The biggest names to grace the compilation this time are obviously Plants vs. Zombies and the highly addictive Zuma. Padding out the collection are Heavy Weapon and Feeding Frenzy 2. Heavy Weapon is a hell of a lot of fun to play and one for fans of shoot’em ups, while Feeding Frenzy 2 is an update on the fishing chomping madness of the first game. So, lets take a look at each title in a little more detail and what each has to offer.

Plants vs. Zombies is, in my opinion, not just the best game in this collection, but one of the best games PopCap have produced in their eleven year existence. It takes the simple tower-defence formula and gives it a twist by adding bug-eyed zombies hungry for your brains and a range of greenery and shrubs as your only form of defence. Zombies continue to progress across either the front or back lawn in the attempt to reach you in the safe-haven of your house. To stop them from lunching on your gray matter, you place down various plants which attack the invading undead and stop them in their tracks. To bolster your botanical army you need to add Sunflowers into the mix, which every so often will release a bit of sunlight. Collecting these little icons of ultraviolet light will award you with grow points which then allow you to add a new plant to your lawn.

Things start off relatively simple, introducing a plant or new items through the initial opening levels. As things progress the challenge increases, and more zombies attempt to brave the long shuffling walk across your lawn. As the zombies reach the ranks of your leafy legion they will quickly uproot and destroy them – getting nearer to the house and also to devouring your brain. The thing is, unlike many other tower defence games, PvZ never gets so hard it becomes frustrating; even though some later levels might take a few attempts to complete. There are never any signs of bumps or molehills in it’s smooth grassy incline of a learning curve. The Xbox version also features multiplayer, allowing you and a friend to either work together at fighting off the zombie hordes, or in versus with one as the undead and the other as plant defence. PvZ is hands-down one of the best games available on XBLA, and so it goes without saying that it’s this alone that makes PopCap Hits! Volume 2 worth investing in.

Which brings us onto Zuma, another classic puzzle game from the archives of the PopCap collective. I think pretty much everyone out there must have played Zuma on one platform or another. For those that haven’t then let me explain what it’s all about. Zuma is based on and set in ancient Aztec Mexico, with you in control of a stone frog idol in the middle of the screen that spits out a coloured ball when you press a button. A path of coloured balls gradually progress along a track with the final destination being a golden star with a skull at its centre. When the balls reach the golden skull they are swallowed up and you lose a life, swallow too many and it’s game over.

The idea is that you fire a coloured ball from the frog idol’s mouth into the ever growing line of coloured balls in the attempt to match three. When three are matched the balls explode and a meter fills, which when filled progresses you onto the next level. There are also bonuses and other items to help you along the way, like being able to move the balls in reverse for an allotted amount of time. Zuma is a game that has been around for over seven years, and in that time it has seen a version on pretty much every gaming platform available. That is proof alone at how popular it’s become. The problem here is that due to it being around for so long, and on many different gaming devices, chances are you already own it or have long moved on. Even though Zuma is one of PopCaps’ biggest titles, I can’t help think that there would of been something better to include in the compilation.

The third game in the collection, Heavy Weapon, is a side-scrolling shoot’em up and a nice break from the puzzle games. You’re placed in control of an Atomic Tank and are tasked with repelling an invasion by the evil forces of Red Star. This plays out across a total of 19 missions where you drive the tank from left to right, aiming the turret through 180 degrees and blowing away countless waves of enemies. Each area finishes with the traditional boss encounter. Once the boss has been dispatched it’s off to the armoury where you can buy upgrades for your tank before moving onto the next level. The great addition to the Xbox version is the four-player co-op mode which delivers plenty of explosive action.

Heavy Weapon is great because it offers something different out of all the titles in both PopCap collections. It’s just good old fashioned shoot’em up fun. It’s colourful cartoon style and relentless action means you can give the brain a break from all the puzzling and just go crazy for a while. It’s not a game you will come back to time and time again, much like many of PopCap’s titles, but it is a nice inclusion for Volume 2.

Lastly, we have the return of hungry aquatic life in Feeding Frenzy 2. This fishy sequel plays pretty much the same as the first game, in the fact that you eat smaller fish to grow into a bigger fish and move up the food chain. There are around 60 new levels to play, with a whole new range of environments like dark caves, sunken shipwrecks and colourful coral reefs. Some levels allow you to launch your fish out of the water in the attempt to catch some bugs and perform acrobatics before splashing back down for a nice score boost. What makes Frenzy 2 much more appealing to play than the previous game is the addition of a story. Rather than just working you way up through six levels of the food chain, from a small fish called Boris to a great white shark called Goliath, there is an actual point to it all.

