PopCap Games, has  announced plans to release Plants vs. Zombies for Xbox LIVE Arcade this Autumn.

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.

PopCap Games, the worldwide leader in casual video games, today announced that preliminary results of a new study being conducted by East Carolina University’s Psychophysiology Lab.

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!

Popcap are giving away a copy of Peggle Nights free of charge. All you have to do is visit their site and sign up for their popcap passport which costs you nothing.  After confirming your details via an e-mail link you will be able to send a code to another e-mail whether it be a friend or yourself.

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.

Square Enix Ltd announces GYROMANCER is available from today for Xbox LIVE Arcade and for PC download via Steam, priced 1200 points and €13.99 and £10.99 respectively.GYROMANCER is a new puzzle-RPG developed in collaboration between Square Enix and PopCap. With a blend of puzzle elements from the PopCap Games puzzle hit Bejeweled Twist  and the RPG mastery of Square Enix, GYROMANCER is an all-new experience that redefines the puzzle-RPG genre.

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?