The Backlog, Vol. 6 – There’s a Zombie on Your Lawn Edition

We’ve only got a couple games for you this week. But trust me — if you’ve been playing either of them, you’ll understand why there wasn’t time for anything else.

I Can't Believe It's Not Brains!

Nick: Oh man. Plants Vs. Zombies. Plants Vs. Zombies. Plants Vs. Zombies.

It’s common knowledge that I’m guaranteed to fall in love with any game that’s got the PopCap seal of quality on it. But their latest game managed to do the impossible: It took a genre I couldn’t stand — tower defense — and transmogrified it into the most wonderful, purest substance of joy I’ve experienced in a game since…well, Peggle. But Plants Vs. Zombies breaks with PopCap’s precedent by delivering a game that’s not only infinitely addictive and bursting with charm — it’s crammed full of things to do.

After sinking more than 12 hours into the game (including a final three-hour binge that ended with my victory over the Adventure mode at 3:00 a.m.) I’ve still got dozens of challenge and puzzle modes to complete, a Zen Garden to cultivate, and a new and foreboding mode called Survival.

I’m hoping to have a full review up before too long, but trust me when I say this is the best $10 you’ll spend on a game for a very long time. Despite the heavy hitters to come along this year, Plants Vs. Zombies is the best game I’ve encountered in a very, very long time.

Aaron: This week I played one game: Pokemon Pearl.

Seriously.

I took a breather from gaming and instead read some books, caught up on current events, watched Battlestar Galactica for the first time and spent time outside of the house. As far as games I’ll be playing next week? It’s anyone’s guess. But we have to get more reviews done, I suppose.