plants vs zombies
Latest
Plants vs. Zombies coming to iPhone on February 15th
Yes, PopCap is at it again -- this time, their crazy addictive (just like all of their games) take on the tower defense genre, Plants vs. Zombies, is headed off to the iPhone. They just tweeted confirmation a little while ago, and released this trailer showing all of the flower vs. undead action that we enjoyed so much in the other versions of the game, squeezed into the smaller screen of the iPhone. They don't mention a price point, but I'm guessing it'll come out at $4.99, since that's what most of their releases have debuted at (though if you're patient, it'll probably drop down in price after a while). I'll tell you that yes, if you've never played it, the game is more than worth $5, but even if you don't believe me, you can go play it online for free and see what you think. PopCap is the master of dropping colorful graphics, sparkling gameplay, and constant little rewards on your plate, so PvZ on the iPhone will probably be yet another meal you won't want to stop eating.
iPhone port of Plants vs. Zombies delayed, coming mid-February
If you prefer your zombie-slaying iPhone Apps to be a bit more botanical in nature, you're going to have to hold out for a little longer than you may have anticipated. A recent PopCap Tweet explained that the initial "late January" launch window of Plants vs. Zombies for the iPhone is no longer accurate. "The game has been further delayed, but we are *confident* it will launch in mid Feb," PopCap explained. This isn't great news for fans of the pseudo-tower defense game -- however, the use of asterisks in the message above makes us certain that PopCap is telling the truth this time. See, asterisks are like little truth symbols. Check this out: "Man, Beaches is my *favorite* movie of all time." Totally, totally true. [Via ShackNews]
Proceeds from today's PopCap sales go to Haiti recovery efforts
If you've been sitting on your duff, waiting for a chance to pick up a digital copy of Plants vs. Zombies or Peggle, you might just want to take the plunge at some point today. No, none of the developer's titles are temporarily discounted -- rather, for one day only, all monies spent on any of the games in PopCap's store will go directly to Partners in Health; an organization that's currently working to help Haiti recover from the catastrophic earthquake it suffered earlier this week. It's a pretty generous promotion from the casual gaming juggernaut -- but it's only running until midnight. Get to shopping, Joystiq Biomass!
Best of the Rest: Richard's Picks of 2009
Halo Wars Say what you will about the game's simplicity, or the brevity of the single-player campaign, but Ensemble Studios absolutely nailed console real-time strategy with Halo Wars. The controls work beautifully, allowing for the kind of granular management required in RTS games, and yet they remain simple enough for almost anyone to get the hang of the game. Add great online multiplayer and it's one tasty proposition. Frankly, I was so addicted to the Skirmish mode when reviewing the game that it ate into my work hours. Remembering that makes it harder to face the fact that Ensemble was shuttered once work on the game was complete. I can only hope that Robot is given the chance to further the series, or at least work the controls into an entirely new game.
Best of the Rest: Ben's Picks of 2009
Red Faction: Guerrilla Arriving approximately seven months late to the party, I didn't play RFG until earlier this month when I desperately cobbled together 2009's game releases for a massive pre-GOTY playstravaganza. That marathon came to a long pause while I smashed through the many structures of Mars with my trusty sledgehammer, constantly hearing "Space A$&%*#&" playing along the way in my mind. Sure, RFG was a bit rough around the edges, but what it lacked in mechanical prowess was more than made up for by the sheer amount of childlike joy I experienced while demolishing everything in my path.
Plants vs. Zombies coming to iPhone in late January
You've known it was coming. Like Lon Chaney Jr. watching the full moon rise, you've known you were on the very precipice of becoming a monster. Now, thanks to a post on the PopCap Facebook page, you have a better idea of when you can say goodbye to friends and loved ones: Plants vs. Zombies will arrive on iPhone and iPod Touch in late January. So in conjunction, we'd like to announce the "Late January Buy All of Joystiq's Material Possessions Fire Sale." Come, buy all our stuff, we won't need it, just so long as you leave us a bed roll and our feeding tube. [Via Slide to Play]
A whole bunch of PopCap games offered at half-price
You've probably got plenty of games from the present-receiving ceremony of your holiday of choice -- unfortunately, they're all about to get brutally neglected. Casual gaming juggernaut PopCap is offering 15 of its games for half-price; for most of these titles, that knocks the cost down to $9.95. Sadly, there won't be any opportunities to sink time into that still-fresh copy of Dragon Age: Origins once Peggle Nights snaps its colorful, unrelenting jaws down onto you.
