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