Following a series of complicated business deals involving his former company, Simutronics, Whatley will soon be focusing full time on game development. Formerly, Critical Thought Games was a very small operation that existed entirely out of David's spare time. In the not too distant future, Critical Thought Games will be expanding, adding employees and setting up a brand new office to build iPhone, iPad, and various Facebook social games.

Fans of the geoDefense series will be happy to know that one of these new games they're working on is geoDefense 2. Initially the sequel will be iPad-only, with levels and gameplay that take advantage of the increased screen real estate available on the device. It will share the same graphical style, only this time instead of a small array of towers with deep upgrade paths, Whatley is debating a Plants vs. Zombies style game that just has tons of different towers to utilize.

Things with geoDefense 2 are still in the air while the new Critical Thought Games offices and staff get settled, but David assured us he does have plans to adapt the iPad version of the game to the iPhone as well. Needless to say, once more details are available on geoDefense 2, we'll post them.

Gundead Defense follows the standard tower defense formula in that there are creeps traveling down a set path that you need to defend. Instead of placing towers, you position members of your posse armed with different kinds of weapons. You can also dispatch different henchmen down the path to fight with the creeps to supplement your defenses, which creates this interesting second layer of strategy to the game as you not only need to manage placing and upgrading members of your posse, but you also must strategically order your henchmen to attack to exploit the weaknesses of the various zombie types.

In addition, there's also a multiplayer mode where you can either play on a single device, or with two devices via Bluetooth. When playing via Bluetooth, both players play at once on a split map and you can see where your opponent is placing towers and everything. It's really cool, and again, I can't believe they're not charging for any of this.

The included single player has seven maps and features both a quick play mode and a story mode that focuses on your posse robbing a bank and being jumped by zombies. There's also a single 99¢ DLC level pack that adds an additional seven maps and allows you to play as the zombies who have completely different abilities. Purchasing the DLC pack also will let you play as the zombies in multiplayer.

I've been having a great time with Gundead Defense, and highly recommend downloading it. If you somehow haven't played a tower defense game before, this freebie is an excellent introduction to the genre.

App Store Link: Gundead Defense, Free

The original Plants vs. Zombies [App Store] release for the PC was PopCap's fastest-selling video game, and per a press release this morning, the iPhone release is performing just as well.

Since its release, there have been over 300,000 units sold on the App Store, making Plants vs. Zombies the highest grossing launch in App Store history. PopCap is no stranger to greatness on the App Store, as Bejeweled 2 was the first paid app to reach 3 million downloads, and they're responsible for three games that have been #1 on the paid app charts as well: Bejeweled 2, Peggle, and obviously Plants vs. Zombies

If this is the first you've heard of Plants vs. Zombies, you absolutely must check out our glowing review:

The 88 Metacritic score of the original Plants vs. Zombies (complete with 100's from multiple sources) just goes to show how great this game is. The iPhone port is absolutely phenomenal, and even though it's lacking a few game modes, there's always hope for them to be implemented in the future either via an update or a DLC add-on. There isn't a lite version, but there is a free Flash demo that I highly recommend trying if this is the first you've heard of Plants vs. Zombies.

Now that Plants vs. Zombies has decimated App Store sales records, hopefully PopCap will throw iPhone gamers a bone and somehow implement the missing game modes found in the PC version. I've still got my fingers crossed at least.

App Store Link: Plants vs. Zombies, $2.99

Alchemize, $2.99 → FREE

Alchemize looks to be a simple match 3, but the gameplay is actually quite complex with all kinds of things to unlock, different game modes, and other surprises. We liked the game in our review, and it's really worth checking out to see how they managed to mix up the match 3 formula.

While I wasn't really crazy about this naval tower defense game when it was first released, it has since been updated a ton with all kinds new content, gameplay tweaks, achievements, and OpenFeint integration with online leaderboards.

Where most word finding games have you frantically searching for words to beat a timer, Textropolis has much more laid back gameplay that allows players to search for words made from the letters found in the names of 30 different included cities at their own pace. If you like Textropolis, check out the sequel, Fishtropolis [$1.99] as well.

In Plants vs. Zombies, Popcap takes the standard tower defense formula and greatly simplifies it. Instead of a path to build towers along, you drop seeds in your yard which then grow in to plants that have various offensive or defensive capabilities. The yard is organized in a grid, and zombies move straight across the row they spawn on, munching (or in some cases jumping or flying over) anything that they come in contact with.

A gauge on the top of the screen shows how close you are to the end of the level, with flags indicating when big waves of zombies are going to come. When you clear a stage, you're often awarded with the seeds of one more of the nearly 50 included plants. This seemingly constant progression does a great job of keeping you interested, as it always seems like you have a new toy to play with. To shake things up even more, mini game levels are mixed in, including a bowling game of sorts, a whack-a-mole game with zombies, and others.

