Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville is out today

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Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville, the latest chapter in the tale of the eternal conflict between the relentless hordes of the undead and the relentlessly upbeat armies of greenery, was announced and launched, partially, in September. The idea was that after the initial rollout, new modes and features would be added over a six-week stretch leading up to the full release, which took place today.

The full release of PvZ: Battle for Neighborville has six online multiplayer modes, including a new 4v4 "Funderdome" arena, and 20 customizable character classes, some familiar and others new to the fight: the Snapdragon spits fire for the flowers, for instance, while the '80s Action Hero brings few words and fewer thoughts to the zombie team.

Players can also jump into three separate free-roam areas—Neighborville Town Center, Mount Steep, and Weirding Woods—each of which will offer "ridiculous quests, vibrant cosmetics and a familiar cast of zany characters." There's also a new social area called Giddy Park that has a target range, amusement park rides, and "light multiplayer battles," which doesn't sound very social to me, but I'm also neither a plant nor a zombie so maybe I'm missing some valuable context. And finally, there will be "transformative monthly events," beginning with the Lawn of Doom Festival, already underway, which will offer unique challenges and unlockable cosmetics.

It looks cute, and the previous shooter in the series, Garden Warfare, was quite good, but even so I'm a little disappointed that we still haven't got a proper PvZ tower defense sequel on PC. The shooter genre is undeniably more mainstream than tower defense, but the original game is what made Plants vs. Zombies great in the first place and I'd really like more. (Yes, there have been a couple of mobile sequels, but this is PC Gamer, people.)

Also, all due respect but "Come on down to Neighborville" isn't nearly as catchy as "There's a zombie on your lawn."

Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville is available in either a $40 standard or $50 deluxe edition from Origin.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.