Plants vs. Zombies to march in NYC Halloween parade
This is a just a warning to any zombies considering joining the New York City Halloween parade. Pictured above are some of the plants that PopCap will be sending to march in said parade. As you -- the zombies -- well know, these plants will most certainly assure your demise. Well, except the wall-nuts. They'll pretty much just stand there and let you eat them, but we love 'em anyway. They're just so damned cute. Dumb, but cute.
TUAW Review: Plants vs. Zombies
Earlier this week I downloaded Plants vs. Zombies by PopCap Games for the Mac. It's a simple tower defense game that pits lumbering zombies against great varieties of aggressive plants. Your job is to fill your yard with enough plants to keep the zombies from reaching your house. The first few levels are quite easy. In order to amass your green army, you've got to collect sunlight. Some plants, like sunflowers and certain mushrooms, give off sunlight that you can gather. The rest you collect from the sky (in the daytime, at least). As you complete each level, you're offered another plant. Many little touches make this game great. Select the help menu and you'll find a "hand written" note that says, "When the zombies show up, just sit there and don't do anything. You win the game when the zombies get in your houze." One zombie variation gets especially angry when you knock his newspaper from his hand while another, dressed in a red leather jacket, white socks and black shoes, summons dancing minions to launch a well choreographed group assault. Zombies drop coins that you can exchange for additional features, like the number of plants available. Asset management gets harder in later levels as you can only choose a few plants for each assault. Just remember, you always need sun! Beyond the game itself (there are 50 levels in all) are several mini games, puzzles, survival mode and even a peaceful zen garden. Additionally, you can browse the almanac to see exactly which types of zombies and plants you've encountered as well as what's left. The music and sound effects are fun. I found that it looked jaggy in full screen mode, so keep it in a small window. Plants Vs. Zombies isn't Eve Online, and it's not meant to be. As a fun distraction during break time or leisure time, it's a great little game. You can play for 60 minutes for free. After that, you'll have to pay $19.95US. It's definitely worth it. If you just can't get enough, check out the extras. %Gallery-69548%
PopCap confirms Plants vs Zombies vs XBLA
In an absolutely stunning turn of events that surprised everyone in the world, PopCap Games has confirmed that Plants vs. Zombies is sprouting on XBLA. WorthPlaying heard the word straight from a PopCap mouthpiece and Shacknews confirmed. There were no further details given about what, if anything, will change for PopCap's fastest-selling game when it reanimates itself on XBLA. We're sure that whatever the developer/publisher/kingpin does, it'll keep us up until 4AM crying about what happened to our lives. [Via Shacknews]
Surprise! Plants vs Zombies headed to more platforms
In what might be the most shocking turn of events in recent history, PopCap Games' Garth Chouteau recently told Kombo.com that the company is looking to bring its most recent addictive substance, Plants vs Zombies, to more platforms. The game is currently available only on PC and Mac. In other news, it turns out that PopCap enjoys making giant piles of cash. Garth noted that PopCap spent a great deal of time making Peggle work on consoles (the XBLA version, specifically) and would take the same approach with Plants vs Zombies, though he didn't specify which consoles the game is destined to see.He did, however, say that it's unlikely to appear on mobile phones. Well, regular mobile phones, actually: An iPhone version is a possibility. We have to say that we're both excited and a little terrified at the prospect of playing Plants vs Zombies anywhere. It's done enough damage to our work ethic already.
Plants vs. Zombies is PopCap's fastest-selling game
Plants vs. Zombies' sales certainly aren't shambling, as PopCap tells Joystiq that it has been the fastest-selling game in the company's electronic narcotic pharmacy.PopCap's Garth Chouteau believes this is just the tip of the iceberg for the the flora vs. undead simulator, telling Joystiq, "It's as strategic as any game launched this year ... in it's own humble cutesy sort of way." He believes that players will continue to find incredible depth in the title, especially after they are done with the adventure's story and move into the survival mode. It appears that PopCap is happy with the sales of its latest piece of interactive crack, but it knows it'll only get better as the junkie word-of-mouth increases.
Joystiq review: Plants vs. Zombies
Something terrible happened to the Joystiq staff in the spring of 2007. Our desire to work was leeched by some uncanny force, some primordial vacuum of journalistic motivation. These sapping energies could be easily identified by scanning our browser history -- there, a repeated phrase, a moniker for our destitution: Desktop Tower Defense, Desktop Tower Defense, Desktop Tower Defense, Google, Desktop Tower Defense -- and so on, et cetera.Two years (and a hundred thousand Pellet Towers) later, our thirsts had been quenched, and our diligence restored. Then, on May 5, the minds at PopCap gave birth to a new source of blogger work ethic poison -- as is their nefarious custom -- titled Plants vs. Zombies. Yes, those monsters combined our two biggest interests (the undead and household horticulture), and wrapped the whole package up in a neat Tower Defense crust, which they then sprinkled with humor, and roasted until brilliant.Also, there's probably some crack (or equally addictive narcotic) in there as well.
PopCap's Plants Vs. Zombies now available
Hello, I'm compensated spokesperson Robert Loggia. You know, I play a lot of tough guys in my movies, but there's one thing that even I won't mess around with: drugs. And no, I'm not talking about uppers and down-os or whatever you kids are shoving up your noses these days. I'm talking about PopCap games.It may seem like a lot of fun at first. "Hey, I'll just knock out a few rounds of Peggle to relax, it'll be real 'dope'." But bad news, kid: You're the dope. First thing you know, you'll have clicking arthritis and your legs will atrophy and fall off. Don't laugh, punk, I've seen it happen to tougher guys than you.Today, PopCap's got a new thing on the streets, Plants vs. Zombies they call it. For just $19.99 they'll get you high on their take on tower defense, and pretty much every dealer in the digital distribution game has it. They've even got a little song to help get the kids hooked. Hey, I wrote a song too. It's called "Oops, I Played Too Much Plants vs. Zombies And I Forgot to Eat and I Died and I Wish I'd Listened to TV and Film Star Robert Loggia."It's a real catchy tune ... until I sing it about you. Stay smart -- stay away from PopCap.
Plants vs Zombies may branch out to consoles, iPhone
PopCap Games' upcoming Plants vs. Zombies isn't just some cute tower defense game. No, it's also responsible for 2009's catchiest tune, and even before the game's release on PC next month, there are rumblings it could be planting its seed into consoles and iPhone, according to comments PopCap made to casualgaming.biz.While the casual games giant (and crack dealer) made no mention of those platforms specifically (other than to say it has no plans involving them), it did want to make clear that its goal is to bring its product to as many people as possible. The company explained that its "overriding mission" is to have its games "in as many different places, and on as many platforms, as possible – to make them accessible to this audience of 'everyone'."The game would be great on XBLA, PSN and WiiWare, we'd say. And, sure, why not the iPhone? That thing is too legit to quit now.
Steam announces Plants vs. Zombies pre-order bonus, trailer tune available
Valve has announced Steam users who pre-order Plants vs. Zombies before its May 5 release will receive a free copy of Heavy Weapon Deluxe right away. While both titles are from PopCap's library, they couldn't be more from one another. Plants vs. Zombies is the latest in a never-ending stream of tower defense style games while Heavy Weapon Deluxe puts is an action title putting players in control of an atomic tank.If one free thing isn't good enough, you can also rock out to the Plants vs. Zombies trailer theme song, "Zombies on Your Lawn" by downloading the tune today. Performed by Laura Shigihara, the song -- which will no doubt be stuck in your brain forever -- is available for download at our sister site BigDownload in both English and Japanese flavors. We dare you to try and hate it.
Video: Plants vs Zombies vs Our Undying Affection
There are a few strings on our heart that, upon plucking, unlock our eternal love. It's kind of like the Konami code, except instead of finishing Contra, you get some weird dudes hanging outside your house at night, breathing deeply. Well, PopCap Games, we hope you have Brinks or something because taking cute, living plants and combining them with cute, undead zombies means that we'll forever love you. We know we said that after Peggle, but we're super serious this time.Of course, none of these things are in the latest trailer for Plants vs Zombies, which is a viral video used to promote the title. Still, it's kind of funny, if only to see a zombie file things outside of the "braaains" category.
Midnight movie: Plants vs. Zombies, the music video
In the battle to determine which is more bizarre -- a game about plants battling zombies or a music video about a game where plants battle zombies -- the latter has prevailed. Ladies and gentlemen, for tonight's bedtime snack we present Plants vs. Zombies: The Music Video, based on PopCap's upcoming (and if you hadn't guessed, totally weird) tower defense game for PC ... Plants vs. Zombies.What's your favorite part? The zombies with butter on their heads? The zombie dolphins? The whole mad thing? It takes a company like PopCap -- purveyors of unicorn-infused digital crack like Peggle -- to invent something that just has to be an April Fools' joke but, we swear, totally isn't. Brace yourself, then click through after the break for animated insanity.
