Who would have thought that such a simple twist on tower defence games would produce such as marvellous game as Plants vs Zombies. Whilst some of PopCap’s recent efforts may have been a bit lacking in originality (I’m looking at you Peggle Nights!) Plants vs Zombies shows that the casual game developer has a lot of great ideas still hidden away.

As the name suggests there is a battle raging as the Plants have to stand up tall in the face of the barbaric Zombie invasion. The battlefield, your very own back garden at first and later the roof of your lovely homestead. If just one Zombie breaks through your defences then it is game over, your humble Plants failed to hold out.

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I have just received word that the sequel to the immensely popular Peggle has now been released on PopCap.com Peggle Nights is the name of the game, and thanks to some sneaky back handers I have already had the pleasure of playing this game. I must say it is just as good as Peggle, if not even better. There is an amazing selection of new adventure and challenge levels along with a new character and new awards. Expect more on this from me within the next few weeks, for now Press Release awesomeness follows!

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Mystery PI – The Vegas Heist is the latest game from SpinTop games and published by PopCap Games. The Vegas Heist is a sequel to last years Mystery PI – The Lottery Ticket and this time throws you in a Las Vegas themed story.

The Vegas Heist challenges players to solve the crime of the century by exploring dozens of “crime scenes” and other locations for hidden “clues.”

“There’s no better place than Las Vegas to solve a multibillion-dollar theft via hidden object puzzles – from deep inside a casino’s vault, to the Vegas Strip, hotels, limousines and exclusive country clubs, the locations were all created to transport players to this amazing city,” stated Duncan Magee, co-director and co-founder of SpinTop. “Our entire team rallied behind bringing the visual excitement of Vegas to a casual game. In addition to creating more than two dozen intriguing locations, we focused our efforts on making Mystery PI Vegas a game for all those arm chair detectives out there – players must spot clues and solve riddles to find the money!”

The Press Release follows and you can either purchase or try out the game here.

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The East Carolina University has very recently published their findings into a 6-month randomized study into casual gaming. PopCap games such as Bejeweled 2 and Peggle were used in the study.

The study revealed that Bejeweled 2 reduced stress levels by 54% compared to that of the control group. Peggle and Bookworm Adventures did not actively reduce stress levels, but did have a positive impact of other mood aspects of those people involved in the study.

The full press release from PopCap can be read after the jump. The results of the study are very interesting as it reveals that casual games are very benficial in reducing stress levels and in helping the gamer get in a better mood.

Perhaps it is these psychological benefits that are a reason behind the ever expanding numbers of casual gamers? It is very possible in my mind.

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