PvZ 2 was a total waste on me. I hesitated a long time before downloading it, and only did so because the reviews said you could play through the whole thing without buying anything. I played it until I got bored, and spent nothing. Throughout, I retained a vague sense of annoyance at the purchasable upgrades.
I would happily have shelled out £10, maybe £15 to play it (and my wife and my mom would both have done so too), and would have played it through without any sense of annoyance. Result? Popcap game annoyed me despite all the effort they put into building a great game, and left £45 on the table.
If their conclusion from that is to double down on IAPs, then quite simply they are saying they don't want users like me and my family, but want, as the second "Dungeon Keeper" iPad review from TFA, "fuckwits". Sorry, I don't buy games for fuckwits.
I look forward, with little hope, to a PvZ 3 with no IAPs but a good upfront price.