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Deals with Gold: PopCap puzzlers
This week's Deals with Gold features discounts on a handful of PopCap-developed games for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Xbox One owners can pick up third-person shooter Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare at 66 percent off ($13.59) as well as Peggle 2 at 60 percent off ($4.79). Garden Warfare is just $10.19 this week on Xbox 360 as well. Other Xbox 360 games are half-off this week, such as the original Peggle ($4.99) and its Peggle Nights expansion ($2.49) as well as Bejeweled 3 and Plants vs. Zombies ($7.49 each). Lastly, players can download both Zuma and Feeding Frenzy ($2.49 each) as well as their sequels Zuma's Revenge and Feeding Frenzy 2 ($4.99 each). The deals are good through Monday, December 15. [Image: PopCap Games]
Have some free PlayStation games this weekend, courtesy of EA
Starting today at noon PST and lasting until midnight on Sunday, December 7, EA will give PlayStation console owners free games. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare on PS4, Mirror's Edge on PS3 and Need for Speed: Most Wanted on Vita will all available for free on the PlayStation Store for the length of PlayStation Experience.
EA Access Vault adds Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare
A war between pugnacious plant-life and zealous zombies has been raging for eons – or at least since Garden Warfare launched in February on Xbox One and Xbox 360. Today, humanoid EA Access members have been invited to join the battle with the addition of Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare to the service's Vault – a collection of games active subscribers have unlimited access to. Vault access to Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare also includes the DLC "Legends of the Lawn," which adds new character variants, a new mode and more. EA Access is an Xbox One-exclusive subscription service that allows players to download select games in the EA Vault for $5 a month or $30 a year. Already within the Vault are Battlefield 4, FIFA 14, Madden 25 and Need for Speed Rivals. Subscribers also get 10 percent off of most digital EA content on Xbox Live.
PvZ: Garden Warfare's Legends of the Lawn update drops tomorrow
A sizable update for PopCap's team-based shooter Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare launches on September 30 across all available platforms, publisher Electronic Arts announced today. The new "Legends of the Lawn" update introduces over 200 new customization items and seven character variants, including Golf Star, Centurion, Paleontologist, Chomp Thing, Alien Flower, Jade Cactus or Sanitation Expert. Also featured is the new "Taco Bandits" gameplay mode, a Capture the Flag variant that challenges the Zombies team to steal away delicious tacos from the defending Plants. Mmm, tacos. Legends of the Lawn will be available as a free download starting tomorrow for the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PS3, and PC platforms. [Video: Electronic Arts]
Need for Speed Rivals, Garden Warfare nab Deals With Gold price drops
Xbox console owners with a jonesing for velocity -- a hankering for going fast, if you will -- will want to check out this week's Deals With Gold lineup, which spotlights EA's Need for Speed Rivals among other featured price drops. This week's Xbox One deals include a 60-percent discount on the Killer Instinct add-on character Sabrewulf and 33-percent-off sales on Need for Speed Rivals DLC. Xbox 360 highlights include price drops for Shadow Complex, Crysis 3, Watch Dogs, Guacamelee, and Fallout: New Vegas. The Xbox Binge Watch and Play Sale also kicks off this week with deep discounts for dozens of featured games, including Rayman Legends, The Walking Dead: Season Two, Murdered: Soul Suspect, and Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare. Sale prices are effective through next week. [Image: EA]
Chester Cheetah stars in Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare DLC
You can't keep Chester Cheetah away from video games. The Cheetos mascot starred in a pair of 16-bit platformers in the '90s, then was MIA for several years before resurfacing in Just Dance 4 in 2012. He appears when you least expect him; his enemies know all too well that he is both too cool to fool and dangerously cheesy. And now he's back. Again. Starting this week, players can summon the irrepressible snack food peddler in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, outfitting in-game troop types with new Chester Cheetah-themed character skins. DLC codes are included in specially-marked Cheetos packages, giving players access to the Dr. Chester and Chester Chomper skins for the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PS4, or PC versions of Garden Warfare. [Video: Electronic Arts]
PSN Store Update: El Diablo
Video games! They've been hibernating through the summer, but this week's PlayStation Store update brings plenty of the blighters onto PS4, PS3 and Vita. Let's start with the biggie, Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition, which brings Reaper of Souls to the action-RPG on PS3 ($40) and debuts the game itself on PS4 ($60). It's also out on Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The two other cross-platform releases are Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, which'll eat up 40 of your greenbacks on PS4 and 30 on PS3, and the stealthy CounterSpy, a $15 cross-buy purchase that unlocks the game ons PS4, PS3 and Vita. PS4 players also have a choice between the hyperviolent $10 Hotline Miami - also cross-buy - the somewhat less violent The Last Tinker: City of Colors ($20) and the retro Arcade Archives Rygar ($8).
