PopCap Scores Another Hit With Peggle HD
Peggle HD ($2.99) by PopCap combines Breakout with a hint of Vegas slot machine, all wrapped up in geeky humor. Sound weird? Bjorn the unicorn doesn’t think so.
The levels are filled with blue and orange “pegs” (either circles or rectangles), a bucket traveling back and forth, and a launcher. Fire a ball from the launcher at the top of the screen to knock out the pegs. Unlike in Breakout, the hit pegs only disappear after the ball drops off the screen. You win once all the orange pegs are cleared.
Ten balls are allocated in the “Ball-O-Tron” at the level’s beginning, but drop a ball into the moving bucket and you earn an extra one. Miss the pegs completely before the ball falls away? A coin will spin, offering a chance to try again with an extra ball.
Aiming the launcher can be done in one of three ways: moving the scroll wheel on the side, moving the launcher, or pointing anywhere on screen where you want the ball to go. Hit the fire button and watch the ball bounce in unpredictable directions. You can double-tap the screen to zoom in if you’re looking for an exact shot.
Scoring in this game brings to mind the fancy Las Vegas casino slot machines. Hitting a peg gives you a subtotal score, which is multiplied by the number of pegs you hit to give you the shot score. An orange “Fevermeter” on the left will increase with multiplier bonuses as you knock out more orange pegs.
Style bonuses are also awarded, including: long shot, off the wall, kick the bucket, and lucky bounce.
This app certainly entertains with its gameplay and humor. Even the loading screen provides a laugh. “Doing Peggle Master Stuff” and “Thinking about it...” are just a couple of the blurbs as the app loads.
Go ahead and give it a shot. At least if it’s a miss, you can flip the coin to see if you get another chance.
