Plants Vs. Zombies

When I first played the video game Plants Vs. Zombies, I didn't even realize that it was a tower defense game. The few games I've tried in that genre were confusing and more war-like with tanks and guns and such. Plants Vs. Zombies is nothing like that. It is tower defense for the casual gamer crowd.

The premise of the game is that there are zombies trying to get into the house to eat your brains. Before they can have their lunch, they have to make it across the lawn. Your job is to plant some killer flora to stop the brain munchers. A couple hitches are that you need to have enough sunshine to use certain plants and once you plant a certain variety, it takes a little time for that variety to recharge before you can plant it again.

Frankly, most casual games aren't worth $20 to me because they are one-note wonders. I'd rather go on an ad-supported site and play a free match-3 game than buy Bejeweled. For me, Plants Vs. Zombies beats this hurdle by using their basic theme in several different ways. There is the basic adventure mode where you defend different parts of the yard until you get to the big boss. This mode unlocks puzzle games and mini-games where you can play zombie-fied versions of other games like Whack-a-Mole.

How did this game play in our house? Everyone in the house except my husband has taken a crack at it. I've played all the way through the adventure mode, which is rare for me because I usually get bored before making it to the end of a game. My kids fight for computer time to take their turns. I would say that this game is definitely worth the wrist pain I've developed playing it :-).

I'm still here . . . just not playing much

I think about games and this blog at least once a week, but thinking and doing are not the same, are they? These days, with the new job and all, it is easier to pick up a book than organize a game so you will see me post more often at my book blog than here. That doesn't mean I'm giving up; I just have to find a new way to fit it all in. Keep me in your feed reader and something new will pop up eventually!

Observations after my first try at Rock Band

There hasn't been much gaming going on around my house, so when my kids saw that the neighbors had Rock Band they jumped at a chance to play it. I even lent my vocals to a couple songs. It was a fun way to wind down after a big meal.

I think that people underestimate the amount of musicality required to be good at rhythm games like Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and Dance Dance Revolution. If you are familiar with the song before you ever play the game, then you will know the rhythm and react more quickly when the colors pop up. I'm not a good singer at all, but I scored well on Bon Jovi's "Dead or Alive" because I love that song. I've been singing along with it for years, so I knew when to stop and start and when to raise and lower my voice.

--When Guitar Hero came out, many musicians hastened to remind people that playing the game is nothing like playing a real guitar. While that is true, you still have to have a sense of rhythm to be good at these musical games. My daughter M, who has been in her school band for five years, rarely misses when playing guitar in the game.

--Playing the drums in Rock Band comes closer to playing real drums than the guitar controller comes to real guitar. If the person playing the drum controller is doing well, you can mute the TV and hear a definite rhythm in his tapping.

--Singing well on Rock Band does not mean that you can sing. Most of the songs my neighbors had on their version were classic rock tracks that I grew up with. I am a lousy singer, but I scored high on songs like Bon Jovi's "Dead or Alive". Whether you are singing or playing in the game, it helps to know the song well before you start.

Games I Tried to Play

Although I enjoyed my recent train trip, I had trouble sleeping. While everyone was snoozing away, I took that opportunity to try a couple games that have been sitting on my laptop for a while. I may not play these games in their entirety, but I definitely learned something about my preferences.

First up was the demo for Rooms: The Main Building. It is available at Big Fish Games. Although casual games tend to feel repetitive to me, I don't mind playing them in small doses. Usually the graphics are pretty and if you need a match-3 or a hidden-objects fix, casual games are perfect for that. However, I didn't get much enjoyment from this game. Rooms: The Main Building is a category of casual games that I hadn't tried yet -- the sliding puzzle. The instructions for this particular one were confusing and even after I figured them out, I didn't feel that there was much game for me to play. Basically, the player has to rearrange blocks so that the online character can walk through the rooms in the correct order. If this is the best example of it, I may never try another one.

Next, I attempted a spin on an old adventure game classic. Remember Sam and Max? I didn't read the comic book or play the computer game when it was released in 1993. In fact, I never even heard of the characters until last year when I saw that they had been revived in episodic game form on GameTap. I downloaded episode 201 to give it a whirl. It was more entertaining than Rooms, but I was stumped in no time. My ability to work through the puzzles in adventure games hasn't improved with age. Give me a good walkthrough to help me when I get stuck. Either that, or a 10-year-old. It took my son DJ five minutes to solve the puzzle that stumped me for 20. If nothing else, Sam and Max reminds me that my kids have creative thinking skills.

Popular Games for Playing on the Train

Well, I am back from my family trip. As usual, I had high hopes for playing games with my family, but the cards barely came out. We didn't play anything until the train trip back home. The kids and adults had separate sessions of Landlord!, and the boys gave Ghoulash a try.

The lounge car on the train was a perfect place to play. Even when the tracks got really bumpy, the cards stayed put on the table. There was enough space on the table top for four players to play Landlord! comfortably. I think we could even play Pounce. It was definitely more fun than traveling by plane.

And . . . we're off!

Tomorrow is the day! We're off on our big family trip. I still haven't quite decided what games to pack, but I work well under pressure :-). Hopefully, I'll have plenty of material for the blog when I come back since we should have several opportunities to play cards. In the meantime, the blog will be quiet unless I get a chance to post from the hotel on Wednesday. See you soon!

Games to play on a train?

"No, I will not play it on a plane,
And I will not play it on a train . . ."

Sorry, I had a bit of a Dr. Seuss moment while I was thinking of a title for this post :-).

The whole "fam damily" is going on a trip this coming Tuesday, which starts with a 15-hour train ride to Florida. The batteries for our various electronic devices (laptop, Nintendo DS, smartphones) won't last that long. I'm on the hunt for other free, compact entertainment options. I'm packing my knitting, a copy of Ghoulash, and several copies of Games magazine. Now I'm searching for either simple free print-and-play games or rules to games that can be played with standard playing cards. Anyone have any suggestions?