How interesting is it that “Tower Defense” has become a game genre? Currently, I’m playing three separate games in that genre. That’s a lotta tower defensing.

Firstly, Popcap’s Plants versus Zombies. When I initially heard about the game, I wrote it off. I was never a huge fan of Peggle or Diner Dash, and despite the fact that I really liked Word Worm Adventures and Zuma, hearing that Popcap had a new game out generally hasn’t been as exciting to me as hearing that Blizzard or Bioware has a new game out. But once I tried the demo, I’d finished playing it and then bought and downloaded the game before that evening was over. Plants vs Zombies is a crazy addictive game. The things that really make the game fun are the differing stages (daytime, night, the pool in the backyard, foggy nights, zombies on the rooftop) the differing zombies (pole vaulter zombies, tunneller zombies, Master Blaster zombies out of Thunderdome) and the huge number of plants available and their abilities. Just when you get used to what’s going on, the game has something new for you. Lots of fun.

I finished “Adventure Mode” on Plants vs Zombies last night, but there’s still endurance mode and lots of minigames to play. I may actually try to get all the Steam achievements on this one. What’s moustache mode?

Secondly, Defense Grid: The Awakening. The game seemed to have gotten good reviews, and was inexpensive enough that I’ve given it a try. Steam achievements are a plus too. But the game has totally failed to suck me in like Plants vs Zombies has. Maybe when I play it more, it will grow on me, but my initial impression isn’t a good one.

Finally, Desktop Tower Defense for the Nintendo DS. When I first played the free online version of this game, it totally sucked me in, and I couldn’t help but think what an excellent game this would be for the Nintendo DS. I haven’t yet played the DS version enough to give it anything approaching a review, but it turns out that they’ve also added achievements and the ability to create your own towers and creeps. It can be difficult sometimes to tell which towers are which on such a low-resolution screen, but overall it’s the same as the online flash version, and I’m really enjoying it. It does seem a bit easier, so perhaps I’ll try playing on hard mode, which I was never quite able to beat in the online version.