During the adventure you will encounter the new “Midnight Zone”, which as the name suggests is played in darkness. You take control of Eddie the angelfish, who has a lure which lights up the ocean around him. As time progresses so the light from the lure decreases and you see less of the screen. Eating plankton will increase the light around Eddie and make a much wider field of vision again. The Midnight Zone levels are a nice change of pace, due to the more tense nature of not being able to see all the screen and constantly on the hunt for plankton. In principle it is pretty much the same thing as last time, the addition of a story and new twists on the levels make it all the more appealing to play. More experienced and older gamers probably won’t find much of a challenge at all in Feeding Frenzy 2, but lets be fair, it is aimed at kids.

And there we have it, a collection of four PopCap titles all on one disc in a nice handy retail package. Once again we face the important question – is it worthy of your budget strapped cash? Well I hate to state the obvious, but, it really does come down to how many of these titles you already own. The clear showcase title in the collection is Plants vs. Zombies, and if you haven’t yet had the pleasure of playing it, then no decision needs to be made – go pick up the collection now! Not only will you be investing in a great title, you will get three more decent games that might also appeal to other family members. PopCap Hits! Volume 2 can be picked up from many places for well under £20, which is far cheaper than all four games would cost you to download from Xbox Live Arcade.

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With over 40 titles under their belt since they formed in 2000, PopCap are probably best known for titles such as Bejeweled, AstroPop, Bookworm, Heavy Weapon, Zuma, Peggle and Plants vs. Zombies. In fact, it has been reported that Bejeweled has gone on to sell well over 50 million units across a number of platforms since first appearing in 2001. Certainly an achievement to be proud of. With some of the most popular games on Xbox Live Arcade, it’s no surprise that PopCap have collected together some of their most popular titles on a single disc and released them as one cool retail bundle (with more volumes to follow). The first of these collections includes Bejeweled 2, Peggle, Feeding Frenzy and AstroPop – which is certainly a eclectic mix with possibly an odd choice of game or two.

Before we move on to look at each individual title, lets take a look at the collection as a whole first. Bejeweled 2 and Peggle are two of PopCap’s biggest titles. If you have never experienced what either game has to offer then you really are missing out. Peggle’s simple formula, but addictive qualities, will have you going from sheer frustration to insurmountable celebration. But the collection also includes Feeding Frenzy and AstroPop, which although both are decent enough games, just feel very pale in comparison to the mighty Bejeweled and the thrills of Peggle. Although all compilation bundles have a few weaker inclusions, it stands out more here due to the fact there are only four titles on the disc.

Don’t get me wrong, Astro Pop and Feeding Frenzy do play perfectly well and offer plenty of fun. It’s just that next to Bejeweled 2 and Peggle they are kind of overshadowed. Imagine if you will a Ferrari dealership next door to a Ford Fiesta showroom; the Ford Fiesta is a perfectly nice car, no doubt about it, but then would it look so good in the shadow of a Ferrari? The one thing that can be said is that each game offers something different, and there certainly is something for each member of the family to enjoy. So, with that in mind, lets take a look at what each title has to offer by starting off with Bejeweled 2.

Bejeweled 2 first became available on Xbox Live Arcade back in November of 2005. Much like the first game, the objective is to simply swap one gem with an adjacent one to form a sequence of three to five matching colours. Doing so will cause the gems to vanish and more to fall in their place. The more gems that are matched the bigger the score bonus. Meeting a score target will progress you to the next level, and things continue like this until no more gems can be swapped and you run out of moves. Bejeweled 2 can be played in either Classic, Puzzle, Endless or Action modes, each with its own unique rules and twists on the standard match-three mechanic. Classic is the standard game and the best place to start if you’re a newcomer to the world of Bejeweled. Puzzle and Action modes place a lot more pressure on you in terms of time or making the right move, so only for really experienced players. Endless mode is pretty much what the name suggests, there are no time limits, no scores to beat and no pressure. It lets you play at your own pace across all 280 levels. For me, Bejeweled is one of those games that I rarely choose to play. But when I do it’s hard to put it down again. It’s no surprise why Bejeweled is regarded as one of the greatest puzzle games since Tetris. It’s a classic that will be as popular in years to come as it is now.

