I agree wholeheartedly gamewizrd99. I just bought the game today for my 5 year old daughter. The fact that this is still an issue over 3 years later means that that haven't pulled their head out of their posterior and the game is still obviously on the market. Meaning the issue is still an ongoing problem. Having no access to any features of the game with a basic XBox live (Internet Connection) is ridiculous. I assume it has to do with not being able to do the micro-transactions that they love to get maybe you can only do that with a paid subscription to Xbox Live gold (ponders intensely). Come on EA get your "flowers" together and stop "jumping" your consumers over with "bullhorn" ideas that only try to thicken your wallets even after we have give up money for your product.
I see that they did in fact make it Xbox live only (No Gold) for Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 as posted on their website
http://www.pvzgw2.com/en_GB/news/essential-information-faq-ukCan I play on my own?
For the first time, we’re introducing a unique solo play experience where you can play every single game mode either by yourself against AI, or with the help of a friend in local split screen. We’ll have more details on what else you can expect from solo play very soon!
Will I need Xbox Live Gold or PS+ to play the game?
You will not need Xbox Live Gold or PS+ to play the game. All local play features (solo play and local split screen), can be experienced with an internet connection only. If you want to jump online to play with friends you will require Xbox Live Gold or PS+.
So obviously they realized their mistake and corrected it on future versions. But what about fixing the problem that exsists on previous versions???!!