10 Addictive Games for iPad

At Apple's "Plants vs. Zombies" preview page, iPad owners can see screen captures, read customer reviews and find out what's been updated in the latest version of the game.

Screen capture by HowStuffWorks staff

PopCap strikes again. Deviating from their typical small puzzle games, PopCap released the critically acclaimed tower defense title "Plants vs. Zombies" in 2009 and gradually brought it to multiple platforms, including the iPhone and iPad. Players defend their backyards with a range of plants, like Peashooters that fire pea bullets, Wall-nuts that block off the zombie hordes and Melon-pults that hurl giant watermelons as catapults would. The zombies come in all shapes in sizes -- Pole Vaulting Zombies can leap over the first row of defensive plants, Football Zombies rush in and take a pounding and Zomboni zombies can mow over almost anything in their path.

Tower defense games are notoriously addictive, and "Plants vs. Zombies" offers a longer campaign and a more complex experience than the average mobile game. At $7, it's also pricier than most other games, but tower defense lovers will find few games more charming than "Plants vs. Zombies." And if you've never heard of tower defense, this is a perfect entry point into the genre.

"Plants vs. Zombies HD" currently sellsfor $6.99 in the iTunes App Store.