Next up is Peggle, inspired by Japanese pachinko machines and probably best thought of as a vertical kind of pinball. Each level starts you off with a set number of balls, and a field of coloured pegs and bricks often arranged into funky patterns, designs and shapes. The objective is to remove all the red pegs from each level by using ten balls that you fire out of a cannon at the top of the screen. Failing to get all the red pegs will mean you have to start the level again. It’s simple enough to just fire off your ball and watch it bounce around the screen taking out pegs to a delightful crescendo of chimes. But to get the really big scores Peggle requires tactics and proves it can be just as deep as any game available. It’s also a game that offers more satisfaction than any other title out there. As the ball approaches the final red peg, time will slow down, the camera zooms in close and drums begin to roll; contact is made and fireworks begin to burst as sparkling rainbows whoosh across the screen, all while Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” congratulates you like no other musical composition ever could. It’s a real fist pumping, jump out of your chair while shouting “YEAH!” moment. When it comes to PopCap titles, for me Peggle is my game of choice

The third game in the collection is Feeding Frenzy, which has you playing as small fish in very big pond. The idea is that you swim around eating anything smaller than yourself while avoiding the bigger fish, depth charges, mines, poisonous fish and jellyfish. Once you eat a required amount you progress up the food chain and become a bigger fish. The game continues like this till you become a Killer whale and go on the hunt for sharks. Rapidly swallowing down fish will cause you to enter a “Feeding Frenzy” which increases your score while you continue to eat, stop feeding and so the frenzy will end. It’s not a bad game by far, but in the same package as Bejeweled 2 and Peggle it feels more like a splash in a puddle than and oceanic adventure.

Lastly is AstroPop, a puzzle game with a twist on the match three mechanic and breakout. You control a spaceship which can be moved left to right along the bottom of the screen. Coloured bricks above can be collected by your little ship and then fired back up into alternative columns. When four or more of the same coloured brick are touching then the bricks explode and others below will move up into the space they once occupied. Every so often, and speeding up the more you progress, another row of bricks will arrive from the top of the screen. If the slowly advancing bricks reach the bottom of the level then it’s game over. Again, AstroPop is far from being a bad game. But for me it just doesn’t deliver long-term appeal of many other puzzle games. AstroPop was first designed to be an online Flash game, and that is exactly what it feels like rather than a fully fledged puzzle game in its own right.

Overall PopCap Hits! offers a fair amount of hours of gaming for your money. It also has something for every member of the family to enjoy. Younger ones will get more out of Feeding Frenzy, teenagers and adults will enjoy Bejeweled, while all the family can have hours of fun trying to top the scoreboard in Peggle. The one downside to the collection is that many of the games have been available on Xbox Live Arcade for a while now, so chances are you will already own maybe one or two of the titles. But that really shouldn’t put you off. With all four games on one disk for under £20 the only puzzle left to solve is to ask yourself why you don’t have this in your collection already!

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With an anticipated launch in early September, Plants vs. Zombies on XBLA will deliver more game content than any previous iteration of the franchise, boasting seven game modes, including two all-new multiplayer modes, 12 unique achievements and 21 mini-games. Upon its release, Plants vs. Zombies for XBLA will be available for 1200 Microsoft Points (US$15.00).

“With a ton of new features and content exclusive to the XBLA version, we’ve pulled out all the stops to both expand and optimize this adaptation for a hard core gaming audience,” said Ed Allard, head of worldwide studios at PopCap. “The two new multiplayer modes allow gamers to work cooperatively to defeat hordes of invading zombies, or go head-to-head in a true ‘plants vs. zombies’ challenge. We’re also featuring a customized ‘house’ for tracking and sharing progress as well as a total of 21 mini-games and 12 achievements, all designed to enthrall Plants vs. Zombies players once again.”

