Plants vs. Zombies updated with new mode

We haven't heard very much from PopCap on iOS lately. There was the Zuma's Revenge launch a little while ago, and before that was just the Bejeweled shakeup last year. So it's good to see the company is still working on the platform. The latest evidence of this is a surprise update for Plants vs. Zombies, out now, which brings a few shiny new features.

The biggest new feature is an endless version of the Vasebreaker minigame, where you attack vases around the lawn, hoping that there are plants in them rather than the walking undead. There are nine levels of the new mode, and the highest levels must be unlocked with coins, either by earning them or in-app purchase.

There are also new achievements, and the iPad version has finally gotten the Zen Garden update, as well as four new PopCap-themed minigames: Slot Machine, Zombiquarium, Portal Combat, and Beghouled Twist. I believe these originally debuted on the Steam version of the game, but they're now on iPad as well.

These updates, for the iPhone and the HD version, are free to download, and available right away. PopCap's an excellent developer, and it's good to see it's still behind their past iOS releases.