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Allied Star Police for iOS is a collaboration between PopCap's 4th & Battery and 9-year-old game designer Owain Weinert

All for a good cause

Allied Star Police for iOS is a collaboration between PopCap's 4th & Battery and 9-year-old game designer Owain Weinert

Yesterday PopCap's "edgy" spin-off studio 4th & Battery tweeted the following: "Our third (FREE) game is almost ready for release, it's a special one, designed by an extraordinary person."

Today the game in question has gone live on the New Zealand App Store, meaning it'll be available in the UK from around midnight.

It's called Allied Star Police, and it appears to be a sort of reverse Plants vs. Zombies, in which you have to select different types of increasingly powerful futuristic military vehicles and deploy them towards the scurrilous Flamion invaders.

This is all very well, but who is the "extraordinary person" referred to in the tweet?

Why it's 9-year-old game designer Owain Weinert. Owain, who's currently being treated for pre-b acute lymphocytic leukemia, came to PopCap's attention through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Having come up with the idea for Allied Star Police, he worked with 4th & Battery to bring it to life.

"We offer A.S.P. free of charge," PopCap writes, "and hope you enjoy A.S.P. as much as we enjoyed making Owain's wish come true."

If you'd like to make a donation, visit Owain’s Army.

Matt Sakuraoka-Gilman
Matt Sakuraoka-Gilman
When Matt was 7 years old he didn't write to Santa like the other little boys and girls. He wrote to Mario. When the rotund plumber replied, Matt's dedication to a life of gaming was established. Like an otaku David Carradine, he wandered the planet until becoming a writer at Pocket Gamer.