Peggle World of Warcraft Edition

Addiction has found a new face

Peggle really is a confused, but consistently brilliant beast. I’ve always found it hard to decide whether it wants to be a puzzle game or a straight-up arcade title given that there really is nothing else like it available on the market today. In times to come, any new game that launches bearing even the slightest resemblance to PopCap’s original will be dubbed a ‘Peggle-Clone’. It seems that while the game has transcended the lazy pigeon-holing that comes with staple gaming genres, the game itself has heralded a new genre altogether for other games to be slotted neatly into. And so, the practice of the jaded gaming hack begins anew.

But it’s impossible to get jaded at all when something as upbeat and ingenious as Peggle is staring at you with glazed, rainbow-coloured eyes that seem to say “you would love me if you got to know me”. Even the gritty, testosterone-fuelled FPS nut would have to be made of stone not to fall for the unexplainable allure of the series for reasons that many are still attempting to figure out today. In short, Peggle is addictive, horribly addictive and as a result, has become one of the slow-burn success stories of the current generation. Now that the franchise has become something of a gaming institution, it seems everyone wants a piece, even World of Warcraft developer Blizzard, who has teamed up with PopCap Games to create this competent new addition to the series.

Now, while this free game may have ‘marketing ploy’ written all over it and, let’s be honest here, the two franchises aren’t the likeliest of fit, this is another solid entry to the Peggle canon. Best-described as a cross between pachinko, a Japanese peg-based amusement game (Wikipedia it) and pinball, the original instalment saw players enrolled into the Peggle Institute by helpful headmaster Bjorn the Unicorn. Stay with it, this game’s a modern classic I promise.

In this new edition, Bjorn and the masters of the Peggle Institute have stepped into the World of Warcraft and they need your help in clearing 50 stages of peg-fuelled fun. Each stage is littered by blue and orange pegs that are dotted around a beautifully-drawn background, each depicting a scene from the rich Warcraft lore. From elves casting spells, to frozen wastes and fiery citadels, these are bright and colourful, oozing charm from every broadsword and loincloth. The aim is to shoot metallic balls out of your cannon and hit every orange peg to proceed to the next stage. You have ten balls at your disposal and limitless ways to win each round.

The key to success is in the angles, as you will need to pull off some neat trick shots to win. Although the fate of each ball fired is entirely in the hands of common sense Newtonian physics, a helpful bucket scrolls along the bottom of each stage. If you manage to drop your ball in the bucket, you get to keep it and fire again, or lose it if you miss. You are also awarded a free ball for racking up so many points per shot, so keeping a balance between getting all the orange pegs and keeping your score topped up is vital.

Admittedly, this sounds like an absolute nightmare on paper and I’d be lying if I said this was an easy game to explain, but Peggle is so easy to get into from the first round, you will be pulling off a manner of high-scoring bank shots and slide combos in no time. Success is made easier as you are accompanied through each stage by a Peggle master, each helping you out with their special skills. When you hit a green peg, you can unleash each characters skill, from Bjorn’s superguide that lets you see where the ball will bounce next, to extreme sports hamster Jimmy Lightning’s skill that splits your ball in two. These powers have saved me from certain failure at the last minute many times, making for some truly tense moments.

The icing on this colourful, saccharine-sweet cake is Extreme Fever mode that executes when you nail the last orange peg on a stage. Everything goes all slow-motion and the bottom of the stage is lined by five buckets, each with a different bonus point value. Fireworks go off, Beethoven’s Ode to Joy strikes up in the background and you are awarded extra points for any blue pegs you hit before the ball lands in the buckets. I can’t remember the last time a game got this excited when I beat it, but it sure feels good.

While physics has a large part to play in Peggle, I never once felt as if I wasn’t in control of each shot, meaning I only had myself to blame when I failed. The preciseness of trick shots and the superb control system are a large part of the game’s appeal. Although simple, I constantly find myself coming back to play the series for burst play here and there, despite having completed them all countless times. Addiction has found a new face and it couldn’t be more appealing. Veteran Pegglers will find that the Warcraft Edition is a fine instalment and newcomers could do worse than sample this free version to see what the craze is about.

Peggle World of Warcraft Edition is available to download for free at the official PopCap Games website here.