EA offers 72 free hours of Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare
Inexplicable yet surprisingly competent third-person shooter Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare is the latest addition to EA's Origin Game Time service, a promotion that grants players free access to full games for a limited time. Here's how it works: If you pay a visit to the Game Time website, you'll find a list of relatively recent EA games. At the top of this list is Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare. If you have a valid Origin account, you'll be able to download the PC shooter at no charge. From the moment you start playing the game, Origin will start a countdown and once 72 hours have elapsed, the game will cease to function. Think of this as yet another timed demo from a publisher that is growing increasingly fond of the trend. On the positive side, those who dip their toes into the world of vegetable-on-corpse violence via this promotion will be playing the latest version of the shooter, with all the DLC maps and characters that have been released for the game to date. And, if you'd like to continue gunning down sunflowers and the walking dead after your 72-hour trial has ended, you can purchase Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare from Origin for $30. [Image: EA]
Xbox Live Deals with Gold: Wolfenstein, BioShock series
Those that missed out on the final day of the Xbox 360 Ultimate Games Sale yesterday have more deals to look forward to this week on Xbox Live. Both paid and free Xbox Live subscribers can enjoy a 33 percent discount on Wolfenstein: The New Order for Xbox One as well as four XBLA games for Xbox 360 at half price: Quake Arena, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Doom 2. Each of these deals are good from July 17 to July 20 only. As for the rest of the week's deals, starting today through July 21 for Xbox Live Gold subscribers only, Xbox One owners can pick up Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare at 40 percent off. The BioShock series received major discounts on Xbox 360 this week, with BioShock and BioShock 2 now available at a quarter of their respective prices and BioShock Infinite slashed by 57 percent. Four pieces of DLC for the latter game are on sale this week as well; both the Clash in the Clouds and Columbia's Finest add-ons are half-off, whereas both Burial at Sea episodes are 33 percent off. [Image: Bethesda Softworks]
Xbox 360 deals: Black Ops 2, Garden Warfare, Oblivion
The third day of Microsoft's Xbox 360 Ultimate Games Sale features discounts on five games through Xbox Live. Activision's 2012 first-person shooter Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 is half-off today ($29.99 / £24.99 / €34.99), as is today's lone XBLA deal, Assassin's Creed Liberation ($9.99 £7.99 / €9.99). Three other digital Games on Demand titles are on sale through the end of the day, starting with Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare at 33 percent off ($20.09 / £16.74 / €20.09). Bethesda's 2006 RPG The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion is 75 percent off today ($3.74 / £2.99 / €3.74) as well, and wrapping the day's deals is Red Faction: Armageddon at 77 percent off ($6.89 / £4.59 / €14.94). Microsoft is also sporting a number of deals that extend further into the month, such as Titanfall at $20 off and 40 percent off the Call of Duty: Ghosts season pass, both for Xbox One and discounted through July 14. [Image: EA Games]
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare crops up on PC
As promised, PopCap's formerly Xbox exclusive, third-person shooter Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare is now available on PC. According to publisher EA, the PC incarnation of Garden Warfare boasts a new co-operative and multiplayer map dubbed "Jewel Junction," alongside the numerous free updates issued to the console version of the game since it first debuted in February. These include eight additional playable characters, "over 200" customization items and a handful of additional maps which pit hordes of malevolent undead against cheerily militant produce. Despite its outlandish premise, Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare is a surprisingly compelling, entertaining shooter. Our review awarded the game 4 of 5 stars, while stating that Garden Warfare "oozes charm" and simultaneously "adopts and lampoons established shooter ideas." If your interest is piqued, you can buy Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare via Origin in either Standard or Digital Deluxe Editions. [Image: EA]
