Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare includes playable zombies, new Boss Mode

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, the upcoming third-person shooter set in the Plants vs. Zombies universe, will allow players to take on the role of zombies and include a new Xbox One-exclusive Boss Mode, developer PopCap Games announced today at Electronic Arts' Gamescom 2013 press conference.

A video showcasing zombie gameplay (which you can see below) included the undead shooting football guns, construction workers with plumbers cracks, manual laborers tossing grenades, a scientist with diabolical weapons and a sports fan with an exploding hardhat made of dynamite.

In Boss Mode, which is exclusive to Xbox One, players control Doctor Zomboss or Crazy Dave. In a video narrated by the doctor himself, he revealed the Zombox, a device that allows players to beat plants "without touching dirt." Using Smart Glass and Kinect, players will be able to direct the destructive hordes across maps. You can check out the video reveal of Boss Mode below.

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare pre-orders are now live, and the game will debut first next year on Xbox 360 and and Xbox One for $39.99.

Check out Polygon's EA Gamescom 2013 StoryStream for more on the company's upcoming games.