It’s difficult to imagine that today might be somebody’s first date with Plants vs Zombies. The original game was first released on Steam in 2009, and on every device imaginable thereafter. It became a floral-flavoured competitive shooter in 2013, and was adapted for cinema by Robert Zemeckis in 2015 (though devotees tend to cite 2017’s Edgar Wright-directed horror-comedy PvZ as the definitive entry in the series).
Oh, sorry, somebody’s been messing with the site’s timestamps again. Ignore that last.
The news is this: EA and Origin have stepped out onto the lawn for their latest On The House giveaway – Plants vs Zombies: Game of the Year Edition.
Game of which year? Difficult to know. But the subtitle means you get to build your own zombie from freshly dismembered parts using the Zombatar, which I don’t remembered featuring in the original game.
Origin apparently does achievements, too – so there are also 20 of those you might earn.
In lieu of a PC release for the microtransactioned sequel, this’ll do nicely (though it’s worth noting Facebook’s Plants vs Zombies Adventures didn’t look in need of composting either).
The game is ordinarily £4.25, but will remain free until May 28 – at which point another EA game will take its place On The House.
The initiative began with Dead Space last month, and is presumably designed to get us using Origin when we’re not playing Battlefield or Titanfall.
“We’re gamers, too,” wrote Origin’s devs at the time. “We appreciate you making Origin your gaming home… and besides, who doesn’t like free stuff?”
Who indeed?