Peggle Nights (PC CD)

This is the most successful cross between Patchinko and Pinball! It will have you laughing and shouting at the damn bouncing ball...

At every level there is a number of colored pegs that have to be hit in order to clear the level. They are amongst generic pegs that is OK to hit yet will hinder your access to the colored ones you have to clear - and you have only a limited number of shooting balls.
Every time you shoot a ball it gets used - unless you are lucky to fall into an oscillating bucket and gets recycled. There are also special pegs that give you special abilities for a limited time.
I am afraid I am not doing justice to the game - if it sounds complicated it is not. You pick it up in a minute and it is GREAT FUN!

This is a perfect example of what has come to be known as Casual Gaming. It would be a good idea to download the 30-min trial version from a site, such as REFLEXIVE (you can Google it), and decide for yourself whether this is indeed your cup of tea.

Anybody can make a good game that will run only on a super-computer. This is an example of pure programming genius!

If you already own PEGGLE keep in mind that this is NOT its expansion but merely its AddOn, with a couple of extra Levels and a new "superpower" - so decide accordingly.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

This game is a follow-up to an amazing game PEGGLE. I will try to write this review to be useful to both those who have and haven't played it. If you have then you may need to skim through some parts. Here goes -

The aim of the game is to clear orange pegs from a screen of orange and blue pegs. There are also special pegs that are green (special powers) and pink (score boost). When they (orange) are cleared the ball will go into a hole at bottom and you get an extra score of between 10,000 and 100,000 depending where it lands. If you clear all pegs on a level you get a guaranteed 100,00. As you fire the ball there is a bucket moving back and forth along bottom if you catch the ball in there you get it back (start with 10), if you score over a 25,000 in one ball you get an extra ball. The value of the pegs increases as you clear more orange pegs so you get free balls easier especially if you hit a pink peg as well. You get bonus points for style shots if you do things like hit the wall then a coloured peg or hit a coloured peg then travel a long way and hit another.

The levels are in groups of 5 for each peggle master. There are 10 in original peggle and 11 in peggle nights. They are the same peggle masters with one new one in Peggle Nights. This is why I have scored 4 stars as I was expecting more maybe all new ones and was quite disappointed when I found there wasn't. If you've never played original peggle then this will be a 5 star game for you. They have different abilities like super aim where it shows exactly where ball will bounce, multiball where 2 balls will appear, pyramid which extends sides of bucket. You need to hit a green peg to activate these. Each turn the pink peg will move, even if hit it will reappear somewhere.
Also each time you play a certain level it will be different. The layout will be the same but orange and green pegs are always in different positions.

There is ADVENTURE mode where you play and unlock each peggle master, then master levels where you pick any peggle master. The levels are a little harder than original. Most I completed on first go but there were some I was stuck on and it took 5/6 goes to complete. This is where the different positioned pegs each game are handy as it can be to your advantage.

When that is complete you unlock CHALLENGE mode. The challenges are a LOT better than original peggle. Theres more variation. Some of the challenges are to use the special ablilities in novel ways so theres a fireball ability, and you have 3 fireball shots only (no free balls) and you need to beat the level. Some challenges are like pinball with flippers and fireball shots. You need to get 300,000 in style shots in one challenge. Theres some where theres more orange pegs than normal and beat several levels in a row. There are 60 levels and 60 challenges to begin with on Peggle nights. As you play adventure mode you can replay any completed level with any peggle master unlocked to practice and get high scores. You can also DUEL on those levels. You can use any peggle master unlocked and you duel the computer or a friend. You play the same board and take turns to have a go with 5 balls each. There is a bit of strategy involved as you won't want to clear the way to orange pegs for your opponent or leave yourself with a limited choice on your next turn because theres a 25% score reduction penalty if you don't hit an orange peg in a turn. You can get one free ball and then extra score for free balls.

There is a free play mode where you can replay any level completed in adventure mode. There is an ace score for each. If you beat/match it you get a rosette. Also if you clear all pegs you get one. Once you've collected 60/60 you get a trophy.

I said to start you get 60 levels and challenges each. There is a link to the popcap website in the game. When clicked on it will open your internet and take you there. You can download new levels and challenges permanantly to your game. Each pack is available for a limited time. Whether they are available again sometime on a rotation I don't know.

I have downloaded SPRING LEVEL PACK, which has 10 adventure levels and 5 challenges. The picture behind bricks/pegs is like flowers/gardens but in comedy popcap style. The challenges can be played straight away without completing adventure mode.
Available in November 2009 is the HOLIDAY LEVEL PACK, which contains 5 adventure levels and 10 challenges. On popcap site it showed some pictures and there was a snowman and xmas tree level so looks very good.

The main game is just an extension of Peggle with a few extra details like the masters are telling you about their dreams and each level is part of a story and the picture means something. There are more moving bricks and obstacles in gameboards. The only reason for the 4 star instead of 5 star is the disappointment at it being same game with different levels but if you know what to expect it should be ok. I nearly gave it a 3star at first but when I got over the disappointment, found out about the downloads and unlocked fantastic challenges it saved it for me. Its only the adventure mode that let it down a little .If you haven't played peggle before I recommend you get this one first.

I'm not going into the game in detail as you can read about that aspect in many other reviews. Suffice to say that this game sits firmly in the tradition begun by the likes of Tetris where you need to pause for thought and consider your next move in order to progress through increasingly complex layouts.

All in all, Peggle nights is damn good value. It's one of those games where you think "I'll give up on this now" and after five minutes look at your watch and find half an hour has actually gone by. It is absorbing, it will appeal to all but the hard core 'shoot 'em dead' fanatics and it is just as easy to pass an hour or two playing this game as it is kill a few minutes. My kids love this game and I can't find anyone who, having tried it, doesn't want to go back and play some more so definitely recommended.