PopCap says 'Happy Halloween' with pumpkins, zombies and ... a rave?

At this point, Halloween just comes too easy for Seattle-based PopCap Games. The maker of hits like Bejeweled Blitz, Zuma Blitz and, in this case, Plants vs Zombies has provided us with one crazy video. A resident zombie temp worker at PopCap is on a quest to ring in Halloween the right way, perhaps to impress his living co-workers and score a full-time position.

So, he's not the best pumpkin carver, and shows his lack of skill quite well in a PopCap cafeteria. It's then that the clumsy cadaver comes up with an idea, which is rare for a zombie, no? The result is probably the most fly dance party PopCap has ever seen, complete with a very ... festive zombie. Of course, we don't want to give too much away now. (Well, no more than that image already does.)

This video comes just weeks after the studio showed us Crazy Dave's (also from Plants vs Zombies) rap game. At this point, we'll admit that we're pretty envious at how well the PopCap folks can get down. Now, could those folks get down and release Lucky Gem Casino already? And maybe after that some Plants vs Zombies on Facebook--alright, we're getting greedy.


Are your big plans for Halloween this year as awesome as a zombie dance party? Which of PopCap's games do you hope hits Facebook next?

Pioneer Trail Ghost Town feature coming soon [Video]

Way back in January, Pioneer Trail players (then FrontierVille) were able to take a survey detailing potential new themes for the game. One of those themes just so happened to be "Ghost Town." While it may now be October, it looks like that theme is finally coming around, and will likely comprise the greatest portion of the game's Halloween event this month. While we haven't received much official news in text, Zynga has released a preview trailer for this Ghost Town theme, which it's calling a "Mega-Feature!"

The trailer [embedded below] shows us that the Ghost Town will be more than just an item theme in the game's store; it will apparently be a location we can visit and complete tasks in. The story of Ghost Town sees the evil Mayor Witherwood placing a curse on the town, which has apparently resulted in some... unusual animals and crops being developed. There looks to be some sort of zombie corn with glowing pink eyes, a broken clock tower, Frankenstein's Monster trees, tombstones a plenty (including what looks to be an Indian Burial Ground and ghost frogs) and even floating, zombie / ghost chickens!

We're told that we'll use "your Sharpshooter, Mad Scientist and Shaman" in tasks that resemble those out on the Pioneer Trail map proper. If I'm making an educated guess, it's likely that these positions will be filled by friends, with your Sharpshooter being able to go out and hunt undead bears and other monsters to earn Hides, the mad scientist can "tackle" man-eating plants for Potions, and the Shaman will seek out ghosts and bless them for Spirits. Your own character can also complete tasks, rewarding you with Charms (from rocks, shrubs and buildings). You'll be able to use the hides, potions and spirits to help the locals in Ghost Town, with the ultimate goal being to earn enough keys to open the Mayor's Mansion and bring him to justice.


As for the Charms, you'll use those to earn special, exclusive prizes like decorations along the way. The more Charms you collect, the more prizes you'll apparently wind up with, giving you incentive to play around in Ghost Town for days and even weeks after the feature launches. Unfortunately, we just don't know when that will be.

Either way, we'll make sure to keep track of all things Ghost Town in the Pioneer Trail, and will let you know when you can embark on this spooky adventure in your own game, so keep checking back!

Are you excited to travel to Ghost Town in Pioneer Trail? What sorts of prizes are you hoping to earn along the way? Sound off in the comments.