Joystiq Weekly: Battlefield Hardline, Watch Dogs review, Evil Within preview and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. With Sony upping PlayStation Plus to six games per month, we're pretty confident that the service is trying to ruin our lives. We're not obligated to tackle every single title, of course, but in the cycle of starting downloads for games "just in case" we ever feel an inkling to play them, we're losing track of which games we should feel guilty about not finishing and which games we should feel guilty about paying $60 for and not finishing. If not for the bills, assignments and the omnipresence of life's ever-ticking clock, we'd plop down in front of our TVs for a few years and knock out every game we ever felt intrigued by. To hell with "everything in moderation" - moderation wouldn't clear out our shelves of "yeah, maybe one day" RPGs, nor would it help us get the timing for our go-to Street Fighter combos down to the exact frame. Moderation is just a feeble admission that we can't control time (yet), and it ignores our potential to play all the video games, which we'll definitely get to. Eventually. Some day. Unfortunately, getting through every game we've ever wanted to play is still just a fantasy for now. Unless you find a way to break the laws of life's constants - if you do, you should totally let us know. We can do co-op or something. Until we reach that dream state, you can get a glimpse of Battlefield Hardline, read reviews for Watch Dogs and Among The Sleep, and dig into a neat feature on Watch Dogs that explains how legalities ruin everything. It's all waiting for you after the break!
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare potted to PlayStation [update: in August]
PopCap's knack for creating "casual" games that hypnotize people into serious, never-blinking patterns of play is most recently seen in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare. Following a well-received debut on Xbox plantforms, the developer's playful blend of third-person shooting and botanical tower defense is headed to PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 this summer.
Tomb Raider, Lightning Returns in Square Enix's Xbox sale
Square Enix has discounts on ten Xbox 360 games in the week it turned losses into profits. The games stay on sale until May 19, as do another 8 Xbox 360 games including Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare. PopCap's horticultural hostility is also discounted on Xbox One, where it's down by 25 percent to $30/£26. As for the Xbox 360 sale, highlights include State of Decay for $10 (£6.74/9.49 euros), Tomb Raider at $13.49 (£9/18 euros), Lightning Returns for $30 (£20/30 euros), and Thief at $45 (£30/45 euros). For the full list of games and discounts, head on over to Major Nelson's. [Image: Square Enix]
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare digs its roots into PC June 24
Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, the third-person multiplayer shooter from the green-thumbed developers at PopCap, will arrive on PC on June 24. The game launched on Xbox One and Xbox 360 in February and received additional downloadable content packs since, such as Zomboss Down and Garden Variety. Those pieces of DLC will be included with the PC version at launch. Garden Warfare features both competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes like Team Vanquish and Garden Ops, spinning off the traditional strategy game by putting the Plants Vs. Zombies characters on a battlefield, each with unique traits and abilities. Our review of the game was generally positive, noting the balance between its charms and technical flaws. While the game didn't include microtransactions at launch, EA and PopCap plan to begin rolling paid content into the game starting this week. The digital deluxe PC version of the game, available for pre-order on Origin right now, includes two booster packs and 80,000 in-game coins. PopCap suffered layoffs in March following Garden Warfare's launch and a "necessary" restructure for the developer. [Image: Electronic Arts]
Microtransactions march toward PvZ: Garden Warfare
