Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare — Rooted in shallow soil

Gamers were dumbfounded when PopCap announced it was ­transplanting the Plants vs Zombies series from the backyard to the battlefield. To say the ­multiplayer-shooter spinoff is a huge ­departure for the casual game developer is an ­understatement, but the aesthetics and ­lighthearted tone are a wonderful change of pace for the violence-obsessed genre.

PopCap is known for making highly polished games that virtually anyone can pick up and play. Unfortunately, that equation only rings half true for Garden Warfare. The developer’s simplified approach to the genre does away with basic concepts like sprinting, melee attacks, and limited ammo, making it easy for anyone to get into the swing of battle.