Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 Preview

Todd Jepperson

Next week’s follow-up to the genre bending Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare has been given the full treatment. No longer the simple tower-defense style mobile game, Garden Warfare 2 is being called something akin to Nintendo’s Spitoon meets Call of Duty. 

The beta has been reviewed a couple of times, and each reviewer has come to the same conclusion: although it looks like this game is for kids, it’s definitely fun to play and offers serious interactions for even the serious gamer. 

Plants include Citron, a giant orange-like plant with the ability to knock zombies over or blast them to nothing with a beam of energy. Also, there is Rose, who has the power to turn zombies into goats. But my favorite, Kernel Corn, has gone all out with machine guns for arms.

There are a couple of new zombies in the mix. Super Brainz is an undead Superman/Ryu cross who is a monster of close-combat.Captain Deadbeard is a pirate zombie with a remote control parrot. There’s even a little guy called Imp who’s very fast, but also pretty weak until he jumps into his Z-mech. 

Combine all of this with 12 brand new maps and a whole bunch of free, downloadable extras and Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 looks to be one game you won’t want to miss. 

For a full review of the beta, jump on over to Metro.co.uk where the feeling is that Garden Warfare 2 is “coming up roses.”

Dead Island Release Date and Updated Trailer

David Brown



If you have been following the site recently, you will know that there is a little game called Dead Island on the horizon. With details including an open island to explore, craftable weapons, and intense melee combat, there are already many reasons to pre-order. Fresh off the heels of E3 comes news from GameStop that they will be offering a number of preorder incentives including:

• A free copy of the first DLC, a four-stage Bloodbath Arena

• Access to that DLC's exclusive weapon, the Brain Wave Bomb



• Blueprint for a weapon known as the Ripper

Also included in the announcement was the newly released "special edition" box art, shown above.

Also shown at E3 was a new trailer that looks to show more gameplay and a bit more background on the setting itself.

This is a great bit of news; which I, for one, hope will be the first of many great announcements. Be sure to keep following us for further news on pre-order bonuses and upcoming details on this great game; and be sure to pre-order your copy as soon as possible as the game releases for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC (September 6th in North America and worldwide September 9th.)

Des Plaines Valley Public Library to Host “Zombie Feud”

David Brown

If you are in the Romeoville, Illinois area and want to have a little bit of fun at the library, then look no further that the Des Plaines Valley Public Library District. There you will find the “Zombie Feud” competition, a “Family Feud” style event with a twist. According to Teen Services Librarian Sarah Stumpf, “The questions range from popular zombie movies or tend to be very subjective questions, like, 'A zombie has broken into your house; what's the first weapon you would grab?' "

Teams earn point for guesses based on how many people chose that answer in a survey. Stumpf says that the popularity of the undead inspired her to host the event. She is gearing the program toward teens in grades 7 to 12. Players are even encouraged to play dressed up like one of the undead to earn extra points. If you would like to check it out, there are three locations where you can do so.

The Lockport branch, 121 E. 8th St, will host the first Zombie Feud from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 12.

The Romeoville library, 201 W. Normantown Rd., will host the event from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 24, followed by the Crest Hill branch, 1298 Theodore St., from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 31.

Teens can register by calling any branch. Contact the Romeoville library at 815-886-2030, the Crest Hill branch at 815-725-0234 or the Lockport branch at 815-838-0755.

Braaains Game Review

David Brown

A while back, my fiance told me about a new game she found on Facebook, with my past experiences I was apprehensive to say the least about another Facebook game. The game she told me about was Braaains a multiplayer, zombie raising/battling game. I had my hesitations at first but after putting 20 days of play time into it, I have to say, this is a great game. The game itself revolves as I said around raising your very own zombie army. You resurrect the zombies from the graveyard with brains that you collect or by using currency.

Currency and experience is gained by battling human and computer opponents. Brains are gained by leveling up or completing achievement tasks and partner offers (optional ones at that, as they are never displayed in pop up form or anywhere in the main game screen). You have the opportunity to raise an initial army of up to 5 zombies, but beware once you get to that number you have to make sure you have a bunch of friends willing to play as well or else you cannot raise a bigger army.

With the coins you can buy armor and weapons for your zombie army. These weapons are a highlight of the game, as they range from broken lightbulbs, to tree limbs, to shopping carts. You also have the ability to purchase enhancements for your zombie army, that will help upgrade your strength, health, or defense. While all of this seems very strategic, it is to a point, but it never is such a big issue that it hinders the game. This is truly a game that was created to kill a few minutes as the best way to play it is in small intervals.
In my opinion the game sets itself apart, in that you don’t have to wait to continue playing. If you have money to heal you can keep battling, if not you only have to wait for your party to heal, but the heal rate is very quick, so at most it will be a minute or two wait until the next battle. There is also armor to purchase, whether it be a hipster outfit, or a cardboard box armor suit. The sky seems to have been the limit for the developer.
If you are in the mood to have a quick bit of gaming fun with zombies, and are on Facebook, then look for the game Braaains, you will not regret it. The colorful visuals and sheer in jokes that are to be found here, make this a must play game, because of it’s free price tag. Shamble over to Facebook when you get the chance so you too can experience the fun of raising your very own zombie army and battling against the world.

