Peggle for iPhone Review

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peggle-iphone

Just a couple of weeks ago I highlighted the awesome $0.99 sale on Peggle at the iTunes App store. As I mentioned, the concept of Peggle is simple: you are presented with a board of pegs, some of which are orange. You have a ball shooter at the top center of the screen. The goal is to remove all of the orange pegs from the screen using the balls from your shooter. Since gravity and physics are the laws in the Peggle universe, you need to estimate the trajectory of bounces off other pegs if you hope to clear all the orange pegs. Any peg you hit disappears, allowing you to get at hidden pegs.

The Hype:
Want to be a Peggle Master? Take your best shot! Shoot and clear all the orange pegs in the peg-busting phenomenon from the makers of the award-winning Bejeweled! You?ll reach Extreme Fever as 10 outlandish Masters help you rise to Peggle greatness. Conquer 55 levels and wield 10 Magic Powers in Adventure mode? and the fun is just getting started!

Put your skills to the ultimate test with 40 challenges as you rack up bonus points and score style shots you?ll smile about for weeks. Face off against friends and family in Duel mode. It?s an epic blend of luck and skill that msnbc.com calls one of the “Top 5 most addictive video games of all time!”
Game Features
– Master 55 levels and 40 Grand Master challenges
– Pick your level in Quick Play or Challenge mode with a flick of your finger
– All new Extreme Precision wheel – fine-tune your aiming for masterful shots
– Cool new style shots (like Off the Wall, Double Long Shot, and Eye of the Pyramid) for racking up more bonus points
– New Trophy Room – revel in your growing collection of trophies
– Save and replay your hottest shots
– Play friends and family in Duel Mode
– Fully optimized for the iPhone and iPod Touch
– Listen to your own music while you play!

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The Reality:
Reviewing the game Peggle seems fairly redundant at this point – it feels like reviewing the core Tetris game rather than how it was implemented in Tetris DS. It is just a very nicely done game that continuously increases in challenge level while also providing you more and more tools to deal with those challenges. As mentioned, the object is simple – clear all of the orange pegs. Of course, things are never as simple as they seem – you have to deal with the physics of geometry and gravity and hope to get some lucky bounces along the way.

The two most important things about the game are whether it brings the full experience of Peggle to the iPhone and how it works with the iPhones’ touch screen. I was concerned about the aiming precision on the iPod Touch screen. Fortunately the developers added a wheel interface with a fire button along with the expected direct aiming. That was a great choice, as just swiping your finger around will get you close, but you really need to have added precision to make the shots you will need to succeed. I found myself seamlessly jumping back and forth between just tapping the screen to aim and them getting more precise with the scroll wheel. Before long I had to remind myself that I even had concerns about the controls!

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The other concern was about getting the experience of the full game on the iPhone. The good news is that it is all here – you are getting the exact same experience as you would on the PC or Mac, just now on the small screen. I was also concerned that the lower price would be reflected in the removal of features of play modes, but again that wasn’t the case.

The main ‘adventure’ mode will take hours to work through, but there is still more when you’re done! There is a duel mode which allows you to compete against another player (or the computer), but there is no network multiplayer yet – perhaps as more games take advantage of the 3.0 software’s P2P mode Peggle will get this capability! There are also plenty of other advanced challenges offered that will keep you playing for quite a while.

There is a reason that Peggle became an instant classic on the PC – it is easy to learn, constantly challenging, has the right blend of puzzle to action, with instant satisfaction and the right amount of punishment for failure. It is also just a blast to play and intersperses fun characters and cool gameplay tweaks. Peggle is a great games and has made a perfect leap to the iPhone with a version hat should be considered a ‘must have’ for anyone who does any amount of gaming on their iPhone at all.

Where to Buy: iTunes App Store

Price: $4.99

What I Like:
– It is Peggle … for the iPhone!
– Perfect adaptation
– A bargain for $5
– Loads of content

What Needs Improvement:
– No network-based multiplayer
– Nothing about the game as delivered!

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About the Author

Michael Anderson
I have loved technology for as long as I can remember - and have been a computer gamer since the PDP-10! Mobile Technology has played a major role in my life - I have used an electronic companion since the HP95LX more than 20 years ago, and have been a 'Laptop First' person since my Compaq LTE Lite 3/20 and Powerbook 170 back in 1991! As an avid gamer and gadget-junkie I was constantly asked for my opinions on new technology, which led to writing small blurbs ... and eventually becoming a reviewer many years ago. My family is my biggest priority in life, and they alternate between loving and tolerating my gaming and gadget hobbies ... but ultimately benefits from the addition of technology to our lives!

2 Comments on "Peggle for iPhone Review"

  1. Dan Cohen | July 8, 2009 at 8:55 am |

    I HATE this game!

    It has wasted hours and hours of my time and now I am playing the upper levels.

    If you have any addictive tendencies stay away!

    Otherwise…

    Michael hit the nail on the head…the game is amazing.

    After playing on the iPhone I tried the desktop version. It is also nice but I think I like it on the iPhone even more!

  2. I think it is one of the perfect ‘game on the go’ sorts of games. That is why it is perfect for the DS (Peggle Dual Shot) and on the iPhone.

    As for the desktop version, I think it is also wonderful … but it really has a different feel because it si a casual game but keeps you tethered to your computer to play.

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