The sequel to the
highly popular casual game Peggle arrives with Peggle Nights
by PopCap! So what exactly is Peggle? If you're part of the
gaming world, you may consider it Bubble Bobble, Pachinko meets
Tetris with a variety of obstacles in the way to cause a good level
of frustration to the player. Nonetheless, it can be extremely
tricky but somehow once you play, you can't stop.
As mentioned, in
terms of gameplay, Peggle Nights is similar to the Japanese game of
Pachinko but once again Popcap have thought outside the square and
created another addictive instalment to their popular franchise. The
premise behind the game is simple, shoot a limited number balls into
the pegs to not only build up points but also attempt to remove all
the orange coloured pegs.
Points are awarded
for different coloured pegs and once all the orange pegs have
vanished, it's time to move onto the next level. Add in a variety of
different power-ups and special attacks and Peggle may seem like a
game of luck but it actually involves a healthy dose of strategy.
Each of the levels
you play has a theme which is always based on an animal, whether of
myth or the real-word and these dictate the type of special attack
that can be used such as the squid which shoots electricity to knock
those pesky pegs off. There are over 10 different power-ups in
Peggle Night that is often the goal for players to achieve.
The presentation of
Peggle is great and has a great cartoon atmosphere to it with a good
menu structure and some great oddball sound effects. Graphically,
Peggle Nights is a very bright and sharp looking game that is played
on a 2D world with some 3D special effects. The drawings or the
animals in the game all look like they have come out of a Saturday
morning cartoon and are generally too cute for school.
The special effects
actually surprised me and sometimes light up the screen like an
electric rainbow. Needless to say, it's the simplicity of the
graphics that make the gameplay of Peggle Nights so addictively
entertaining. In the sound department, there's some tacky sound
effects, ambient songs and that classical tune for victory of
Beethoven's Ode to Joy once you have completed the level.
For those casual
gamers or people on the go, the game also supports a quick play,
duel and challenge mode. The quick play is great for those quick
games and duel is excellent for challenging real people or the AI of
Peggle Nights. As a really cool bonus, Popcap
have included the original Peggle game which makes this
collection that even more impressive.
In conclusion, Peggle Nights may not offer lovers of Peggle anything
new, besides some new levels, power-ups and animals, however even
though I completed the original, there is something thoroughly
endearing about this game that is hard to dismiss.
Popcap should also
be commended for making games accessible to the larger market which
is always good in our eyes. So, if you're looking for something fun,
frustrating and addictively entertaining, than Peggle Nights is
definitely the game for you and before you know it, you'll be
hooked!
Recommended to all
people on this planet and you manage to get through all the 60
levels, than you've become a Peggle master!
Features
• New Peggle
Master/power-up: “Marina,” the electric squid, brings the number of
Peggle Masters / power-ups to 11; her “Shockwave” effect arcs
between the first peg hit and the bucket at the bottom, clearing all
intervening pegs with a jolt of electricity
• New Trophy/Achievement: In addition to the original game’s “all
clear” achievement, Peggle Nights sets an “ace” score for each
level; “acing” each level earns a special trophy
• More Trophies: The new game offers four different trophies for the
various achievements: completing Adventure Mode, completing
Challenge Mode, clearing all levels of all pegs, and “acing” all
levels. Oh, and a new trophy room to keep ’em in!
• 60 Newly Designed Levels: Each Peggle Master has five themed
“dream state” levels in the game’s main Adventure mode, plus a final
five Master levels in which the player chooses the Master/power-up
• 60 New Challenges: Five dozen new Challenge Mode levels, with many
fiendishly tricky objectives for players to reach; new types of
challenges include “low ball” challenges in which the player tries
to get the lowest possible score, Style Shot based challenges and
challenges involving specific or combined power-ups
• New Style Shots: More ways to score bonus points based on the
player’s aim and timing acumen: “Off the Wall,” “Double Long Shot”
and more
• All-New Soundtrack: Maintaining the cultured sensibilities of the
original Peggle, the new game offers a mix of original tunes and
well-known classical music – including a fully-orchestrated
introduction by the Slovak National Symphony Orchestra
• Admire Your Skillz: You can now drag and drop replays of your top
shots into the open game window to view them
• Power-Up Improvements: Existing power-ups including Tula’s “flower
power,” Kat Tut’s “pyramid” and Lord Cinderbottom’s “fireball” have
been tweaked to optimize their effectiveness
• Level Packs (Coming Soon): Peggle Nights is designed to accept
additional levels and PopCap plans to begin issuing custom-made, in
some cases themed, Level Packs
System
Requirements
Windows
2000/XP/Vista
700MHz Processor
256MB RAM (512MB+ RAM recommended)
50MB+ Hard Disk Space
CD-ROM or CD/DVD-ROM Drive
16MB DirectX 8.0 or later compatible Video Card capable of
displaying 16-bit or 32-bit colour quality.
DirectX compatible Sound Card
DirectX 8 or later (you may need to download the latest drivers for
your video and sound card)
Keyboard, mouse