Originally designed to be played with a mouse, Popcap did an excellent job of porting Plants vs. Zombies to the iPhone. The resource required to build your defenses is sunlight, and in the PC version feverishly moving your mouse around to click on the small suns falling from the top of the screen got tiring (especially when playing on a laptop with a touchpad). On the iPhone, the sunlight mechanic is also in place, but seems to work so much better when you only have to tap the falling suns to collect them.

Interface elements have been made smaller to dedicate more screen space to your yard, and some things have been moved around. Your available seeds have been moved from the top of the screen to the left, and to plant one all you need to do is tap it then tap the grid square of your lawn where you want it placed. Alternatively, you can tap the seed icon then drag your finger around your lawn. This causes both the X and Y axis of the square you're currently selecting to light up which effectively put an end to me accidentally placing seeds in squares I didn't mean to.

Plants vs. Zombies is absolutely loaded with high quality animations, excellent cartoonish zombies, and silly dialog between your neighbor/shopkeeper Crazy Dave and even notes from the zombies themselves. Throughout the game you'll defend your front lawn during the day, at night, then defend your back yard which introduces water plants that can only be planted in your pool.

As you advance through levels you will come across many more zombies than just the standard run of the mill mindless brain-muncher. There's a Michael Jackson zombie that causes others to rise from gravestones following a Thriller-like dance. There's also zombies that have armored themselves with screen doors, traffic cones, buckets, football pads, and other equally ridiculous equipment. 25 different zombies in all are included, and one end-boss. Each zombie even has their own profile inside the in-game almanac, and they're really worth a look once you unlock it.

Plants vs. Zombies performs well on both my iPhone 3G and 3GS. I did experience some slowdown when there were tons of zombies and projectiles on screen, but overall this didn't cause a problem playing through the game as the only time there was enough things happening on-screen to cause slowdown was at the very end of some levels where you already have your yard fully covered and are just waiting for the last wave of zombies to die.

On the iPhone, Plants vs. Zombies only includes the main story and a quick play mode that is unlocked once you've beaten the game that will allow you to play a few different scenarios and the various mini games you came across in story mode. The endless survival mode from the PC version is nowhere to be found, which is very disappointing, especially since I imagine quite a few people excited about Popcap porting the game to the iPhone have already completed the story mode on the PC.

There is only one difficulty level, and if you're a veteran of tower defense games, Plants vs. Zombies will likely be very easy for you. Personally, I love the tower defense genre, and being able to make it all the way through Plants vs. Zombies without much difficulty at all hasn't stopped me from playing through the game multiple times on my computer, and I'm enjoying the iPhone version just as much. I'm not sure what it is about Popcap games, but similar to Peggle and Bejeweled, Plants vs. Zombies never seems to get old.

The 88 Metacritic score of the original Plants vs. Zombies (complete with 100's from multiple sources) just goes to show how great this game is. The iPhone port is absolutely phenomenal, and even though it's lacking a few game modes, there's always hope for them to be implemented in the future either via an update or a DLC add-on. There isn't a lite version, but there is a free Flash demo that I highly recommend trying if this is the first you've heard of Plants vs. Zombies.

App Store Link: Plants vs. Zombies, $2.99

The following trailer was released today, and mentions 2/15 as the official release date of Plants Vs Zombies for the iPhone.

Like most Popcap games, Plants Vs Zombies is available for the Mac and PC and currently can either be purchased directly from Popcap online or nearly any brick and mortar store that stocks PC games. You can expect a full review from us as soon as the game is released on the App Store.

The recently released version 1.4 includes three map packs, purchasable via a 99¢ in-game transaction. Each DLC pack comes with six new levels, as well as new dinosaur-themed terrain and creeps. Two of the packs are fairly difficult and seem to be designed for veterans of The Creeps, the third variety pack is of "average" difficulty.

If you haven't had The Creeps on your phone recently, it's worth reinstalling to check out these new level packs, especially if you completed all the content in the previous updates. The new levels have definitely got me back in to the game, and judging from the response on our forums I'm not alone.

App Store Link: The Creeps!, 99¢

OpenFeint 2.4 adds even more XBOX Live-style features, and should be available in other OpenFeint-enabled games as developers update them to include it. Among the improvements is an instant messaging service that works across all OpenFeint games similar to the previously implemented chat, a new forum system, and the "fan club" area. In this new section you can add a game as a favorite, read developer announcements, subscribe to newsletters, and even suggest new features.

