Gamertell

Title: Peggle Dual Shot
Price: $29.99
System(s): DS
Release Date: February 27, 2009
Publisher (Developer): PopCap Games (Q Entertainment)
ESRB Rating: “Everyone”
Pros: Portable version of a popular casual game. Colorblind mode. 120 levels. Contains Peggle and Peggle Nights.
Cons: Controls seem sluggish if you choose to use buttons over the stylus. You have to unlock puzzles to play them in free play. PC version of Peggle is $5 until March 31, 2009. Disappointing multiplayer. Lots of unlocking.
Overall Score: One thumb up, one sideways; 80/100; B-; * * * out of 5

Confession time: I have never played Peggle before playing Peggle Dual Shot. I’ve spent the past few years since it was released listening to many of my friends, gamers and non-gamers alike, raving about this seemingly miraculous game.

So when the opportunity presented itself to try Peggle Dual Shot, I was somewhat skeptical. After all, I’d heard all this raving about this legendary casual game. Could it really live up to the hype? The pinball fan in me, who’d heard it was something like pachinko combined with pinball, won and I found myself playing the game all last week.

Prepare to pulverize pegs.

Peggle Dual Shot isn’t a story driven game. Yes, there is an Adventure mode, but the purpose of said mode is mainly to unlock new levels. You’ll be under the tutelage of various creatures, like Bjorn the unicorn, Splork the alien or Tula the sunflower. In each of these character areas, green pegs will grant you a temporary special power.

The main goal is to eliminate all the orange pegs in a level. Like the PC versions, the DS version also includes a color blind option which will assign shapes to pegs to make them easier to identify.

Once levels are unlocked in Adventure, you can go through them in the Quick Play or Duel modes. The Peggle and Peggle Nights Challenge modes are locked until you complete the respective Adventure modes.

You want the full Peggle Dual Shot experience? Start unlocking.

I figured that I’d jump right into Peggle Dual Shot. I despise tutorials, so I reasoned I’d go through Quick Play first, then move on to Challenge or Adventure once I had a feel for it. So I started up the game.

And was denied.

You’d think Peggle Dual Shot would be a pick up and go game. Nope. Instead, you’ll be spending your first few days unlocking. Unless you unlock levels in Adventure, you have nothing to do in Quick Play or Duel mode. If you want to even try Challenge mode, you need to first beat Peggle. It’s disheartening, since you’d think you could jump right in to a casual game.

I then figured I’d use the D-pad and face buttons to control the games. If you’re playing on the go you may not have the luxury of a lap or stable area which is conducive to touch screen controls. Unfortunately, the standard controls are horribly slow. It is much quicker and easier to dig out the stylus and use that to aim and fire. It’s good to see a game where touch screen controls work well, but I’d expect the standard controls to be on par with them.

Multiplayer is also disappointing. After I unlocked some levels to play in Duel mode, I summoned the friend who’d lent me Peggle Dual Shot. Imagine my surprise when I learned that multiplayer means taking turns playing on the same DS. With local multiplayer and game sharing being so commonplace on the DS, and Peggle Dual Shot including an option that lets players send a demo of the game to another DS, it seemed odd that the multiplayer was so restricted.

Aside from the quirks, I found the core game fun. It was an interesting puzzle game that reminded me a bit of Bubble Bobble and plinko. I especially liked the little shot guide which would help you determine where your shot would initially go, and the various special powers that would pop up kept gameplay interesting. It even got me to go and purchase the PC version of the game.

Price point and port quirks impair Peggle Dual Shot

If Peggle Dual Shot had been $19.99, I probably would have gone easier on the game. After all, the original Peggle games retail for that much. (Though PopCap is currently selling Peggle for $5 until March 31, 2009.) I suppose you could argue that you’re getting two games for that price, but it doesn’t feel like you’re getting two games. It’s a decent port, but not spectacular.

People who enjoy casual games or are voracious fans of the original Peggle will enjoy this port. Especially if they have the spare $29.99 to spend on it. People who have never played Peggle before should opt for the PC version instead.

Site [Peggle Dual Shot] Site [Peggle]