Google Maps' Street View Zombie Game

What we have here is an extremely interesting and very different zombie game. You begin by entering your age and the zip code of your address. After this, the Google street view zooms in to an area you are most likely familiar with. You navigate through your city traveling to an area where someone needs rescued. As you travel through the streets you are attacked by zombies. Only a shot to the head (obviously) will put the zombies out of their misery.

The game is free, fun, and allows you to shoot zombies in front of your own home. While playing, I kept thinking about how the future of gaming is changing. It was a very cool experience being able to navigate through my neighborhood and shoot zombies in familiar territory. Another fun feature of the game happens when you die. You have the ability to link the game to your Facebook profile. If you are killed, your Facebook profile picture is zombified and your friends must come to your aid for a rescue.

However, the game is basically an advertisement for Virgin Trains. You are rescuing public transpiration victims who have been zombified by their boring commute. Your weapon of choice? A train ticket dispenser gun. The game is definitely worth playing and you can be your own judge by heading over here.

Donate Your Brain

I posted this little game before but thought I'd share it again. After all, we do have a bunch of new readers since the last time. So, give me your brain by following this link. I know you have one... I can smell your braaiiinsssss...

Twilight Creations' Zombie!!!

In a world full of electronic games such as Left 4 Dead, Dead Rising, and Resident Evil, it's easy to forget about the days of rolling dice and moving miniatures across a board. Well, Twilight Creations is bringing us back to the good times of sitting around a table playing a game with friends. Even better? These games contain zombies!

In fact, the game is called Zombies!!!

"Zombies!!! puts you in the middle of the action as you try to escape the ever advancing zombie horde. Players must use a combination of wits and brawn to be the first to the heliport and certain escape. The only problem is, the zombies are everywhere, they appear to be very hungry and your opponents would really prefer if you didn't escape."

Gameplay is simple, straight-forward, and fun. Twilight's games come with 100 zombies, hero characters, map tiles, and other gameplay necessities. In a nutshell, you move your character through a constantly changing town while killing zombies and sabotaging your friends. The map tiles are laid out during the course of the game making for a new experience each time you play.

Twilight Creations has been generous enough to sponsor January's contest offering an extremely unique prize. This month's winner will receive an out-of-print first edition of "Zombies!!!" autographed by the games creator, Todd Breitenstein!

For you chance to win, email your name and address to game@zombiesandtoys.com.

Fort Zombie - A New Zombie Game

IGN has reported some information about a new zombie game hitting PCs this fall. Fort Zombie places you in the town of Piety, Indiana. It's an action RPG and you basically must find a building to be your fort through the game. You will spend most of your time fortifying your domicile while also performing various other tasks to build your character.

I'm not much of a PC gamer and hope we see something like this on the 360 or PS3. I love the idea of a more realistic RPG zombie survival game. Not completely sold on this one yet but I'm still psyched to see Dead Island.

Contest Update!

Alright, folks. I just wanted to remind everyone that tomorrow is the last day to enter our contest to win a free iTunes download of American Zombie. Click here for the post and details. I would like to thank Jessica at New Video Digital for sponsoring. If you don't win, click the iTunes button below to purchase the movie.

I also wanted to give you a sneak peak about our next contest. I posted earlier a catchy jingle and video for PopCap Games' latest, Plants vs Zombies. Well, I'm excited to let you know that they have been gracious enough to sponsor our next contest by donating several copies of the game to a few lucky readers! Not only that, but they are also going to be sending out a Plants vs Zombies "goodie bag" to one or two extremely lucky participants!

I'll have the contest specifics soon but you can expect this to launch at the end of the month. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter so that you don't miss out on any exclusive updates. Thanks in advance to PopCap Games for allowing our readers this opportunity!

Plants vs Zombies?

It's true what they say, the truth is stranger than fiction. Case-in-point, the news of an upcoming game from Popcap Games. Yes, the title is Plants vs Zombies. If you think the title is bizarre, check out the video and catchy jingle:



From the PopCaps website:

You'll need to think fast and plant faster to fend off this mob of helmet-clad, pole-vaulting zombies. So grab your gardening gloves, because you're in for a riotous fight with the fun-dead!

PopCap's newest game, Plants vs. Zombies, is coming on May 5th.

Click here to be added to their mailing list for this title. It will allow you the opportunity to play the game before everyone else in addition to getting 10% off if you decide to buy it!