Well, no one told EA subsidiary PopCap Games that when they developed third-person shooter PLANTS V ZOMBIES: GARDEN WARFARE.

The original PvZ game has been around on mobile devices and PCs since about 2009. That game was fairly simple.

Players took the role of the plants, which had to defeat multiple waves of zombies using some unique and imaginative types of plants and fungi to stop the invasion.

The latest console version - Garden Warfare - is the first to take the game into a 3D setting and make it a true, traditional shooter.

This time around, players can assume the role of either zombies or plants, with both having up to four different character classes.

The zombies have foot soldiers, engineers, scientists and all-stars, while the plants have traditional peashooters, chompers, sunflowers and cactus.

All characters classes have three unique abilities.

For example, the traditional peashooter can shoot peas as a ranged weapon, can fire off pods that attract zombies before exploding, and can also "plant" itself for a limited time and go into rapid-fire mode.

There are many other abilities that players can learn for themselves during the game.

In fact, the game itself will show you these abilities and how to use them. How easy is that?

Garden Warfare has three main game modes: Team Vanquish, Gardens and Graveyards and the co-op mode.

Team Vanquish pits 12 players from each size - that is, 12 plant players and 12 zombie players - in a race to rack up 50 kills.

The trick is to work as closely as possible with other teammates to make sure any fallen player is revived by another player as quickly as possible.

When a player is successfully revived, the point the opposition team was awarded for the kill is deducted from their score.

Gardens and Graveyards is again a team-based mode where plant player must work co- operatively to stop the zombies from capturing various points on the map.

Each point is a single battle in itself. Think of it like a traditional capture-the-flag mode.

Finally, the co-op mode sees four plant players take on AI-controlled zombies who attack in waves.

Again, teamwork is paramount, with the plant players having to protect their "garden", which sort of doubles as an HQ. If the garden falls, the level is over.

You will almost invariably need at least one sunflower plant on your map to help you heal your character when it takes damage.

And it will take damage.

There are a large number of extremely powerful AI zombie characters heading your way, including zombies clad in football armour, zombies inside coffins and, of course, giant all-powerful boss characters, which really take some effort to take down.

The zombie hordes aren't as smart as they could be, and players do have the ability to place various defensive and offensive plants in potplants at various strategic points around the map.

Knowing what to plant and where to plant them is part of the strategy behind Garden Warfare.

Potplants are a limited resource, which players can "buy" by purchasing card packs similar to those found in FIFA soccer games.

To buy these packs, players accumulate points during gameplay.

Currently, there are no micro transactions available, meaning you cannot simply stock up by purchasing in-game credits with real money, although EA is likely to have some grand scheme to make this happen at some stage.

Apart from various plant cards you pick up in the packs, there are also various other accessories available, which you can use to "pimp up" your plant.

Graphics play a big part of what makes Garden Warfare such an enjoyable experience.

Forget sun-baked deserts and dark, sinister urban settings usually found in shooters.

Garden Warfare boasts some incredibly colourful, bright and highly detailed game maps, each one as distinct and different as the next.

The characters are highly detailed and look fantastic, even throwing in some humour for good measure.

The gameplay flows well and the shooting mechanics are pretty much top-notch (including the ability to take down enemies faster with headshots).

Overall, Plants v Zombies: Garden Warfare is a true delight to play, even if you weren't a fan of the original game. It looks inviting, is simple to learn and doesn't take itself seriously at all.

Graphics: 8

Gameplay: 7.5

Sounds: 8

OVERALL: 78%