The latest "game-crack" from PopCap is called "Peggle Deluxe," for PC, and, babies, it is addictive.
What makes this game even more intriguing is its use of classical music...opening with Edvard Grieg's "Morning Mood," which should be familiar to anyone who's watched the many cartoons that have also used it. When one wins, well, Beethoven's Ninth (aka the Choral Symphony) lets loose amid an array of dazzlingly and literally stellar visual effects bursting onto the screen. (Actually, there's room for Tschaikovsky's 1812 Overture here...hint for "Peggle Deluxe Part Deux," which I'm sure must be currently in the works, if not mere planning stages.) A neat feature? Being able to relive the moment of victory by use of the "replay" button tucked nicely into the lower right-hand corner. I was playing a timed demo, and ran out of time on my last victory - having just hit the last ball I needed to clear with my last ball - oh, yeah, that's another nice touch...when you hit the game winner, you get a slow-mo close-up of the event...SWEET! Anyway, I didn't get to see the fireworks on my last victory because I'd used the replay button on my first one. Awww, shucks.
Oh, I forgot to tell you that you get help from the various "teachers" - I think they call them "mentors" who introduce you to the new gameplay features that get increasingly sweeter the higher you go. There's a text message to explain how to use or activate these features...better aiming mechanisms...extra points for hitting certain colored balls...tweaks...bonus features like "long-shots." At first, you have merely stationary targets...that changes as you advance. There are ten levels and five levels within each one, so gameplay is ample. Even though this game is basically PG, I found it tremendously engrossing and quite frankly a very positive experience...meaning this game would be good for anyone who needs a boost of self-esteem or merely something to look forward to after, say, a bad day. The rewards are unbelievable. I managed to get a kick-ass score in the millions after half of the levels in the entire game...actually, because my demo shut down as soon as my time ran out, I don't have an accurate accounting of my score, but one thing I did like about this game is that at the bottom of the screen, once your ball has run the gamut, there are five slots - the two outer ones are worth 10,000pts, the two inside of those are worth 50,000pts and dead center is worth 100,000pts! Yahoo!!! Yeah, I know, I sound totally besotted with this little gem that I ran across in the demo disk my other gaming magazine still sends me...well, quite frankly, I am...and I would heartily recommend this game for shared play, since there is a multiplayer aspect...unfortunately, I couldn't investigate that. I will say that people of all ages will enjoy this - I never got tired of all of the "bells and whistles" that went off every time I reached my stated goal. I can honestly say that I have never had quite the same experience this game gave me with any other mini-game I've played...and, no, I don't work for PopCap or Reflexive.net that has the game available for download. As for me? I'm waiting until I run across it in a jewel-case at WalMart for $9.95...that is unless I get a sudden craving for it in the middle of the night....oh, how am I going to....aaargh!!!! See you at "Gamers' Anonymous!"