PopCap is finally bringing Plants vs. Zombies to Facebook.
The casual-game developer will launch Plants vs. Zombies Adventures on the social network this spring, according to Inside Social Games, but this isn’t the undead-fighting vegetable action you’re familiar with. Adventures takes the beloved formula from the 2009 release and mixes it up with new plants, new mechanics, and new social features.
In addition to Adventures, PopCap also confirmed that a full Plants vs. Zombies 2 is due out in early summer, but it didn’t provide any concrete details.
Unlike the original, Adventures has players defending a motor home from waves of zombies, and the undead don’t just walk in a straight line this time. They can follow paths that turn and twist, like in other tower-defense titles. New plants like the Beet — which, uh, beats enemies — will help deal with these more complex attack patterns.
Plants vs. Zombies Adventures also has a town-building mechanic that has players upgrading various properties to earn new resources. This aspect of the game also reveals PopCap’s social and monetization strategy.
Players can visit their friends’ towns and send zombie attacks at certain buildings. If the undead overrun one of the properties, that unit will stop producing resources. Players can send one attack a day or purchase the right to send more. It’s not clear what the motivation is to do this other than to royally piss off your friends.