Plants vs. Zombies: Game of the Year 
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Plants Vs Zombies creator's new game is about stacking wombat pooApr 24, 2023 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunKnowing that wombats' dump is little stackable cubes was one of the fun facts I learned at school (it was either a rhetorical proof for or against the existence of God; I forget which). This knowledge comes in handy for understanding the game Hardhat Wombat, coming from George Fan (of Plants Vs. Zombies fame), with Andy Hull (of programmer on Spelunky fame). Out later this year, it's a combination puzzle-platformer and conscruction game in which you play a wombat, wearing a hard hat, who constructs increasingly complex things out of his own feces. That is no way to make a skyscraper, wombat. Read more Plants Vs. Zombies 3 announc- oh for it's a chuffing mobile gameJul 18, 2019 - Rock, Paper, Shotgun Good news: EA have announced Plants Vs. Zombies 3. Bad news: it’s free-to-play again, and microtransactions were a blight on PvZ 2. Nullifying news: but this time it’s just a mobile game so who even cares. Ian Arts, you are a monster. After the microtransaction-muddled Plants vs. Zombies 2 and the I’ve-heard-they’re-good-but-they’re-not-what-I-want multiplayer Garden Warfare spin-offs, I had hoped EA might return to plain ol’ PC PvZ. Sadly not, it seems. (more…) Wot I Think: OctogeddonFeb 8, 2018 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunThe creator of Plants Vs Zombies returns after nine years with Octogeddon – an arcade-inspired game of cephalopodic mayhem. One angry octopus takes on the world in his vengeful quest to destroy all that humans hold dear: large tourist attractions. Here’s wot I think. (more…) Battlefield 3 now free on OriginMay 29, 2014 - ShacknewsEA has updated with another free offering on Origin. This time it's the first-person shooter Battlefield 3 on-tap for a limited time.Battlefield 3 and Plants vs. Zombies are “On the House” at OriginMay 28, 2014 - PC Gamer Today is the day you get Battlefield 3! Why, you ask? Because today is the day you can pick it up at absolutely zero cost that is to say, free as the second game in Origin's "On the House" program. Electronic Arts unveiled "On the House" in March with a Dead Space giveaway and implied that there might be an element of randomness to the thing, saying that OTH freebies "can appear and disappear at any time." Today's announcement of Battlefield 3 as the next OTH giveaway, on the other hand, suggests it something more regular, coming as it does almost exactly one month after Dead Space, but does it matter? I say, no. I say that free is free, and I'll take it wherever and whenever I can. And no worries if you already have Battlefield 3, because there's a Plan B: Plants vs. Zombies, which has also been marked down to zero. That is perhaps somewhat less compelling as deals go since it's only five bucks at regular price and just about everyone on the planet already owns it anyway, but again, free is free and to be perfectly honest, if you haven't played either of them and for some odd reason can only get one, I'd actually recommend Plants vs. Zombies. It really is a brilliant game. But the smart thing to do is to grab them both, which you may do here for BF3 and here for PvZ, until June 3. For all the details, point yourself at Origin.Plants vs Zombies free on PC & Mac from Origin's On the House programMay 8, 2014 - ShacknewsLast month, EA gave away free copies of Battlefield 1942 on Origin. Today, they've made the original Plants vs Zombies free. Like before, there's no catch. Simply add the game to your cart and checkout, and it'll be added to your digital library forever.Risk board game adds Plants vs ZombiesSep 30, 2013 - ShacknewsThe Plants vs Zombies merchandising train continues onward. After a failed attempt at making a board game, PopCap has done the next best thing: give the license to someone else to play with. RISK: Plants vs Zombies is a "completely customized" take on the classic board game. Featuring a double-sided game board, the game features three ways to play: Tower Defense, Mission Objective, and Total Domination.Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare coming to E3Jun 9, 2013 - ShacknewsUpdated with details from PopCap Games. Plants vs Zombies 2 is not, as feared, a first-person shooter. But that doesn't mean the oft-rumored multiplayer take on PopCap's popular strategy game isn't real. Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare can be seen plastered all over Los Angeles Convention Center's South Hall, where many of this year's E3 festivities will take place. This name, if you recall, was spotted long ago when EA registered domain names for it. Rumblings of a PvZ multiplayer shooter were first heard when internet super sleuth Superannation discovered job listings from EA Canada looking for multiplayer designers with console experience. Undoubtedly, EA will officially announce the game at their press conference tomorrow. Update: A cached version of PopCap's official website (discovered by Superannuation) gives a few more details on the "PC and console game" which is apparently powered by Battlefield's Frostbite engine.: Plants vs. Zombies is digging into the trenches with an explosive new action experience. Blast zombies, plants and new characters across a mine-blowing PvZ world. Take on Co-op and Multiplayer action with your friends and sow the seeds of victory! Kotaku says we can expect the game to be "in the vein of Team Fortress 2." Planst vs Zombies 2 confirmed July 18Jun 3, 2013 - ShacknewsPlants vs. Zombies 2 is coming to iOS on July 18, with Crazy Dave returning with a new mixture of plants and levels to keep the dreaded zombies at bay. Of course, this time, it appears that time travel may be involved. "Itâs about time!" Allen Murray, senior producer for Plants vs. Zombies 2, said in a release. "We're confident that players will see the love and attention we've put into this game. We've created wild new ways to experience the plants and zombies you know and love as well as packing the game with tons of completely new content, and we're still hard at work coming up with even more cool stuff that will keep Plants vs. Zombies 2 fresh and evolving in the months and years following launch." The release mentions past and future times with the new levels for the free-to-play "live service," and also reveals new power up that will "supercharge" plants. Check out the new trailer for a hint at things to come for the iPhone and iPad. Plants vs Zombies 2: It’s About Time will be released sometime in JulyMay 6, 2013 - PC Gamer "Hell, it's about time," I imagine a spacesuited sunflower grunting, a cigar dangling between its happy-mouthed lips. Is that the image Plants vs Zombies 2 intended to invoke with its new tagline? Will zergling-zombies make a surprise appearance in the sequel? It's hard to say with this new teaser trailer, but if there's one thing it can teach us, it's that despite the far-ranging diversity of PvZ's audience, all of these hilarious stereotypes are united in their desire for more garden-themed tower defensing—and that they'll finally have a reason to stop complaining come July. Social misfits with webcams, hipster dudes in a creative start-up, angry granddads, PC Gamer writers typing from their living room couch—oh yeah, everyone wants a piece of that pea-hurling action. This asparagus enthusiast is hoping that the "Aspearagus" makes it into PvZ2—what sort of veggies are you hoping to see? Plants vs Zombies 2: It's About Time coming July (it's about time)May 6, 2013 - ShacknewsPlants vs Zombies 2 now has a subtitle. Oh, and something resembling a release date. Plants vs Zombies 2: It's About Time is coming this July, PopCap Games announced on Facebook. It will be available this July. We're assuming that the title serves a double purpose, going beyond just the frustrated demands of fans that have been expecting a sequel ever since the original game debuted in 2009. Time manipulation mechanics in a PvZ title would be cool--assuming it's not actually a first-person shooter, of course. Plants vs Zombies 2 due in summer, Facebook version in closed betaMar 26, 2013 - ShacknewsPopCap announced a few new Plants vs Zombies revelations today, including a release window for the full sequel and the closed beta launch of a Facebook version. Plants vs Zombies 2 will launch in early summer, according to the company. In the meantime, you could check out Plants vs Zombies Adventures, a new social PvZ game. PvZ Adventures is only in closed beta for now, with plans to expand to more users this spring. It focuses on "road trips" as you travel the country to stop zombies in a variety of settings. You'll be able to send hordes to invade your friends, and the game will boast new zombie and plant types, new defense methods, and leaderboards. You can check out the Facebook page for a chance at getting into the beta, which for now is limited and region-based. A look at Adventures from Indie Social Games seems to indicate it's a tower defense title, as zombies take a variety of paths to reach a motor home and you're given a limited number of plants to place at the start of each round. New plants include the melee-focused Beat and the Aspearagus, while new zombies include a barrel-wearing charger and an armored Mad Hatter. "Plants