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Plant This, by Blue Atom Games

4/5

Long live flower power! In this lively game, you're the gardener as flowers get revenge on evil garden critters. You plant a maze of flowers to trap and shoot invading bugs. Plant This is lots of fun, easy to play, and has plenty of challenges for kids or adults.

You start with sunflowers and some cash, and advice from a gopher who isn't as cute as he looks. Gopher wants to destroy your garden with his insect army. Good thing your flowers are armed and dangerous! Build your mazes to stop the bugs from reaching the bottom of your garden. As the game goes on, you can buy and plant different types of flowers.

Sunflowers are the basic shooting units. Daisies shoot faster, and daffodils stun the bugs and slow them down. Roses send out pulsing rays of destruction. Use combos of different flowers to thwart the bugs. You can upgrade your flowers for more blasting power.

My favorite part of the game is the strategy. Once you figure out the movements of the bugs, you can build complex traps, fortify them with upgraded flowers and chortle with glee as the bugs get creamed. At three a.m. I was still chortling, and finding new ways to build and improve my maze.

Some bugs need to be targeted (click on them) to be killed, and some can only be squished by you. Spiders multiply into masses! If a bug escapes to the bottom of the garden, you lose a life. Don't sweat it. If bugs overrun your garden, you can build a new maze, or start again with the same one.

Plant This gets double points for creativity and innovation. You control the design of the game board, and can plant your flowers anywhere you please. You can sell, replace, or upgrade your flowers, or modify the design of your maze, all during gameplay.

The graphics are average quality, but good for a puzzle game. Animations are lively. The bugs 'talk' in thought balloons as they scurry through your garden, and the voice of the gopher alerts you to oncoming attacks. The background symphony music is a bonus, and somehow makes the game seem grander than it really is.

Plant This had a couple of small glitches. The gopher had no voice the second time I played. One of the bug descriptions is wrong, but it doesn't affect gameplay. If you can live with that, the game's a riot! Action escalates with each level as the garden expands and the bugs get nastier. Eventually a tank shows up to maul your maze, and you have to move fast! The game levels are well-paced, so you have time to learn a few tricks by then.

I'd recommend this game. The blend of strategy and action is seamless, and it's a lively workout for your mind and reflexes both. Now I'm off to re-conquer the demo version. Three a.m. comes early.

Rating: 4/5

Learn more about this author, M.J. Holliday.
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