Garden Warfare 2 beta starts today

Sequel to one of my favorites has an open beta starting today.....details below

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/psa-plants-vs-zombies-garden-warfare-2-beta-begins/1100-6433806/

PSA: Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 Beta Begins Today on PS4 and Xbox One

No preorder required.

by Eddie Makuch on January 14, 2016

GameSpot

You don't have to wait until Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 launches in February to play the wacky shooter. The game's open beta (no preorder required) starts today, January 14, and runs until January 18.

It will be available on Xbox One and PS4 starting at 9 PM CET, which is 12 PM PDT and 3 PM EST. We'll update this post later today when the download becomes available.

As announced previously, the Garden Warfare 2 beta will offer players access to a scaled-down version of the Backyard Battleground, which is a hub world that acts as a menu and connects players to every map and mode. For the beta players, the following content will be available in Backyard Battleground, with descriptions courtesy of EA:

•The King of the Hill-inspired mode, Flag of Power - Raise the Flag of Power and do everything you can to prevent the enemy from lowering it; igniting an all-out war where you'll have to fight off wave after wave of enemies in a frantic, escalating battle.

•Stats Room - Display all of your characters' stats and achievements. There's also a sticker book where you can get an overview of all the characters and accessories you’ve unlocked.

•Quest Board - Visit the Quest Board for a list of dynamically updated challenges that will reward you for every completed event, and increase your XP multiplier.

Also included in the beta are two 24-player game modes (Herbal Assault and Gardens & Graveyards) playable on two maps: Moon Base Z and Seeds of Time.

Alongside those, new modes and maps will be rotated in as the beta progresses. These include:

Finally, the following characters will be playable in the Garden Warfare 2 beta (descriptions written by EA):

•Kernel Corn - Leading the plant offensive as the primary assault class with dual cob busters and a high rate of fire.

•Rose - An extremely powerful sorceress that can turn zombie foes into fully playable goats.

•Citron - A time-travelling bounty hunter from the future - and also an orange.

•Imp & Z-Mech - The smallest and most agile of the zombies that turns into a Z-Mech robo of mass destruction with missiles.

•Super Brainz - The flashy, punchy-powerhouse superhero with exceptional hair and charismatic smile.

•Captain Deadbeard - A crusty peg-legged captain with a trick weapon up his sleeve.

The Garden Warfare 2 beta has not been announced for PC.

The full version of Garden Warfare 2 launches on February 23 across PS4, Xbox One, and PC. However, Xbox One and PC players can jump in five days early if they have an EA/Origin Access membership.

Even on a fast connection the download has been slow. Either way, this should be fun when it finally hits 100%.

So far the beta has been fun. Leveling up no longer requires meeting certain challenges. The hub world adds more interaction when not playing.

I never play the first one and I already got like 4 shooters I'm playing already. Is Garden Warfare 2 worth playing?

@davillain-: Well it's a 3Rd person shooter with a goofy and light tone. It is very different than other serious shooters, and the game has a nice tower defense mode. It's a little hard to explain honestly, the first title was very charming and took me by surprise, so if you enjoy shooters you should check it out when you have a chance.

@Alucard_Prime: Thanks for the explanation Prime. Do I need to play the first one in order to follow up any stories?

@davillain-: No prob....no it's not really a story driven game, very casual shooter, but with solid gameplay(the first one anyways....haven't had time to try this new beta yet...going to tonight probably)......I wouldn't bother with the first one if I were you. The first one was online only, and this sequel they implemented a solo mode as well I read....but it is mostly an online shooter.

@Alucard_Prime: That's good that I don't need to play the first game, so I'll just play the Beta to see if this is worth the buy.

I loved the original Garden Warfare, and I' will sure be buying this next month, I just don't like to play betas anymore I kind of get burned on the final product.