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare's in-game currency is earned through regular play and can be spent on upgrade packs, which unlock extra content for players populating the game's warzones. However, those that have tired from the grind will soon have the option many mobile games offer: spend real-world money to save some time on earning coins. EA's recent post revealed plans to implement the microtransaction format into Garden Warfare "starting next week." The post only mentions being able to purchase coins however, so it seems you still won't be able to directly spend on specific pieces of content. There's no mention of rewards for microtransaction enthusiasts though, so players that ignore the option won't miss out on any game-changing unlocks. The option to buy pretend money with real money follows February's confirmation from PopCap's Brian Lindley that microtransactions wouldn't be in Garden Warfare at launch. At the time, Lindley added that PopCap would be using in-game metrics to decide where to take Garden Warfare after its initial weeks on the battlefield. [Image: EA]
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare Zomboss Down DLC drops today
PopCap's Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare takes to the Wild West today with the launch of "Zomboss Down," a free DLC pack that introduces a batch of new multiplayer content on the Xbox One and Xbox 360. Zomboss Down adds eight new playable characters to Garden Warfare's roster and a new Western-themed map, complete with an Ennio Morricone-inspired soundtrack. Zomboss Down follows up on last month's Garden Variety DLC, which added the "Gnome Bomb" gameplay mode and new character customization options. [Video: PopCap]
PopCap working to squash Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare DLC bugs [Update]
Last week's debut of the Garden Variety DLC for PopCap's Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare brought mixed reactions. Players appreciated that the addition is available free of charge, but they were less than pleased with the bugs that have been causing the third-person shooter to crash on consoles. Since initial bug reports began streaming in, PopCap's tech staff has been working to alleviate the problems. Last Friday, the developer released a patch that should have cleared up any issues with the Xbox One version of the DLC, though the Xbox 360 game remains partially hobbled. PopCap creative director Justin Wiebe has been fielding reports on Twitter. Though Wiebe has yet to offer a specific timeline for when the Xbox 360 bugs will be squashed, his most recent tweet on the topic offers players hope. "We have a potential fix submitted for testing," Wiebe wrote. "If the tests go well X360 should be back to norm soon. Fingers crossed!" We've contacted PopCap and publisher EA for further information on the status of the DLC. We'll report back as soon as we hear anything. Update: EA has offered a reply to our inquiry which you can find below the break. [Image: EA]
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare expands with free 'Garden Variety' DLC
PopCap's whimsical third-person shooter Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare will pick up a host of new abilities and a new gameplay mode later this week thanks to the freshly-announced "Garden Variety" downloadable content pack. The highlight of the pack is the new "Gnome Bomb" game mode, which centers on an explosive garden gnome statue. Both the plants and their undead counterparts will attempt to be the first team to reach this ornamental explosive, and once a team has captured the device they must make their way to one of three bomb points where the gnome will detonate. Additionally, the DLC includes three new ability upgrades for each character class, a new map, new types of zombies and "hundreds" of new character customization options. The Garden Variety DLC pack is slated to become available on March 18 for both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One versions of Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare. Regardless of platform, the addition will be available for free. [Image: EA]
PopCap hit with layoffs after recent studio split
Plants vs Zombies and Peggle developer PopCap suffered layoffs today, EA confirmed. The news follows a reorganization at the studio in late February, which saw the developer split into a two teams, one geared towards mobile games and the other for console releases. PopCap CEO David Roberts also stepped down and was replaced by co-founder John Vechey in January. "The changes we made today at PopCap were painful and we're sorry to lose some of our friends and colleagues," EA wrote in an email to Joystiq. "But it was also necessary in order to stay on course with our future plans for mobile games, live services, and new IP. PopCap is a studio that made its name building great games that the world can fall in love with, and that's what we'll continue to do." PopCap's latest game is Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare, which was good enough to earn a four-star review from Joystiq. The number of employees affected by the layoffs is unknown at this time. [Image: PopCap]
