of the warfare title, and the game would have been taken much more seriously by outsiders and potential buyers.
You can have a serious tone and have Plants and Zombies fighting in all out war as well. It's ironic! And gave the original GW a lot of charm the sequel doesn't have.
I'll link it again... The initial reveal for the original Garden Warfare. Pay attention to the art style, it's much more grounded and pseudo-realistic. It's doesn't go overboard with the goofy factor, and all the character classes look somewhat plausible for a warfare type game.
https://youtu.be/ShMootQvl_0
Final note, Frostbite could be utilized better. After seeing what Need for Speed, Star Wars Battlefront, and Battlefield 1 have done with the engine, there really isn't any reason why the GW series couldn't look on par with those games.
Hopefully Garden Wacky 2 is just a misstep for the series, and GW3 will carry a more warfare-oriented tone with classes and maps to fit that tone. Well... If they want to draw in a larger audience and be taken more seriously... Then they certainly should.
Maybe then they'll actually be considered for awards!
