FarmVille Halloween Items: Dark Apple Tree, Batwing Horse, Bat Pumpkin and more

With tonight's FarmVille update, we not only see the launch of the Apple Bobbing / Barrel feature in the game, but there's also been an addition to the current Halloween limited edition item theme. It's interesting that the Apple Barrel feature comes out now, rather than a Halloween collection event, but either way, these new store items should be enough to tide you over until further developments (apparently) arise. Here's a look at the new items available in the store.

Trees

Dark Apple Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Giant Dark Apple Tree - 14 Farm Cash
Halloween Lantern Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Giant Halloween Lantern Tree - 14 Farm Cash

Yet again, we see two different pairs of Halloween trees released this evening, but neither really scream Halloween. The Dark Apple Trees are simply a dark purple color, while the Halloween Lantern Trees are more themed with hanging lanterns appearing when they're ready to harvest. However, I can definitely see these trees being used in a general Fall theme as well, and not specifically Halloween. Either way, remember that the two more expensive trees can be earned for free via Mystery Seedlings.

Animals

Dire Wolf - 10 Farm Cash
Batwing Horse - 26 Farm Cash
Bat Rabbit - 14 Farm Cash
Pink Patch Bull - 1.5 million coins

The Batwing Horse is a dark, black and green horse with large wings. It honestly does look like someone combined a bat and a horse. The same thing can be said for the Bat Rabbit, with its widespread wings, although the rabbit portion doesn't look like other rabbits traditionally released in the store. As for the Pink Patch Bull, this is a special item that's only available for a week.

Buildings

Werewolf Shack - 15 Farm Cash
Dilapidated House - 20 Farm Cash

Unfortunately, both of these buildings cost Farm Cash, although they do give players that want a spookier, gloomier Halloween theme something to get excited about (that is, as opposed to all of the happier, brighter items already released in the theme). The Dilapidated House is the larger of the two items, but the Werewolf Shack comes with some cool animations (eyeballs blinking in the windows) and extra details.

Decorations

Bat Pumpkin - 50,000 coins
Haunted Drive Inn - 18 Farm Cash
Giant Candelabra - 20,000 coins
Werewolf Gnome - 15 Farm Cash

Here, the two coin items are less elaborate than the Haunted Drive Inn, as you'd expect, but they're still rather cool and are nicely sized items for the price(s). As with the other items released this evening (including the Avatar Costumes below), these decorations will be available in the game for the next two weeks.

Avatar Costumes

Wolf - 8 Farm Cash
Vampire I - 10 Farm Cash
Vampire II - 10 Farm Cash

Here, the two types of Vampire costumes go with either gender. Vampire I is for male avatars, while Vampire II is a dress and wing combo for female avatars. Remember, it's not this often that we see so many items release for avatars, so if you want your avatar to have fun costumes the rest of the year through (and into next), this is a great time to stock up.

In addition to these items, there's a new purchase / collection event going on that will reward you with a free Halloween Forest item (a heavily animated forest with four trees, blinking eyes in the shadows and ghosts) for purchasing eight items released this evening. You'll have to purchase the Dark Apple and Halloween Lantern Trees (both large and small), along with the Batwing Horse, the Dire Wolf, Werewolf Gnome and Werewolf Shack. That's an expensive set of items, sure, but if you purchase them all within a week, the exclusive Halloween Forest is yours.

What do you think of these limited edition Halloween items? Will you purchase eight of them to receive the Halloween Forest? Let us know in the comments.

FarmVille Gamestop promotion offers rewards with Game Card purchase

Zynga has launched a new cross-promotional event in FarmVille this evening, teaming the game up with video game retailer GameStop to offer "exclusive mystery goods" to users that purchase and redeem Zynga Game Cards from GameStop. That is, in addition to simply earning the appropriate amount of Farm Cash based on the card value you redeemed (whether that be $10, $25 or $50), you'll also receive a free gift.

So far, it looks like you'll receive one of four items all wrapped up in a red and white box. All of these items are themed for Halloween, with three being re-releases. Specifically, there's a Wizard Gnome and Spooky Bush from last year's Halloween theme, while a Plant Monster from both Halloween 2009 and 2010 is also available. In terms of new goodies, you have a chance to earn the Candy Corn Chicken, although the loading screen above doesn't detail whether or not we'll be able to choose our prize, or if we'll just need to get lucky. For someone that already has the three previously released items, that's definitely something to keep in mind. On the other hand, there's also the slight possibility that a single card will guarantee you all four items, but again, that wasn't detailed either.

We'll be able to learn more about this promotion by visiting GameStop's website, but as of this writing, the promotion link doesn't work (it instead redirects to GameStop's downloads page). We'll make sure to keep checking on things and will let you know when the link goes live, along with exactly what you'll find there (hopefully answers to our questions). Either way, we do know one thing: this promotion will end November 6.

Update: We now know the specific details of this feature, as Gamestop's page is now live. Depending on the dollar amount you spend on a Zynga Game Card, you'll be eligible for different amounts of items. For $10, you'll receive one mystery item. For $25 you'll receive three and for $50 you'll receive six. However, as there are only four listed items, it looks like if you purchase a $50 card for FarmVille, you'll receive two mystery boxes (containing truly mystery items) along with the four listed above.

Will you purchase a Zynga Game Card for a chance at these Halloween-themed items in FarmVille? Sound off in the comments.