They say that great things come in small packages, and whilst some members of the male readership may believe this, it doesn’t always hold true. If we listen to Cliff Bleszinski, everything should be ‘bigger, better, and more badass’. Again, this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, you need to find a mix between the two. Something that, whilst being tight and perfectly formed, is also big and badass.
One such mixture is found in the game ‘Peggle’. Affectionately dubbed ‘Videogame Crack’, Peggle is perfectly formed, great fun to play, and incredibly addictive. It’s premise is simple. On the screen, there are a collection of ‘pegs’, some blue, and some orange. The aim of the game is to eliminate all the orange pegs, and in doing so, amass the highest score possible. Having cleared all the orange pegs on one map, you move onto the next.
You can be forgiven for thinking that Peggle sounds like an incredibly boring game. “Hitting orange pegs with a little ball? Where’s the first person levels? Where’s my guns? Where, for Christ’s sake, is the princess?” Fortunately or otherwise, Peggle does not boast a Princess in a castle, nor does it involve shooting aliens from a first person point of view. It’s pure escapist fun.
There are those who argue that videogames should be more like films, and should all aspire to be compared to ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ or ‘The Green Mile’. But for every ‘Batman: The Dark Knight’ there exists a ‘Kangaroo Jack’. Whilst ‘The Dark Knight’ is a fantastic film, does that mean that ‘Kangaroo Jack’ (being completely the opposite in terms of narrative and story etc.) wasn’t enjoyable? Of course not. ‘Kangaroo Jack’, or Peggle, if you will, did not need an engrossing storyline, with believable characters. Nor did it entirely need a script, as the premise was ridiculously simple. A Kangaroo had stolen a jacket with a large amount of money in it, and the two main characters were trying to get it back. Simple, right?
This, we find, is the case with Peggle. Deceptively simple, but outrageously addictive, Peggle pulls you in with its bright colours and doesn’t let go until you’ve completed the entire game, and graduated as a ‘Grand Peggle Master’. Even when you’ve left your PC, you’ll be thinking “Hmm. If I blasted a ball against that wall there, it would rebound to hit that lampshade, before falling right into that vase. That would have to be worth 50k points.”
Peggle has achieved the one thing that many casual games of its nature seem to fall short of, the ‘One Last Go’ factor. Boot up a level of Peggle, shoot your 10 balls, and find you’ve fallen short of the 25 orange pegs the game asked you to hit. Never mind, just restart the level, and try again. Before you know it, it’s 5:00 in the morning, and you’ve still not written the essay due for 11:00 that same day. But damn it, it’s only one peg! Eventually, with your eyes barely open, you aim perfectly, and BAM! You’ve beaten the level. As ