Hi, my name is Annette and I am an addict. My addiction: Plants vs Zombies.

If you had told me a couple years back that I would start playing games that fall under the “casual” umbrella, I would have scoffed, laughed in your face and told you you had me pegged all wrong. Games in this category just never showed up on my radar. If it wasn’t an RPG, a fun 3rd person shooter or an action-adventure style game, I didn’t feel it was worth my time.

Just before Plants vs Zombies was announced I had been approached to be a community manager for a new website featuring titles from the big “casual” players – PopCap, BigFish, Sandlot. Part of my research was getting familiar with how these games work, learning about all the different types out there and making sure I knew about the most popular ones. During the course of my investigations I stumbled on news from PopCap of a tower defense game featuring zombies. Zombies being another weakness of mine, I started following them on Twitter and reading press releases for more news. PopCap promised me something challenging yet fun and charming, and gave me exactly that.

Team up with a friend to stop an unwanted pool party

In Plants vs Zombies (for the five of you who have no idea what it is about), you defend your house by planting various greenery on your lawn. You collect sunshine from sunflowers to help you plant offensive and defensive lines to keep the horde from eating your brains. New seed packets can be collected when you complete a level or by visiting Crazy Dave’s Shop when you have some coin to spend. There are different challenges during the day as opposed to evening, yard as opposed to roof. A completely wonderful gaming experience that delivers again and again.

With success on PC/Mac, iPhone and the iPad, it was only a matter of time before the game would find it’s way to the Xbox Live Arcade. PopCap was no stranger to the console with two Arcade collection discs as well as a slew of games available in the Marketplace. Their team did an outstanding job converting the point and click mouse controls to work with the 360 controller. I think that I can honestly plant a lot faster using the analog stick/bumper/A configuration. If only I could speed up how fast my sunflowers produce sunshine!

Go head to plant in Versus Mode

The Xbox 360 version also features extra content I never had in my PC version. In addition to the Zen Garden, Mini-Games and Survival Mode, I can also play local coop or versus mode with my husband. It would have been great if PvZ supported online multiplayer like Peggle does, but while I wait for them to patch that (fingers crossed) I am grateful I can play with others in my own home. And for gamers who decide to pick up the non-digital format of Plants vs Zombies, PopCap has also provided you with full versions of Peggle and Zuma.

Overall Opinion

Plants vs Zombies is one of those instant classics that every type of gamer can enjoy and should have at least one version of in their library. It is a great pick up and play title when you just want to pass some time but can also be enjoyed for an extended period, too. Earning money to purchase new seed packets and items for your Zen Garden encourage playing Adventure mode again and again, making each play through a different experience.

Plants vs Zombies will also be coming to the Nintendo DS in January 2011.

Purchase Plants Vs. Zombies Xbox 360 from Amazon

Purchase a Zombie Tycoon code from Amazon

Reviewed for GamingAngels – Dec 26, 2009

In my opinion, you can never have too many video games with zombies. Usually, you are spending all your time shooting them in the head, severing their limbs and trying to figure out how to stop the outbreak from spreading. We spend all this time destroying them, but what about the people who create and control them?

Zombie Tycoon pits you as a budding ZEO (Zombie Executive Officer). You are given access to three zombie units with which you will terrorize the streets, destroying buildings and eating brains as you plan your global domination. Each of the game’s ten levels boasts a new map with various obstacles and items to collect. With the over 100 items, you can arm your zombie minions to the teeth, equipping them with items such as balloons to lift them over crevasses or gas masks to keep them safe from the toxic fumes people are defending certain buildings with. Capturing hospitals will give you tokens allowing you to increase the size of your respective armies. Each group can be controlled separately using the respective Square, Triangle or Circle buttons, or by using the X button to tell them all to attack the same target.

If you think it’s going to be easy to blast through, then you better be a strategy genius. Eventually the humans decide to fight back, as well as rebuilding hospitals giving them back control. You really need to keep on top of where your zombies are and make sure they aren’t being killed off by someone wielding a chainsaw while you have them attacking a building. You must have your squad near a hospital in order to use the tokens, and if a whole unit falls, you must find a token to revive them before you can build more of that particular group. Sometimes it is best to barrel through, while other times you should venture out a little, regroup, then move out a bit further.

For $8, Zombie Tycoon is well worth the money, as it provides great strategy and a healthy amount of game time.

Status:

Purchase Undead Knights from Amazon

Reviewed for GamingAngels – Sept 17, 2009

Repost of review:

Disclaimer: This review is based on the review build that was sent out. The final version of the game may have some slight differences and tweaking of gameplay.

I haven’t played a good hack and slash game in a very long time. So when you tell me about a game that incorporates zombies into it…. well, I’m sold! Tecmo Games has done just that, with a great new game for the PSP – Undead Knights.

The story is a simple one: the King, influenced by his hot and busty young new wife, has decided that the House of Blood (a family who has long serviced the throne) should be wiped out. Little did the King know that his daughter had just married into the family, and the House Leader Romulus, the princess Sylvia and her new husband Remus were slaughtered on their way to share the joyous news with her father. The House of Blood has powerful blood pumping through its veins, and so in death, the three are reborn, commanding forces of the living dead as they systematically destroy those who were behind their murders.

Let’s begin with choosing which character is right for you!

Romulus: The most balanced of the three, Romulus wields a decent blade and has decent recovery time between hits. He is good for the beginner player.

Remus: Speed makes up for his weaker rapier attacks.

Sylvia: Her scythe attacks do heavy damage, but her slow movements leave her vulnerable to attacks.

Characters are chosen at the start of each chapter, so if you find one isn’t working out for you in a particular chapter, you can always chose another when you restart. You will also choose your difficulty level for each chapter, thus allowing yourself to face tougher challenges.

There are 20 chapters in Undead Knights, providing you with tons of zombie minions to clear the way for you. Turning zombies is relatively easy. Hold the Circle button to perform a choke hold on the enemy. As you progress through the game, you will find that some enemies need to be grabbed twice as they become stronger than earlier levels. Another way to turn zombies is by activating a powerful Wrath move that will instantly kill and turn any enemies caught in its wake. Sometimes you need to stun the soldier before you can grab him. Using the Triangle and Square buttons you can attack your enemies and weaken them.

There are several things you can do with your newly turned minions. They can climb on top of each other to build bridges, take down structures for you, and you can throw them at larger enemies to stun and distract them. The most important command you want to give them is to attack the enemies. By stringing together attacks you will increase the amount of White Souls you earn at the end of the chapter.

On the topic of souls, green ones will replenish some health, and red souls will help fill your Wrath bar quicker. Red souls are generally found in giant chests hidden in each level, while green souls comes from destructible vases and other such items.

At the end of each chapter you will be ranked on Souls Earned and Clear Time. The combination of the two ranks will then give you an overall rank and determine the amount of Dark Energy you have earned for customization. Upgrading your character is key in this game. By doing so you will be able to increase your strength and the destructive power of your weapons. Keep in mind that Dark Energy is shared between all three characters, so upgrade accordingly.

As you progress through the game you will also notice that you unlock Revenge Titles at the end of chapters. You can check which Titles you have gained in the Records of Revenge. You can also see your chapter records from this section as well.

Ad-hoc mode will let you hook up with friends for various multiplayer matches. Survival Race, King Battle and Undead Battle. Unfortunately I was not able to try out these mode for the review, but I bet they are a blast.

Fans of metal music will love the soundtrack to the game. There are three metal groups who have music featured in the game: Lightning Swords of Death, Endless Blizzard, and Valdur.

Overall Opinion: As far as hack & slash games go, this one ranks right up there for me. I normally don’t enjoy these titles too much, or at least I haven’t since the original Devil May Cry. (The sequels just weren’t fun for me at all.) It also was another reason to charge up my PSP and use the thing again. There isn’t a whole lot of dialogue in the game, but for what there is, the voice acting was just the right amount of cheesiness. If this was ever to get the movie makeover, it would have to have Bruce Campbell star in it.

I really enjoyed the game, although I did run into a couple instances that I am 100% sure will be fixed for the retail release. You can just pick it up and play a couple levels at a time then come back to it later on or play it through in a sitting. Sylvia was my Anti-Hero of choice, and I loved every minute I spent swinging that enormous scythe around the screen. And while not a big metal fan, I did find that the soundtrack was extremely fitting for the game. I am so glad that I was able to enjoy this title earlier than I originally expected to.