Electronic Arts surprised the audience during its presentation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles with a new twist to the “Plants vs. Zombies” series. PopCap, the series developer, unveiled a third-person shooter version called “Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare”.

Take note that this is completely different from “Plants vs. Zombies 2: It’s About Time”, which will debut on iOS on July 18. This sequel retains the traditional tower defense genre seen in the original game.

Meanwhile, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare makes use of EA’s Frostbite 3 engine, which has been used to power hardcore shooter games like “Dead Space” and “Battlefield” series. The new PvZ title can be played in four-player cooperative multiplayer mode, wherein each player can choose between different plants that each possess different different tactical strengths and weaknesses.

The pea shooter, for instance, provides a rapid-fire offense. The sunflower servces as a support class who heals her allies. The cactus, meanwhile, has high-powered sniper-like shots that can take away zombies from long distances. Sadly, the players cannot choose to play as zombies.

Much like other PvZ games, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare brings hordes of undead in waves. As the game progresses, more powerful and sillier boss zombies arrive, such as the dancing disco zombies–an update from the undead Michael Jackson impersonators in the previous casual games.

“Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare” will debut on the Xbox One, which will followed by an Xbox 360 version. We would have to wait a bit further to learn about the retail value and its release date.