Plants vs. Zombies for XBLA showcases many standout features, including:

• A total of seven game modes, including two new multiplayer modes: Co-Op and Vs. Mode
• 12 achievements and 21 mini-games – more than any other adaptation, and including the exclusive Heavy Weapon-inspired mini-game
• A goofy new way to track and share progress online, where players create their own custom house and cruise down the street to see their friends’ cribs!
• The highest resolution of any Plants vs. Zombies adaptation to date at 1920 x 1080
• All 50 levels of the original Adventure mode along with Puzzle, Survival, and Zen Garden

Later this year, PopCap will also release a retail boxed edition of Plants vs. Zombies (including full versions of Zuma and Peggle as well) for the Xbox 360 as well as a new “Game of The Year” boxed edition of the PC/Mac original, a limited number of which will include a zombie figurine. Both are expected to arrive on retail shelves later this fall and carry a suggested retail price of US$19.99 each.

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The lab has identified improvements in cognitive function through the playing of “casual” video games such as Bejeweled and Peggle. (PopCap Games, maker of the aforementioned games used in the study, did not underwrite the study.) The study, which has been underway for nearly six months and will be completed later this year, involves dozens of U.S. consumers age 50 and older, and explores the effects of the games on subjects’ short term cognitive acuity. In each instance, sizable improvements were identified in the performance of the experimental group as compared to the control group.

Dr. Carmen Russoniello, Director of the Psychophysiology Lab and Biofeedback Clinic at ECU, is presenting initial data and analysis from the study today at the 6th annual Games for Health Conference in Boston. Full study results will be submitted this fall for publication in the peer-reviewed journal Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback.

“The initial results of the study are very intriguing, in that they suggest that the ‘active participation’ required while playing a casual video game like Bejeweled provides an opportunity for mental exercise that more passive activities, like watching television, do not,” said Russoniello. “Future applications could include prescriptive applications using casual video games to potentially stave off Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia-type disorders.”

More than 40 test subjects have participated in the study so far, with dozens more being included by the study’s completion. Measurements were achieved through tracking of Electroencephalography (EEG) brain waves as well as subjects’ participation in the standardized Trail Making Test™ parts A and B. Both cognitive response time (the speed with which a subject completes a task) and executive function (the frequency of correctly completing parts of the task) were tracked. Those subjects who played Bejeweled or Peggle for short (30 minute) periods showed an 87% improvement in cognitive response time and a 215% increase in executive functioning when compared to a control group. According to ECU, these improvements in overall cognitive acuity are comparable to changes recorded after other types of cognitive interventions such as mindfulness based cognitive therapy and cognitive remediation therapy.

“Video games with more complex rules and controls, and more sophisticated or detailed imagery – so-called ‘hardcore’ video games – might provide similar cognitive benefits for many people,” said Russoniello. “But those games take significantly longer to learn to play and appeal to a considerably narrower subset of the overall population, especially older consumers. In our experience, ‘casual’ video games are ideal both in terms of their accessibility and ease of understanding and because they appeal to nearly everyone.”

Tell us something we didn’t already know!

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Peggle is a highly addictive variation of a breakout type of game with tonnes of features, loads of levels and something that will suck away the hours for many months to come.

Popcap are famed for their mini games on xbox live, playstation network, PC, facebook and more with wuality titles like Plants Vs Zombies and Zuma.

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Further downloadable content for the XBLA version also available from today comprises the Gyromancer Item Pack, 40 items (10 x 4 varieties) to use during battle priced 40 MSPs, and the Gyromancer Map Pack; three additional maps priced 240 MSPs.

“GYROMANCER is a cool puzzle/RPG hybrid that uses Bejeweled Twist’s game mechanic at the heart of its battle system,” says Jason Kapalka, Chief Creative Officer and co-founder of PopCap. “We’ve worked with Square Enix as a distribution partner in Japan for several years, and it was fun to collaborate with them in a more creative way on GYROMANCER.”

Larry Sparks, Vice President Brands PAL Region of Square Enix Ltd. comments, “GYROMANCER is a great addition to Square Enix’s download offering and we’re pleased to be launching the game across PAL territories. The combined creative talents of PopCap and Square Enix have created a truly fun and entertaining puzzle/RPG title that will appeal to fans and more casual gamers.”

Players assume the role of Rivel, a summoner who ventures through the enchanted Aldemona Wood. Each stage contains its own objectives, from defeating beasts that block the player’s way, to solving puzzles before time runs out. Rivel can learn to summon dozens of the unique beasts he encounters, bending their power to his will and commanding them in battle. Hidden within each stage are a number of rewards earned for completing feats great and small. Finding them all won’t be easy. Are you up to the challenge?

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