iPhone Review: Peggle

Developer/Publisher: PopCap Games
Genre: Arcade/Strategy
Price: $4.99
Verdict: One of the greatest games ever made
Pros: Everything about this game is amazing
Cons: I can’t quit playing it

I was once told by a good friend of mine, that Peggle was like “digital crack”. I laughed this off due to the fact that he’s also an insanely huge fan of the PSN game Flower (which I couldn’t care less for), but Peggle seemed different for him. I would see him playing it on his Xbox 360 most nights, tweeting about it, and having nerdgasms over it. I didn’t quite understand the draw to such a simple game, until now. I have an ever growing list of games to review, and even though I’ve played more than enough to give a thorough review of Peggle, I can’t put this damn game down.

Spend a good twenty minutes with Peggle and you’ll be dreaming about the orange pegs from hell every night. As you delve deeper into the world that is Peggle, you’ll quickly learn that every single shot must be carefully planned and executed with perfect timing in order to have a chance at landing in the bucket. While you run out of balls faster than you would ever imagine (seeing how you start with ten), you’ll be looking for that extra shot every chance you get, be it through the bucket or through high scoring hits. With each stage being equally entertaining as it is challenging, it’s hard not to smile at the unique design and layout of orange pegs.

Each set of stages has a character and theme that go hand in hand. Starting off with a helpful Unicorn, then moving on to a gopher, Egyptian cat, alien, crab, pumpkin, flower, magical rabbit, dragon and last but not least, the ever knowledgeable owl. All of these crazy characters have a special ability that can only be utilized twice throughout a single level, most of which you’ll want to be very careful of how and when you use. These special abilities aren’t yours at the push of a button though, you’ll have to work for them just as hard as every orange peg, only these powerful pegs are green. Most of the abilities start on your very next turn, but some kick off the second you hit the green peg, making it even more important that you plan your shot well.

Both blue and orange pegs line the background image, which can range from the tombs of Egypt to spooky ghosts, or even a Volkswagen Beetle. Every single turn will have a purple peg that appears with a plus in the middle, always in a new position, enabling you to score some major points and even an extra ball or two. If you’re good enough, you’ll never find yourself stuck, but if you shoot blanks all day long, your high scores will prove that you have no balls.

Full stats trackers show high scores, your personal best and a list of all time stats. All-Time Stats include shots fired, free balls received, style shots taken, highest score taken from one shot, best “Fever” score, total challenges finished, and how many (out of 55) levels have been 100% cleared. Not enough for you? You even get a “Current Adventure Stats” page, that allows you to separate your current game from the all-time stats. On top of it all, you get a trophy room, to see all of your achievements that are unlocked throughout your adventure.

But Wait, there’s more! Peggle even has a multiplayer game mode which allows players to pass the iPhone/ipod touch back and forth. Players will take turns trying to make the highest score by the end of the round. Don’t get cold feet either, cause if you miss an orange peg on one shot, you’ll get a hefty penalty, knocking your score down and possibly forcing a loss upon you. Though the features are limited, it’s a nice little cherry, sitting on top of the best bowl of goodness that’s now known as “digital crack”.

Don’t even think twice about it, just hit your iTunes App Store and download this amazing game now! The fact that I waited so long to get into the magical land of Peggle has me wishing I had a bad ass Delorean that could shoot me back in time (going 88 mph) in order to purchase Peggle the day it was released. Ok, ok, I suppose there would be quite a long list of things to do if I had a time traveling Delorean, but this would definitely be on that list!