Fieldrunners itself seems to be largely unchanged aside from two new maps: Skyway and Frostbite. Skyway is an interesting map with chunks of the field missing that prevent towers being built in various locations. Building a maze of towers with these restrictions to effectively survive seems to be fairly difficult so far.

In Frostbite, you defend a central base from attackers that come from multiple directions, forcing you to spread your defenses dangerously thin to cover all of the entrances until you are able to build a good array of towers to funnel creeps around. Frostbite also features a neat snow effect which doesn't do much aside from look cool.

Both maps include new enemies and tower types, and have done a great job at breathing new life in to Fieldrunners, a game I spent a great deal of time with when it was first released. If you're like me and haven't had Fieldrunners on your iPhone in ages, it's worth re-syncing it and giving the new maps a shot.

If this is the first you've heard of Fieldrunners, check out our review from 2008. Fieldrunners is practically a classic in the overloaded tower defense section of the App Store, and is worth a look if you enjoy open-field tower defense games.

App Store Link: Fieldrunners, $2.99

Similar to our monthly game ratings, the OpenFeint Gold program aims to pick out games which are not only of the highest quality, but also make excellent use of the OpenFeint service. They seem to be setting the bar fairly high in nominating Fieldrunners as the first game to get their gold rating, and it should be interesting to see what games they choose in the future.

Here are two screenshots of the upcoming levels, Frostbite and Skyway:

Each will feature new towers, new enemy units, and will require new strategies.

Fieldrunners was among the first of the highly successful tower defense games for the iPhone, and it's always nice to see original App Store classics like this still getting attention from their developers.

App Store Link: Fieldrunners, $2.99

Like its predecessor, Zombie Attack: The Second Wave will place you in the shoes of a zombie invasion survivor. You’ll be tasked with protecting a building from the undead horde. What sets the Zombie Attack series apart from other iPhone tower defense games is that your survivor will have to manually place and upgrade the turrets. You can’t simply swipe around the screen with a high omnipotent finger placing units willy nilly. You’ll need to safely guide your survivor past the oncoming monsters if you want to place that gun turret just right, or upgrade that cannon to maximum ferocity.

New turrets join old favourites and add a little bit of whimsy to this terror-filled TD. Scarecrows will attract zombies to their location and blow up in their faces. A giant hammer will pound back and forth trying to smash any zombies that get in its way. A ray gun will send out a space age sonic pulse that will slow the shuffling feet of the undead. Mix in Zombie Attack staples like saw blades and flamethrowers and you’ve got a fairly decent assortment of weapons at your disposal, which is good, as you’ll need them to tackle an assortment of new enemies.

The original Zombie Attack offered a fairly generic, repetitive experience in terms of enemy units. While the game boasted two zombie types, it was hard to ever notice a difference. This time around IUGO has introduced a slew of new baddies to tackle. Cheerleaders can use their heads as projectiles. Winged beasts are immune to a variety of turrets. Hounds lock on to the survivor and go for the throat. The Second Wave offers 6 zombie types, which is more than enough to help keep things fresh and a definite change from what’s come before.

Tools of death and types of terror aren’t the only thing to see an increase in Zombie Attack: The Second Wave – the map situation has taken a drastic step forward, going from only one map to four. The maps aren’t just greater in number, they’re also better by design. Larger areas mean you’ll need to scroll around the playfield to see every inch of zombie territory, and different map layouts mean there will be different obstacles that you can try and exploit. Each of these areas showcases a different location like a backyard or a trailer park. It’s a nice touch, but at the end of the day what makes these maps a success isn’t whether or not you’re navigating a spooky graveyard or an abandoned highway, it’s how different each of these levels plays.

This video by AppBank doesn't show much of gameplay strategy but shows moving your character around, though many towers have already been built:

If you grow tired of playing these different maps in the standard Survival Mode, you can check out the surprisingly robust Challenge Mode. You’ll select from 20 different challenges (5 for each map) that offer up some twists on the series tried and true survival gameplay. One challenge may restrict you to using certain turrets. Another may speed up the movement of the zombie horde. With 20 in all, there’s enough here to keep any tower defense fan occupied for days.

Zombie Attack: The Second Wave retains everything that made the original a cult classic while at the same time offering a drastically more robust package than its predecessor. If you were a fan of the original, Zombie Attack: The Second Wave is pretty much a no brainer. As for tower defense fans that found the original a little too shallow, the depth of content offered here definitely makes this franchise worthy of a second look. With all of the new additions and improved gameplay, it’s hard to not fall in love with Zombie Attack: The Second Wave. I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun killing zombies with saw blades.

App Store Link: Zombie Attack! The Second Wave, $3.99