My Plants vs Zombies dilemma

Before I get into the main details I want to go over something I find a bit ironic. Its been a while since I felt truly enthusiastic about an EA published game. You often hear about that from people that talk crap about EA, blame this publisher for killing a handful of studios (or just shifting the blame from dev to publisher *cough* Mass Effect 3 *cough*), and then they'll pretend they'll boycott everything from EA. Then suddenly Battlefield is released and everyone continues celebrating, the sports titles are still quietly hitting massive sale numbers that I dare anyone to make sense of, and EA continues being a massively successful publisher because they actually do have some quality game under their name. Point is: People are often with EA even when they claim not to be. I used to be that guy out there being more honest and suggesting the realistic truth that it isn't possible to avoid them, that they own too many good series. Then I actually did stay out of it myself without even meaning to. So much for that statement of mine. Where was I? Well probably sucking up to my favorite publishers Bethesda and Sony while also being punished beautifully by Dark Souls and playing some obscure or old games in my down time from that. Even if I wanted to go around to EA I've got a mental mini-list of older EA games I want to get rather than new ones. Deadspace 2 or 3, Fuse, Syndicate, Crysis 3, and.... some other game I've probably forgotten. I'm pretty sure Crysis 3, Fuse, and Deadspace 3 were all games I was looking at and thinking about back when I made that old statement, yet I didn't even get those. They're on my list of games to get because I found myself managing without them for a long time. EA's stuff just isn't all that interesting to me anymore.

I lost interest in their current catalog, or worse: they look kind of like the types of games I've come to resent in many cases. Its not even for Publisher practices in most cases, its just the way they themselves are built. I experiences their biggest series, and most feel like they're lacking personal appeal and have issues or just follow lame gameplay trends I know to avoid or already have a better alternative to. Especially Battlefield, which went from a really good game series to just being so troubled, inaccessible, and frustrating for me to enjoy. I've had enough, and I'm holding even StarWars: Battlefront to skeptical predictions because I simply don't trust the pairing of EA with Dice. I'm not "boycotting" EA over anything, but Battlefield has to do something to prove itself again, even in Visceral's hands with the newly announced cop spin-off. Heck most of their games are fighting an uphill battle to win me over in my thoughts. That is until Popcap comes in with Garden Warfare. Not even PvZ2 as I feel like the game just stands too well on its own, but this spin off fascinates me. Just... look at it. The advertisements, the art style and use of the engine, the fighting, and the enthusiasm. It just has a lot of heart, and fun that clearly went into it. Team strategy, fun interesting classes, silly customization and weapons, a sense of humor, the XP system is replaced with stickers and a card game or something like that. Its a game trying to seriously tackle TF2 without looking too much like it, and instead just being a smart formula with good design choices. Its the epitome of fun! Again, just look at it!

Awe, I think he's smiling!

Then I'm reminded the obvious risk: Its multiplayer only.

...And now the face of evil is smiling

Fine I get it. The game is meant to be a multiplayer game, and I can respect that. That's where the fun, values, and interest of it all come together. However as I think I said back when I had some harsh criticism of TitanFall, you really need to go in well suited for that sort of thing. Bots, server lists, the right content, all of which I know this doesn't have or is up to question. Also will the player base be there? How long? I hate to be that guy that says you can't do an online only package (unless its an MMO), but I can't help it. I appreciate a focused game, but this is the kind of thing I'd expect out of a focused high quality game. Its been done for as long as Unreal Tournament and probably even before that (like the campaign counter-part "Unreal"). You can have an online focused game, but its less accessible than saying the same for single player and you need to be held accountable for that. Bots, server lists, friend friendly features, and preferably a reliable publisher that wont divide people with DLC. Thankfully that'll be handled in the PS (and presumably PC) versions as they will come with DLC, but I wouldn't be surprised if another hit. Even if it did absolutely everything except bots right, I'm taking into account my own habits and learning from them. I wish I had played Starhawk more... but why not? Well because every time I was even remotely interested in something else, or thought a bit about playing I told myself "what if lag happens" or that time where I got a crash as soon as the level started "oh no. Well I probably wont be able to get back into that same server, and that match loading takes too darn long." I would find the easiest reasons to excuse myself to some other, more reliable game that had a back-up plan. Even if it meant playing a much lesser online game like Far Cry 3, or COD, but there I knew I would have and be ready to move to an offline function if I wanted to. StarHawk... it had server lists, amazing gameplay, and even a campaign, but because the campaign was tacked on and multiplayer was exclusively online with no sign of bots it was better to just walk over to Killzone or COD where bots were ready and waiting if the servers were having a rainy day. Even in a life where I'm not rushing anything, I enjoy my games, and I can find myself well connected usually, I just don't feel like I can bother with a game that tethered somewhere else when I can get an experience that offers the whole world of entertainment without that tether.

Yet the truth is I still don't regret anything about starhawk other than the fact that I didn't play more of it. I also was addicted to vanilla (and pre-bot) TF2 for quite some time when I was younger. Then there's Chivalry which I can disregard the bot mode because its horribly dumbed down and yet I still adore it and consider it one of the best PC games to exist. The same enthusiasm and love I had looking at those games is there in what I see of Garden Warfare. It just looks like so much damn fun. I've put up with horribly backwards matchmaking for hours of entertainment in Killzone 3, some of the COD games, uncharted, and more, so I can do it here. If I could do that, I could also connect fine. So.... I arrive at my dilemma. Is the fun worth the hassle and inconvineinece? Will the good times and refreshing multiplayer actually be something to stick by, or will I abandon it for games that function 24/7? Still I feel like I shouldn't have to come to this question. EA, Dice, popcap, and really any publisher and developer pair overall... get your act together and be prepared to come out in full when you do an online focused game. Please. Its better for the players, better for your sales, and better for the game you have staff putting days worth of heart, talent, and effort to making it a great experience. Don't limit it with a silly expiration date or issues that do not need to exist! Epic knew better than that back in the late 90's, why can't you guys figure it out now in 2014!? Anyways I'll think it over, and if I turn out to buy it I hope it stays well active and is a blast to play.