Peggle

Peggle is a new and interesting entry into the puzzle game market. It is quirky, colourful and most of all addictive. The concept of the game is simple: There are a number of coloured blocks on the screen arranged in various shapes and images. You launch a ball from a cannon at the top of the screen and have to eliminate the blocks. You have control over the angle at which the ball is launched from the cannon and then it's down to skill and luck  as to where it bounces around the screen.

The game scores you on the number of chains of blocks you hit before the ball drops off the bottom of the screen. To assist you in your task there is a moving basket bouncing from one side of the screen to the other, at the bottom of the screen. If your ball lands in this basket you get another go. As your score raises the points you earn are added to a meter on the left hand side of the screen. When you reach a certain number of points you are awarded a free ball. You begin each level with only 10 balls to clear all the required blocks. This seems like a lot, and on the early levels this is more than enough, but when you start reaching the later levels of the game you often find yourself down to the last ball when you finish. At times like this the game feels very tense despite it's colourful and cartoony look.

This brings me nicely on to the graphics of the game. Like many of it's style, Peggle is very bright and cartoony, but this doesn't feel out of place. Each level has a different character for you to play as and all are beautifully drawn and keep the same cartoony style.

Each new character in the game brings a different special ability. These abilities are triggered by hitting the green blocks on the screen, and all are unique. Part of the challenge of the game is making the best use of these abilities. Some abilities are obvious; the dragon character can launch a fireball which wipes out all blocks in its path. Whereas some abilities require a little more thought; for example one of the earlier abilities is a rebound marker that adjusts to show you where your ball will bounce next. I think this is one of the features of the game that gives it appeal. When you complete the game you get master challenge mode where you can pick the character you play as, and thus the ability you can use in each level.

Overall I found Peggle to be unique and highly addictive. It brings some new life to the puzzle game scene that is overflowing with tetris or bubble bobble clones.

You can download a demo version of Peggle from Xbox Live or Popcap Games.