Gamertell

Title: Peggle
Price: 800 Microsoft Points ($10)
Release Date: March 11, 2009
Publisher (Developer): PopCap Games
Rating: Everyone
Pros: Addictive and simple game play that changes everytime you play, competitive multiplayer modes, characters with unique special abilities that can dynamically change strategy.
Cons: Background music is dull, virtually identical to the PC version.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up, 90/100, A-, **** out of 5.

PopCap Games is well known for its array of easy-to-play casual games. It’s games are distributed on just about every platform including PC, cellphones, DS, PSN and Xbox Live. Of all of PopCap’s games one of the most popular titles has to be Peggle.

Peggle takes a simple idea of removing orange colored pegs and makes it increasingly addictive as time goes on. Available on Xbox Live for 800 MS points, Peggle is easily one of the most enjoyable experiences you will have regardless of whether you call yourself a casual or hardcore gamer.

Pegs O’ Plenty

Peggle has a very simple goal to accomplish of destroying every orange peg on each level with the amount of balls you have. The balls are dispensed from the top of the screen and tumble all the way down until they fall off the screen. There is also a little bucket that scrolls across the bottom of the screen which will save your ball from being discounted if it falls into the bucket. It all sounds very simple and it is but there are also blue pegs that get in the way of your overall goal.

Peggle is heavily based on physics which produce a decent amount of strategy to each shot. You may choose to aim your shot at an angle so that the ball will ricochet off the wall or another obstacle before hitting an otherwise impossible to hit orange peg. Hitting the last orange peg in a level triggers a zoomed in slow motion effect followed by the song “Ode To Joy” as an added bonus. There is something about hearing that song after completing the level that brings a smile to the players face every single time.

In addition to the blue and orange pegs, there are also purple and green pegs as well. The purple pegs serve as point multipliers which can be crucial to getting a bonus ball. Purple pegs change position after every turn so it’s probably best to aim for a purple peg that’s surrounded by other pegs to maximize your points. The green pegs initiate your characters special ability. This is where variety in strategies really come into play. Peggle has 10 characters will totally different abilities. For example Kat Tut’s special ability creates a pyramid around the ball bucket. This effectively doubles the chances your ball will be saved for the next few turns. Claude the Lobster brings two crab claws onto the stage that act as pinball flippers. Don’t expect any personal stories or personalities from the characters though. Peggle is all about peg blasting, getting really high scores and nothing else. It’s simplicity is what makes it perfect for quick bursts of play or hour long parties.

The Sounds of Success

Peggle’s soundtrack is very subtle. It softly plays in the background to make the sound effects more apparent. Peggle‘s music isn’t memorable and is actually pretty bland. At least you can choose to listen to music stored on your hard drive to mix things up a bit. The sound effects on the other hand are simple and brilliant. The pegs make a distinctive *bonk* sound that increases pitch with every additional peg your ball hits. Each characters special ability also produces a distinctive sound whenever the green peg is activated. Peggle has a sound design that is reminiscent of a pinball machine in that it’s repetitive in nature but you rely on those sounds to let you know how well you’re doing.

It’s a Peg Party

Peggle has more modes than just the standard adventure and quick play modes. It also supports multiplayer for up to four people. The four player mode called Peg Party puts four players in direct competition with each other on their own boards. The main goal is get the highest score out of every other player. Duel mode can be played online or offline against a single player. Each player takes turns on a single board in an effort to get the highest score possible. These modes are very fun to play and can easily go on for hours without anyone noticing.

Ode to Joy

For 800 MS points (US$10), Peggle provides 55 stages, 10 unique characters and competitive multiplayer modes. It may be more of the same if you own the PC version and you may want to save your cash for a totally new Peggle game.

If you haven’t experienced Peggle yet I implore you to give it a try. It’s great fun for the entire family and will always hold up against games that are constantly increasing in graphical power. It’s design is simple and timeless like that of a board game. If you’ve got MS points to spend you can’t go wrong with Peggle.

Site [Peggle for Xbox Live]