This is Plants versus Zombies, but not as you know it. Sure, those pesky zombies are still after brains. But instead of the tower defence game that you're used to, Garden Warfare combines with third-person shooter. The zombies are coming, and they're armed. Luckily, the plants aren't a bad shot either.

It's a bit of a risk to mess with a successful formula, but Garden Warfare is just fun enough to get away with it.

There are several modes to choose from. Garden Ops puts you in charge of defending against waves of zombies. You have to plant a garden, then hold it until Crazy Dave returns. The zombies are relentless, and every so often you’ll face the tougher “boss” waves made up of everything from zombie yeti to gargantuas.

Multiplayer allows you to play competitively as plants or zombies. You are set a team goal of the number of opposition to eliminate; whoever gets there first, wins. Split screen is local co-operative play that sees you team up with friends or family to defeat wave after wave of zombies.

You start out with four basic plants: peashooter, chomper, sunflower and cactus. As you play and complete goals, you earn stars, which level up the plants and unlock new abilities. You can buy extras with the coins you make from completing levels and surviving the onslaught, allowing you to eventually unlock new plants (and zombies).

The online-only requirement is a drawback. If your internet connection stalls,
you get turfed out mid-game. Also, in this case it requires the purchase of an Xbox Live Gold membership to get the most out of the game, which means added expense.

Despite its flaws, Garden Warfare is an interesting take on an old favourite and ia fun way to indulge your love of third-person shooters.