User blog:Tecku/How the Dark Ages could have been saved

A week or two ago, I posted a rant about how awful the second half of the Dark Ages was. And.... yeah, I stand by my opinion. But recently, Popcap/EA ran a survey about Dark Ages opinion. That makes me think that maybe there is some hope for change. Or at the very least, hope that the developers will learn from their mistakes. That's why this blog post is dedicated to how the Dark Ages could have been great.

Problem 1: The Wizard Zombie

What's Wrong With It:

The Wizard Zombie is unfun to play against. The sheep cannot be dug up, leaving no room to put in new plants. And even if you can put in new plants, he'll turn them into sheep in the pause before the plant starts to fire. Furthermore, since he has long range with his spells, nothing is safe. In other words, NOTHING is reliable against him. Walls, spike plants, close range plants, heavy hitters, it's all useless. Heck, even instants aren't that great. The only instant (not counting Squash) garunteed to work without being turned to a sheep is Cherry Bomb. One plant does not a defense make!

But what really does it for me is how good of a supporter Wizard Zombie is. Jesters will deal with most projectile plants, while Knight Zombies deal with clost range plants. Coupled with how great Wizard Zombie deal with walls..... yeah.

How To Fix It:

The simplist solution is the best- give players a plant that can counteract the spells, and let the plants be dug up. I'm just going to give you one of the countless options.

Let's suppose instead of turning the players to sheep, the Wizard Zombie forces them to sleep. The sleeping plants can be dug up, and they keep their form, so you can remember which plants are which. Spells do nto work against walling plants, but can hit plants behind them, making the Wizard Zombie still a good support, but not eliminating all forms of defense. Better yet, the players get a new plant- the Coffee Bean! Instead of waking up shroom plants, it can wake up sleeping plants.

This idea works because you kill two birds with one stone- the Wizards are less annoying, and you have another much needed plant for the second half! It doesn't have to be sleeping plants and Coffee Beans, but you have a lot of options. We're talking about magic here- get creative!

Coming Soon:

- Jester Zombie

- King Zombie

- Potions Level

- The wasted potential of the Dragon Imp