Plants vs Zombies

Platform: XBLA | Publisher: Square-Enix | Price: £varies

Square Enix is having a bit of a mega-sale on both Xbox Live and PSN, slashing the prices on a whole slew of content. Our pick? The Deus Ex 'Missing Link' DLC, down from 1200 MS Points to a mere 600. But that's not all...

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Today, we’re taking a break from the blood, the gore, the dismemberment, and the general abundance of violence in videogames. Today, it’s all about adorable plants, loveable zombies, and what just might be the cutest piece of candy coated game music we’ve ever heard…

 
Above: A PvZ apron, pins, a figurine, an energy drink, a Xbox 360 skin, a zombie cookbook, and a handy PopCap  bag. All this could be yours!

PopCap’s Plants vs. Zombies captured our hearts. Thanks to this super awesome tower defense game, we’ll never look at lawns in the same way again. Where others see a good spot for an azalea bush, we see prime spots for our Peashooters to protect our Sunflowers.

Recently, PopCap held a special Plants vs. Zombies “Part-ee” to celebrate the upcoming release of PvZ for the Xbox LIVE. The event was a blast and we’ve got pictures to prove it. But we also got to walk away with one of the sweetest swag bags we’ve ever received. But how can we keep all this awesome Plants vs. Zombies gear for ourselves? As always, we decided to give it away to our favorite people of all: GamesRadar readers. Entering is easy, so come on in for a chance to win all the items pictured above...

UPDATE: We are no longer accepting new entries for this contest. The winner will be announced on this week's episode of TalkRadar, which will air on Friday, August 13. Good Luck!

If you're reading this, then you either a) have an iPhone b) are thinking about getting an iPhone or c) none of the above. Regardless of all of this, Plants vs. Zombies is ace.

The concept may be strange -  a set of incredibly resourceful plants go up against an invading army of zombies - but in terms of tower defence games this is easily the most enjoyable since PixelJunk Monsters.

Right about now the rest of the internet is tripping over itself to crank out the “definitive” end-of-year list. Well, they can stop. We already did it. Over the next few pages our unquestioned expertise will identify the coolest, most important games of 2009 with zero room for error. Yeah, it’s that big of a deal. That’s why they’re basking in the dazzling radiance of a Platinum Chalice.

Over-complicated explanations of simple games, your questions answered and Uncle Dave's Smartie Lair is all here

Quote of the week: "Butt Trunk!"

Much like the Oscars tend to ignore movies released between January and September, end-of-year game awards usually forget the top-notch software released in the first six months. It’s true that the holiday shopping season is stacked with surefire hits, but let’s not forget the games that kept boredom at bay when 2009 was still the New Year.