Now that I'm in possession of what people are calling the next big portable gaming platform, I need to load it up with games. I've got a few in mind so far — and I did let Randy Nelson from Joystiq talk me into a Scrabble-type app so we could see who's the better wordsmith — but it'd be great to get your recommendations.

Here's what I'm thinking:

First I need Wurdle and Fieldrunners. Back in March I met the creators of both games at a Game Developers Conference panel and heard a lot of good things about both games. Also, I want to support indie gaming.

Second I should get Puzzle Quest. I know it caused me a lot of grief when an early bug deprived me of my Bard character while playing on my ex's iPhone. But the kinks seem to be out now; and really, portable gaming doesn't get much better than Bejeweled wrapped in a role-playing game.

Or maybe it does? Peggle is definitely third on my list both because of quality and because I feel like PopCap Games manufactures my own personal brand of crack and I owe it to them to support my addiction.

On that note and as my fourth choice, I'm keeping my eye out for Plants vs. Zombies on the App Store in January 2010.

Anybody got any other suggestions? Drop me a line in the comments.

According to the company's Facebook page, however, the game will be out on Apple's handheld in late January. So, around a month! Should be well worth the wait, as about the only thing better than PvZ is PvZ that you can carry in your pocket.

[PopCap @ Facebook]

Popcap Games is an official sponsor of this year's Village Halloween Parade, and they're not content to be represented by a lousy street sign. No, they're forming a Plants vs. Zombies troupe to march in the parade, inviting fans of the game, zombie groupies, and "macabre gardening types" to come celebrate with them on October 31st. The company is attempting to make this year's event the largest zombie gathering in parade history, going as far as to extending special invitations to zombie enthusiast organizations such as NYC Zombie Crawl and ZombieCon.

If I were in New York City, I would totally go as a plant.

"Plants vs. Zombies seems to inspire people to new heights of zaniness, and we have the photos to prove it," laughed Garth Chouteau, vice president of public relations at PopCap. "We wanted to give those rabid PvZ fans a fun time and place to gather and celebrate their passion for the game. What better way than marching up 6th Avenue in New York's historic Halloween parade!"

The parade kicks off at 7PM on Halloween night. If you're in the area, you probably won't want to miss it. And hey, bring the kids! It's an excellent alternative to keeping them locked in the closet all night for their own safety.

Okay, I made that last part up. But this survey conducted by dating site OKCupid — which analyzed over 500,000 first messages exchanged between users — shows some interesting trends about getting your nerd on as a first impression.

For starters, the survey says ditch the netspeak. That means no l337, no "ur" and you probably don't want to drop phrases like "massive fail," either.

However, the survey does show positive results for people who mention specific interests. For example, you're more than 40% likely to get a reply if you use the word "zombie" in your first message to a potential date. It drops to 35% if you use "video games," but that's still about three percent better than "literature." Also, says the site, if you're a guy, you should be self-effacing. And everybody would be better off atheist.

Based on these findings and with the assumption that you're a guy, I've drafted a model first message for you:

"How's it going? I find your profile pretty much fascinating. You mention zombies. I play video games with vegetarian zombies in them. I am an atheist and I apologize."

Online Dating Advice: Exactly What To Say In A First Message [OKCupid Blog]

Image Cred

The game will, as you read this, already be sitting on store shelves across America, for the reasonable price of $20. And if you likes things a little more portable? PopCap also confirmed that an iPhone version of the game is on its way, and should be on the App Store in "late 2009."

Finally, as a bonus: here's a couple of Plants vs Zombies shirts, newly-available from PopCap's store. Moustache mode? Yes, please.

PopCap's Garth Chouteau has confirmed with WorthPlaying that the game is coming to Microsoft's online platform, but couldn't provide any further details on things like price, release date, that kind of thing.

Which is OK. So long as it's coming. It's really quite good, you know.

'Plants vs. Zombies' Coming to Xbox Live Arcade [WorthPlaying]

In an interview with Kombo, PopCap's senior director of public relations Garth Chouteau talks about migrating the company's more popular games to other platforms, and PC title Plants VS Zombies, which Luke absolutely adored, certainly seems to fit the bill.

Peggle for XBLA is a good example of a game that we took that was popular on the PC and we spent probably twice as long as anyone else would have figuring how to make that game really good for Xbox and Xbox Live Arcade, and I think you will see that with Plants Vs. Zombies—I don't know the exact order in which that game will make its way onto other platforms, but it's certainly been successful enough, quickly enough, that we're looking at other platforms and deciding where we'll take that game next...

Garth didn't elaborate on where the plant on zombie action would go next, but it's the kind of game that would fit well no matter what size of gaming platform you try to cram it on.

PopCap Games' Garth Chouteau Confirms Plants vs. Zombies to Other Platforms and Future Wii Support [Kombo]

Plants vs Zombies is to tower defence what Nintendo's Advance Wars is to turn-based strategy: a game stripped of everything but the raw tactical essentials, then pumped so full of charm and neat little touches that hours, days, even weeks of your life may just be lost to it.

Loved
Simple Works Best – Plants vs Zombies appears simple, even simpler than many other tower defence games. You lay plants out across a small grid to stop the advancing zombies. Who, generally, only come at you from the one direction. But the map's basic layout belies the game's deeper complexity, with the number of enemies you face and ridiculous number of plants at your disposal making every level a deeply strategic affair.

Play It Again, Zombie – The game has a "campaign", where you move around the outside of your house battling the undead. While playing, you think it's the main event, but really, it's just a tutorial for the game's other modes: mini-games, puzzle and survival, which include things like a Horde mode, games where you play as the zombies and even a Harvest Moon-style garden, where you water your plants and...play music for them.

Oozes Charm, Not Brains – Most tower defence games are, to be kind, bland. Cheap visuals, dud designs, a legacy of their Flash game heritage. But PvZ is gorgeous, each zombie full of character, each plant a wildly unique botanical weapon. And I advise everyone to stick around for the pop song conclusion to the game.

Sure, at first glance, Plants vs Zombies looks like just another [name your favourite tower defence game]. But PvZ's beauty lies in the fact that it is just another tower defence game: the perfect tower defence game, balancing boundless strategy and frantic mouse-clicking better than any other title in the genre, while keeping a smile on your face the whole time through.

Plants vs Zombies was developed and published by PopCap Games, for the PC & Mac. Retails for $20. Played Adventure, Mini-Game, Puzzle and Survival mode to completion (barring "endless" levels).

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

The game itself is tower defense strategy. Only instead of a tower, you've got a lawn to seed with plants that shoot, plants that explode and some plants that are just there to slow zombies down. To power your plant army, you need to collect sun and the only to up sun production is by planting sunflowers. The game ramps up steadily in difficulty, throwing more zombies at you with better defenses (traffic cone helmets, screen door shields, etc.).

But the real cute comes from these music videos, scored and sung by Laura Shigihara.

She explains the videos on her blog as a creative impulse:

…about two months ago, after finishing all the in-game music and SFX, I decided that I wanted to make a funny theme song… I thought it would be awesome if the song was basically a dialogue between the Sunflower (the plant I'm holding in this picture) and the Zombies.

She got her dad to the zombies' voices in the Japanese version, which makes it even more cute. Check ‘em out right here and be sure to give the game a go if you've got the time.

[Thanks for the tip, Manfriend!]