When Square Enix and PopCap Games combined their strengths to create a new game, the result was Gyromancer. The puzzle RPG was announced in TGS 2009 back in September and redefined the tried, tested, and often cloned Bejeweled. But what we didn't know was that there were other games on that negotiating table - among them, Zuma and Peggle.

On one hand, we've got PopCap Games, known for its highly addictive puzzle games that spawned clones all over. On the other, there's the prolific RPG master, Square Enix. What happens when those two team up and merge their specialties? That's where this new game comes out of - Gyromancer, a new puzzle RPG coming to Xbox Live Arcade and PC.

PopCap Games has already expressed their intentions of eventually bringing Plants vs. Zombies to home consoles, and it looks like they've decided to start with the Xbox 360.

Plants vs. Zombies, released for PC and Mac a couple of months ago, is a quirky little tower defense game from PopCap Games that has players using plants to defend their house against a zombie invasion. If that sounds right up your alley, then here's some good news.

We've got a big week to close out February. All the trailer-ogling and screen-scrutinizing is finally gonna pay off. For starters, the wait is soon to be over for the highly-anticipated Killzone 2. As if that's not big enough, Star Ocean: The Last Hope will also be hitting stores. Need I say more? Err...yes I do! Catch all the details on this week's edition of On Shelves This Week.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away? Forget it. Play a round of Bejeweled instead. According to a new study, casual games are proven to be beneficial for your health. Details in the full article.

 The video game industry is undoubtedly dominated by males, but we do know that gaming is not just a big frat house. Female gamers do exist, and like the opposite gender, they come in different shapes, sizes and forms. If you do your homework, you'll also notice that girl gamers have distinct traits which allow us to divide them into several types (just like guys). In this QuickList, we'll give you a rundown on what these types are. Hit that jump!

The Casual Games Association has announced that it will be hosting Casual Connect Europe. This event will run from February 6 to 8 in Amsterdam and is being held to gather industry leaders in the hope of promoting casual games as well as securing its future development.

Want to know more? Check out the full article via the "read more" link below.

 Microsoft has been trying to appeal to casual gamers by introducing more casual titles on the Xbox Live Arcade. It seems that three more games are coming. The ESRB has already rated Peggle, Bliss Island, and Ultra-Bust-a-Move for the Xbox 360.

In case you aren't too familiar with these titles, hop on over to the full article for more information.

Xbox Live Arcade hits like Bejeweled 2 and Zuma are injecting their addictive juices into retail shelves this November 15. PopCap Games just announced PopCap Arcade Volume 1 for the Xbox 360. This bundle will retail for US$ 29.95 and will include the following: Bejeweled 2, Astropop, Feeding Frenzy, and Zuma.

The casual game developer has also announced the same bundle (minus Feeding Frenzy and Zuma) for the PS2 and will be releasing it simultaneously with the 360 version under the name of PopCap Hits Volume 1 for US$ 19.95. Glenn Drover from Popcap had this to say about the release of the retail bundles:

We're very excited to be bringing some of our top million-selling casual games to consoles via retail shelves, and eager to see how consumers respond. We've had tremendous success at retail with the PC versions of many of our games, and these new collections for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 are priced even more aggressively, so they should be a hit with holiday shoppers.

Considering that the game pack is being released as a "Volume 1", you can probably expect future volumes to appear - Volume 2, Volume 3, and onwards. PopCap sure has enough games in its library to come out with a couple of more volumes. Meanwhile, those who haven't gotten the games on XBLA better get ready for some sleepless night once these bundles hit shelves next month.