vs. Zombies Adventures is a highly accessible, zombie-zapping adaptation of the original game designed specifically for Facebook," said PopCap San Francisco head Curt Bererton. "The game not only offers up exclusive new plants and zombies along with old favorites, it features all-new forms of zombie combat that will open PvZ to a whole new world. We like to think weâre creating a brand new twist on the classic Plants vs. Zombies that is the most social, shareable and expansive Plants vs. Zombies experience ever." SimCity sells over 1.1M units, free game offer includes Dead Space 3, Battlefield 3, SimCity 4Mar 18, 2013 - PC Gamer On the week of SimCity's ill-fated launch, during which a lot more people wanted to play SimCity than SimCity's servers could handle, Maxis SVP Lucy Bradshaw promised us each a free EA game for our troubles. Today, EA announced that SimCity sold over 1.1 million units in its first two weeks (well, there's your problem), and Maxis announced the list of apology games for SimCity owners to choose from: Battlefield 3 (Standard Edition) Bejeweled 3 Dead Space 3 (Standard Edition) Mass Effect 3 (Standard Edition) Medal of Honor Warfighter (Standard Edition) Need For Speed Most Wanted (Standard Edition) Plants vs. Zombies SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition The free game will be acquired through a "redemption portal" which will be rolled out in the Origin client later this week. To take part in the offer, you must register your copy of SimCity on Origin by March 25, 2013 at 11:59 p.m. PDT and redeem the free game by March 30, 2013 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. E-mails with instructions will start going out to owners today—I just received an update and on-message apology which opens: "Our SimCity Mayors are incredibly important to the team at Maxis. We know we messed up and want to sincerely thank you for staying with us. The good news is we have solved most of the major issues and players are really enjoying the game. We're getting great feedback from our fans and know that many of you are having fun and are exploring this whole new expression of SimCity." Despite the controversy surrounding and criticism of SimCity's always-online requirement, mixed messages about the decision, and much-discussed simulation flaws, EA says the 1.1 million unit figure makes SimCity the franchise's biggest launch of all time.Plants vs Zombies Vita invades PlayStation Plus Instant CollectionFeb 25, 2013 - ShacknewsThis week's PlayStation Plus update will add another game to the Vita's Instant Game Collection. Sony has announced that the PopCap hit lawn-defense game Plants vs. Zombies will be added to the Plus line-up tomorrow, along with a few discounts and a Vita anniversary sale. The PlayStation Blog announced that PvZ will shamble up to Plus this week. Retro/Grade is also getting a heavy discount, down from $9.99 in the Store to $2.44 for Plus subscribers. The update will also bring about the Vita Anniversary sale, bringing steep discounts to 13 games in the Vita library. As previously reported, tomorrow's store update will pack discounts on the winners of the Gamers Choice Awards as well. The sale will be store-wide, but Plus members get deeper price cuts, so you'll have no excuse left not to buy Journey. Valve rumoured to be opening San Francisco office, headed by former PopCap devsDec 14, 2012 - PC Gamer Update: Valve's Doug Lombardi told Joystiq: "As a point of clarification, this is probably better categorized as Valve hiring two new employees instead of an acquisition of a company or opening of a Valve SF office." Original: Valve Time are reporting that the two-man operation Star Filled Studios have been bought by Valve, and will be heading up a new office based in San Francisco. According to the LinkedIn profile of Star Filled's Tod Semple, a former programmer for PopCap, "my recent startup was acquired by Valve and we are opening a new office on the San Francisco peninsula." Star Filled Studios is comprised of Tod, who has previously worked at Blizzard and LucasArts, and Jeff Gates, who did work on Maxis' Spore and Blizzard's Diablo 3. Both then worked together at PopCap. Valve's plans for the company are still a mystery. While Star Filled Studios never announced what they were working on, their website states, "our games are made to be playable by everyone and available on iPhone, Steam and many different platforms." The last company acquired by Valve was Turtle Rock Studios, who made Left 4 Dead before being rolled into Valve's Bellevue HQ. Turtle Rock have since reopened, now independent of Valve. Thanks CVG.Valve hires former Plants vs Zombies devsDec 14, 2012 - ShacknewsUpdate - Doug Lombardi of Valve confirmed that Semple and Gates have been hired, but offered a clarification: "This is probably better categorized as Valve hiring two new employees instead of an acquisition of a company or opening of a Valve SF office." Original Story - An indie start-up composed of former PopCap developers has been acquired by Valve. The developer Star Filled Studios was just composed of two men: Jeff Gates and Tod Semple, both of whom formerly worked at PopCap. Semple says they're opening a new office in San Francisco. The studio site also references work on high-profile titles at Maxis, LucasArts, and Blizzard. The two were working at PopCap's San Carlos office until they were made redundant in August by the company layoffs. They went on to form SFS in September. Valve's last acquisition was in 2008, when it took on Turtle Rock Studios. That led to the company getting behind Left 4 Dead and then closing the studio before it reopened as independent in 2009. Valve didn't give word on what Star Filled Studios will be working on. PopCap working with Frostbite 2 engineDec 7, 2012 - ShacknewsThe Frostbite 2 engine gained a strong reputation for realism after it was used in Battlefield 3, and started branching into other genres, such as EA's racing titles. But we might see what it does with a completely different art style too, under the care of PopCap. A job listing dug up by Superannuation asks for a software engineer with Frostbite 2 experience to work at PopCap. The project is called a "AAA console title" and specifically mentions experience working on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Signs point to this being related to the unconfirmed Plants vs Zombies shooter that we heard about in August. It makes sense for EA to use its proprietary engine and show off its flexibility to boot, but Frostbite 2 wouldn't have been our first guess for the backbone of a cartoon art style. Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare domains registeredOct 18, 2012 - ShacknewsHey, remember when PopCap announced it was working on a sequel to Plants vs. Zombies? Well, it looks like it may be called Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare. Fusible has discovered a bunch of new domain registrations attributed to PopCap including gardenwarfare.net, pvzgardenwarfare.com, and pvzgw.com. All of the domains were registered on October 16th. The Garden Warfare moniker has a nice ring to it, as it seems to poke fun at the successful Modern Warfare series of games. The name does make us wonder: could that odd rumor about a multiplayer PvZ shooter actually be true? Free Plants vs Zombies in Halloween dental promoSep 10, 2012 - ShacknewsYou may not want to contribute to kids' tooth decay this Halloween, but chances are you don't want to be "that guy." You know, the one who handed out little toothbrushes or apple slices to trick-or-treaters. Luckily, PopCap has teamed up with the American Dental Association to let you give away something much cooler than toothbrushes or (dare we say) candy: Plants vs Zombies. The "Stop Zombie Mouth" campaign lets you give trick-or-treaters a free game coupon for the PC or Mac version of Plants vs Zombies. You can pick up sets of limited-edition PvZ trading cards with download codes from an ADA member dentist, or you can visit the official site to print coupons. The announcement estimates it will give away millions of games in all, along with more than a million of the trading card packs. "We at PopCap have been interested in the potential for video games to provide benefits beyond entertainment for many years," said co-founder John Vechey, in the announcement. "We're passionate about the very important cause behind the 'Stop Zombie Mouth' campaign and proud to be highlighting yet another positive effect that games can have on society." Report: Plants vs Zombies creator laid off from PopCapAug 22, 2012 - ShacknewsThere was a surprising casualty in yesterday's PopCap layoffs. George Fan is best known as the creator of one of PopCap's most endearing games: Plants vs Zombies. And although the company is moving ahead with a sequel to the game, according to a report by 1UP, Fan was part of yesterday's layoffs. (His LinkedIn page has not been updated, however.) If Fan is no longer involved with Plants vs Zombies, it may explain the curious rumor that surfaced earlier--that the next iteration of the franchise would turn into a multiplayer shooter. While the original game was heralded for its simplicity, a look at Fan's GDC talk reveals how much design work and iteration was necessary to make the game as accessible as it is.
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