Of Plants, Zombies, and Games

It's been a long time since I tried to finish a video game. The recent explosion of 3D games didn't quite appeal to me - not that the gameplay of the games were bad, but the thought of shelling-out cash for both the game and the required hardware simply sounds appalling. Besides, I'm already too tired from overtime to even bother with a game that requires too many hours and too much concentration in one sitting.

Two weeks ago, the website of Popular Science featured an article on some simple but great games that are not mainstream - ones people [regretably] miss. Plants vs. Zombies caught my attention with its intruiging choice of personalities. I've read that zombies are the modern vampires, so no surprise they are the villians again... but against plants? And cute ones at that?! I couldn't resist. I went over to their website that day and downloaded the trial version (60 mins of cumulative gameplay). Sure enough, it was fun and amusing - but most important of all, it had just the right difficulty to entertain me, and provide me with some instant gratification before I go to sleep after a day's tiring work. It's a really cute strategy game with surprisingly lots of variety to keep one playing even after completing the 50 stages. What's more, it's really, really cheap! So now, its installed in both Belldandy and Haruhi-chan (the purchase allows you to install it 5 times via online registration) and it now takes up a chunk of my idle time. :D

Now, if only the Zen Garden mode came with an online social network capability (like PlayFish's Pet Society) to allow people to share their plants... that would make it quite... perfect.

As a side note, I was really surprised to find out it came from the same company that created the game that kept my mom and brothers glued to their laptop even to this day. :D

Aside from video games, I've been playing [again] with the usual UFO catcher. :) Last week, I lost 2,000yen without getting anything! This week, I got even, and was lucky enough to get a Yoko (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann) bed sheet for only 500yen (3 tries)! I haven't taken any pictures of it yet, but Sega Prize (the company that makes it) has a pic up on their site. I actually got Yoko on the 2nd try, and was hoping to get the Nia bedsheet with my remaining try, but alas, fate decreed Yoko should be more than enough for me. :P

Today, I caught myself a cute (albeit a little pinkish) C.C. nendoroid figure from Banpresto! I've been wanting to get a C.C. for the longest time! Hm... with a really-green hair like the figure's, you'd wonder whether she played a role in Plants vs. Zombies... as a celery perhaps?