By Michael Mitchell:
If Peggle was sold over the counter, it would have a warning label reading "habit-forming." The game - a combination of pachinko and pinball - is incredibly easy to pick up and will have you addicted within minutes.
The object of this title is to clear all of the orange pegs by carefully firing your limited supply of metal balls. Obstacles like blue pegs, angled slopes and moving pegs greatly increase the game's difficulty. Guiding your quest are an assortment of "Peggle Masters" who offer unique power-ups by hitting green pegs. Lord Cinderbottom (a fire breathing dragon) gives you a powerful fireball, while Master Hu the owl offers a Zen ball that slightly repositions itself for the most effective shot.
The game is simply a joy to play. Priced at only $19.99, Peggle will keep you occupied for months and might just bounce its way into your heart.
By Chad Smith:
Do you remember that time when you dreamt nothing but Tetris pieces? Well, prepare yourself for another psychedelic slumber after your first dose of the most fiendishly addictive casual puzzle game since Alexey Pajitnov's 1985 classic. The premise is simple: Fire one of your 10 balls down into a field of pegs (think Pachinko), which then light up as your ball ricochets down the screen. Hit one of two green pegs in each level for a power-up, ranging from the obvious (multi-ball), to near useless (crab-claw pinball flippers?). Drop into the moving bucket at the bottom for an extra ball. Clear all the orange pegs to advance to the next level. There you have it, folks – Peggle! Unlike Tetris, it's more luck than skill, but the weaknesses of Pop Cap's $20 masterpiece are also its strengths: Straightforward, repetitive, and addictive. Highly recommended, but don't say I didn't warn you!
By James Parker:
Playing Peggle is like masturbation. Everyone has tried it, everyone liked it, and no one admits to it. Produced by PopCap games, Peggle might be pigeonholed as a casual game. Wrong! Initially Peggle appears to simply be a game of luck. It soon becomes clear that the game requires both skill and strategy. Peggle is played by aiming and bouncing a pinball off a grid of colored "pegs." When a peg is hit it generates points and is eliminated when the current ball leaves play. Blue pegs give you points, purple pegs give bonus points, and green pegs grant you a special ability. A Fevermeter increases the point value of pegs as orange pegs are hit. Objectives can vary but usually it is to eliminate all of the orange pegs in the grid causing "Extreme Fever." Give Peggle a try. Chances are, like many skeptics before you, you'll be hooked.
By Lauren Levine:
Grab your balls and get ready for some rainbow-colored explosions of fun with Peggle, PopCap's newest take on infectious gaming. Bedraggled unicorns, skateboarding chipmunks, politically incorrect owls and other questionable Peggle masters help you blast orange balls to clear levels, bust green and purple pegs to gain massive combos and special powers, and earn a stirring, firework-laden 'Ode to Joy' finale for all your minor achievements. Don't think you can just free-ball your way through, though; calculating bounce angle, velocity and timing are crucial for nailing 'longshots', perfecting 'extreme slides,' delivering some 'crazy mad skillz' and clearing the board with an old-school 'kick the bucket.' Unlock all the masters to try and beat them at their own game and become a Peggle Grand Master, or, if playing with yourself gets too depressing, get a friend in on some good one-on-one dueling. Exclusively local 2-player means internet friends need not apply.
By John Hodgson:
Take equal amounts pinball and Brick, pour on syrupy cartoons and rainbows, add a dash of MMO-inspired crack, and bake at Extreme Fever. The result is Peggle, an unclassifiable stroke of brilliance.
Games of Peggle are simple: shoot a pinball into a mass of colored pegs and bricks, where it bounces around, hopefully hitting the crucial orange pegs. Levels come in bite-sized chunks of joy, littered with normal pegs and artwork obstructions, green pegs that unleash special ball-enhancing powers, and a bucket that saves your ball from certain doom. Powers are extensive and plentiful once they're all unlocked and tricky shots reward surprise bonuses galore Opportunities for campaign, challenge, and multiplayer hotseat modes (more popular than I thought!) always guarantee "just one more game." The only missing piece is a level editor.
Peggle is addictive and fun – the definition of a good game, and the finest casual game I've played.
By dk:
Released by Popcap Games, Peggle is engaging, whimsical, inoffensive, vaguely Pachinko-esque, and frighteningly addictive.The premise is straightforward.Aiming a “cannon” at the top of the screen, you fire silver balls (one at a time) at bricks down below.Once your ball hits a brick, the brick chimes happily, glows, and fades away.The silver ball, meanwhile, ricochets around the screen hitting other bricks.Your objective is to hit all orange bricks before running out of balls (the number of balls is limited). Sounds easy, doesn’t it?
Ha.
To accomplish your objective, you must become a strategist: a master at calculating ricochets.Fortunately, 10 different characters (each with their own unique power) assist you through the 55 levels.
Popcap got it right with Peggle. Gameplay is addicting, the artwork is lavish, and the music upbeat. Download Peggle and try it for yourself. Unless of course, you’re intimidated by orange bricks.
By Paul Montesanti:
Peggle, PopCap Game's casual reinvention of Pachinko, is a stylish but frustrating exercise with just enough interactivity to classify as something other than a gravity simulator. The mechanics are simple: fire a metal ball from the top of the screen down a board filled with multi-colored pegs. Hitting different colored pegs yields different results, such as extra points or special powers. Hit enough orange pegs and you're rewarded with a technicolor Rainbow, a chorus of Ode to Joy, and passage to the next level. Keep progressing and Peggle starts to look like a path-to-nirvana simulator: guided by Peggle gurus, you climb (metaphorically) through a pagoda of face-punching frustration until you've indulged your masochistic side enough to reach P eggle transcendence. There's no doubt that Peggle is initially fun and addictive (and slickly presented), but its reliance on randomness and a lack of interactivity make it an ultimately unsatisfying experience.
May 8, 2008
