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Plants vs. Zombies, err, rap video
You loco? Don't get up in Crazy "Cray-Z" Dave's face unless you ready to have your brains fed to some zombies. Dave explains how street he is in this Plants vs. Zombies music video that proves how gangsta PopCap Games has become.
World of Warcrack now even more addictive
As if anyone really needed their World of Warcraft time to possibly be more addictive, PopCap Games has added yet another of their incredibly popular games in as an addon for World of Warcraft. That's right - not content to rest on their laurels for creating the fiendishly addictive Bejeweled addon, PopCap has now ensured that anyone stuck waiting on a raid group, on an extra-long flight, or idling pretty well anywhere in-game will be click-click-clicking their way through a PopCap Game. How did they manage this master-stroke? They added the equally crack-like addictive clicky-game Peggle in as a new addon. For those souls brave enough to take on this much addictively fun gaming in one spot, our sister site WoW Insider has an exclusive first-look at the new Peggle addon. Along with that mayhem, they also have a full gallery of images showing the craziness that is Peggle for WoW in action. Brave souls over there - we're not sure we could handle that much peril in one place. It's far too perilous. So, if you're curious, (and not afraid of the peril) why not pop over there and check it out!
XBLA Peggle to include new online multiplayer modes [update]
With the help of the team over at the Gamerscore Blog, Evil Avatar got a chance to get a few questions answered by PopCap Games' Greg Canessa about two of their upcoming XBLA games, Feeding Frenzy 2 and Peggle. From the interview we learn that not only will Peggle be amazingly, addictively fun (who would have guessed that?), but we find out that PopCap is working very hard to bring multiplayer to Peggle. Canessa confirms that the XBLA version of Peggle is guaranteed to include two player co-op as well as online multiplayer, but refused to cite specifics about how many players will be supported or if co-op will be online enabled. We say, bravo to that! Including any form of multiplayer in Peggle is a huge step forward for the franchise and should make it even more addictive. Color us Peggle excited! Oh yeah, we should also tell you that Canessa confirmed that Feeding Frenzy 2 will include local co-op as well. Multiplayer XBLA gaming for all! Update: Canessa did not specifically confirm whether or not Peggle's multiplayer modes will include co-op.
PopCap talks casual game design, XBLA
A few years ago, if someone used the phrase "casual games," you probably would have imagined someone playing darts or shuffleboard in a newly smoke-free bar somewhere. Only recently, aided by Nintendo's DS and Wii juggernauts and download services like Xbox Live Arcade, have casual games become serious business. Everyone and their dog is stumbling over themselves to create casual games. EA, Eidos, Ubisoft: everyone is doing it. Of course, PopCap has been doing it for a while now. Gamesindustry.biz recently sat down to talk with Jason Kapalka, chief creative officer for PopCap games.Speaking to the success of casual games, Kapalka notes that PopCap enjoys nearly a 20% conversion rate on Xbox Live Arcade titles. That's 1 in 5 people who decide to buy a PopCap game -- Heavy Weapon, for example -- after playing the trial version. This is compared to less than 10% rates for the PC and mobile markets. So, yes, casual games can certainly mean big bucks for a smart company.
Heavy Weapon impressions: really explodey
digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/gaming_news/Heavy_Weapon_impressions_really_explodey_Xbox_Live_Arcade'; We played through the trial version of Heavy Weapon and so far, we're liking what we see. The trial version gives you access to a handful of levels and three of the game's six upgradeable weapons. The game is straight up action, beginning with the hair metal "Atomic Tank" theme song at the title screen. Live Arcade vets will be in comfortable territory: the left stick moves, the right stick shoots, and the right trigger sets off the all powerful nuke. Your tank rolls on the ground and basically shoots anything that moves, including both air and ground targets. Enemies have a range of different weapons which all require different tactics to destroy or evade. People familiar with Metal Slug should feel right at home.
Heavy Weapon drops a bomb on XBLA
Heavy Weapon, the side scrolling, blast-tastic shooter, is now available for download on Xbox Live Arcade. Another throwback arcade shooter, Heavy Weapon places a, ahem, heavy emphasis on shooting everything that moves. The XBLA version is enhanced over its PC counterpart (which you can try here) in that it allows for up to four players to play simultaneously and includes a new co-op mode. Everyone likes co-op. If you're stuck at work or otherwise indisposed, we've downloaded the game and will post our impressions later today. In the meantime, you can try out the stripped down web version for free. If you can, try out the XBLA version and tell us what you think.
