E3 2015: Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 ups the crazy

An orange that turns into a tank and a zombie riding in a Titanfall-like mech? Yeah that’s definitely Plants vs Zombies level nutty.

The sequel to last year’s surprising multiplayer shooter Garden Warfare, GW2 flips thee script and sees the zombies on the defensive, as they’ve taken over the suburban landscape. And that’s a fact that leaves the plants playing offense, and crashing the zed’s party.

“We’re incredibly excited to announce this new Plants vs. Zombies adventure,” said Jeremy Vanhoozer, Senior Creative Director, Plants vs. Zombies franchise. “The first Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare was a simple idea, and we were humbled and amazed by how much players loved it. With Garden Warfare 2, we’ve continued to listen to our fans to deliver the craziest experience yet – packed with more of what they loved about the original and even more of the crazy, weird and unexpected that makes this franchise so special. ”

Crazy, weird and unexpected is kind of a good way to describe PvZ in general, and Garden Warfare in particular. Gamers can battle it out in the 24 player Herbal Assault mode, or the four-player co-op mode, Graveyard Ops. That mode of play puts gamers in the decrepit shoes of the zombies, as they try and defend against the ever encroaching plant life.

You’ll have plenty of characters to play as too, on both sides. EA and developer Popcap have announced that there’ll be old and new plants and zombies aplenty, including six character classes, all of which totals up to a character count that hits 100 when you take into account all the variants that’ll be available too.

Oh, and those classes aren’t just for show either. Each one will add something to the battles here, and male for strategic elements that’ll deepen play across the game’s 12 maps. Kind of cool too, some those maps will be pretty extreme; like one set in a “time travel theme park” and one set in outer space. That’s not all either, as Popcap plans on lots more content for the game, all of which will be free.

And you’ll be able to play all those maps solo should you like. All game modes can be played against AI bots, and you can even team up with a friend to take on the hordes in split-screen play.

Still a ways off, Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 is heading to the Xbox One, PS4, and PC some time next Spring.