Plants Vs Zombies (Nintendo DS)

I've being playing the PC version of Plants vs Zombies for several years and it is an incredibly time engulfing game - hours pass by without you knowing.

The premise is simple - you own a house and the zombies want to get in and eat your brains, you need to fight them off and the only things you have are plants. These plants, however, aren't just the ordinary run-of-the-garden plants - they fight back.

There are 48 different types of plant which can do a number of things to help defend you home, from sun flowers (which produce the energy points) to pea-shooters and butter bombers.

There are 26 different zombies from the ordinary zombie to the bungee-jumping ones who drop in to steal your defences and miners, there are even a dancing zombie (it used to be a Michael Jackson thriller tribute but it now a lamer Simpson's type Disco Stu and without the music that used to accompany the MJ one and the Disco Dancer on the PC version).

Crazy Dave's Twiddy Dinkies car boot sale opens after the level 3.4 and you can start to buy the added extras to help your fight back, including extra plant slots.

Night, fog and swimming pools all make defending your brain more difficult.

The game is played on the bottom screen with the top screen used as a display for the timer which seemed like a waste of a screen. I have to admit that I ignored the top screen most of the time due to the amount of action on the bottom screen, but on the odd occasion I have had a moment in the game to look at it I found that there is at least one crow sat on the fence and, I laughed when I saw the sleeping crow hitching a lift on the head of a zombie during the night time.

There are a number of unlockable extras with the game:

- Zombatar - unlocked after completion of level 1 - create your own zombies

- almanac - unlock after completion of level 1 - more information about your plants and those zombies. It is worth reading the notes in the almanac when facing the bigger, more unusual, zombies

- VS - opens after completion of level 1 (around level 2.2) and allows you to play with another person either by ds wifi or ds download (so no extra card is needed)

- Achievements - as you play you will receive awards - for example, using the cherry bomb a certain number of times gives you an award and so on

- Mini Games - open at around level 3.2 - there is a great selection of mini games some classics and some new ones

- Puzzle - opens around 4.4 - an engrossing series of games and once again some original ones and some new ones.
- Survival - how many levels can you survive before the never ending zombie attack reaches your brain ... er ... house.

- Zen Garden - collect and grow plants and make extra money for those items in Crazy Dave's boot.

I haven't played all the games in the Mini Games and Puzzles section yet but of those I have played I have to admit I am incredibly happy with them. So much so I have played the first few over again, even though I have already beaten them.

Level 3.5 may cause a problem as you need to shout at the DS in order to keep your plants firing. This is no good if you are a child (or an adult) in a place where you can't make a noise.

The new mini games include:

- heat wave
- home run derby
- air raid
- bomb all together

The side games are a great way of adding extra money to buy the next upgrade from Crazy Dave.

Of course things don't get easier when you start the game a second time. On your second run through Crazy Dave selects the first 3 plants for you to use, reducing your choices by 3. Sounds okay. The problem is Dave's choice may not be right - for example, day my choose a night plant and it's day time, or a water plant and there's no swimming pool.

One strange side effect of playing the game you may find yourself humming the song "zombie on your lawn" by the "sunflower" which you open when you have conquered the main game.

If you want to play PvZ and are away from your computer then this is the perfect option. Great fun and, in my opinion, it's better than the PC version - Plants vs Zombies - Game of the Year (PC CD).

I've owned the PC version of this game since it first came out in 2009. I've lost count of the number of times I've played that version, and the DS version is turning out to be the same. There are some differences between them. You get a maximum of 9 seed slots instead of the 10 you can upgrade to on the PC version, but that's because the DS screen can't display any more than that. There's one level and mini-game where you have to shout from time to time - warn people when you're about to play that game or level. You still have the Tree of Wisdom, but you can't change the appearance of the zombies (no keyboard, obviously). Some of the awards are different, too. You also have the option to play against another player. One of you plays plants, the other plays zombies. I can't comment on that aspect of the game because I haven't tried it yet.

The game is played on the interactive screen, with the other screen used for the timer bar. Don't ignore this screen, though. Strange and interesting things happen there.

I play this version on a DSi XL. I've not played it on my DS Lite and I suspect the images would be a bit small on the smaller screen.

Brilliant, totally addictive, must have game. I bought this for the PC and loved it so much that I bought the DS version for when I can't have my turn on the PC (husband's got there first) or when I'm away from home. I do prefer the PC version but this one is nearly as fabulous. It is however a great time waster and I would advise not to start playing if you need to be somewhere soon! I didn't think it would have lasting playability but I was wrong. I'm now on my third way through the adventure and still enjoying all the other stuff (mini games, puzzles, zen garden). I would definitely recommend this game.