[Halloween Games is a retrospective highlighting horror-themed video games. This entry sees Jeffrey L. Wilson spewing love for Popcap Games' Plants vs. Zombies.]

When it comes to designing incredibly addictive, infinitely playable casual games, no company can match the track record of the magicians at Popcap Games. Zuma was marvelous. Even more so, Peggle. But with the release of Plants vs. Zombies, Popcap has truly outdone itself by crafting what is one of the most fun, engaging, and dare I say flawless games of this generation. Hyperbole this is not.

Originally available on the Mac and PC and then spreading to the Nintendo DS and every other gaming platform under the sun, Plants vs. Zombies is a 2D game with a simple premise: You’re given the task of protecting your home from a zombie invasion by planting a variety of flora in the yard which grant a variety of offensive and defensive capabilities. As the undead make their slow march from the street toward your abode, you seed a six square high grid with a number of plants including exploding cherries, Peashooters (which snipe from long range), and  Chompers (a zombie-eating Venus Flytrap-like green). The most vital plant of the dozens that you’ll acquire is the Sunflower, which is the fuel for your attack.

Here’s why: As with analog plants, these digital ones require sunlight to flourish. The golden rays are represented by falling orbs affixed with point values; gather enough points and you can purchase more plants. Sunlight orbs will occasionally appear on the field all by their lonesome, but as you plant more Sunflowers, they appear at a far quicker rate, vastly increasing your “money” supply, and thus your armaments. You can’t, however, simply litter the field with the most powerful of weapons and sit back; icons on the top of the screen display each individual plant’s refresh rate. Some like the Sunflowers are swift, while others takes seemingly a lifetime to recharge.

The Thriller zombie has been removed from the game. His replacement? A disco zombie. Not quite the same impact.

Plants vs. Zombies has a perfect learning curve, which is directly attributed to Popcap’s in-game hand-holding; when you acquire a new weapon, the game tells you exactly what it does and immediately presents you with a chance to put it to good use. And with the dozens of weapons available,  you’re encouraged to exterminate the zombie infestation in a number of creative ways. The genius of Plants vs. Zombies is that you can tackle the game in any manner which you deem fit. Love to mow mofos down? Stack your garden with the various types of peashooters.  Prefer to be more tactful? Lay down flora landmines, walls, and other items designed to stop the zombies.

On the topic of zombies, it’s the variety in the undead that help give the game a lighthearted, comical tone similar to the underrated 16-bit SNES actioner, Zombies Ate My Neighbors! The brain-hungry hordes consist of the standard lumbering types that are easy to bring down, as well as undead football players that are fast and hard to kill, pole vaulters that can leap over your plants, and even one that resembles a certain mega-popular pop signer that has a penchant of red leather and dancing in graveyards. Over the course of the zombie-slaying adventure, you’ll unlock a number of fun mini-games (zombie bowling is a rollicking good time), and a wacky neighbor will supply you with additional greens for bringing down the rotting masses.

The tell-tale sign of a game’s excellence is directly tied to the number of hours one logs. Plants vs. Zombies devoured so much of my free time that my sessions with it became so much more than analyzing the mechanics and jotting notes; it had thoroughly became a part of my life as I started plotting times around meals and work to get my game on. Tower defense vets may find it not as manic as some other titles, but it’s challenging nonetheless. Simply put, Plants vs. Zombies is a game that every gamer should play, casual or hardcore, to witness a prime example of programming excellence.

P.S.: Don’t forget to check out the Plants vs. Zombie vid we captured art E3 2010!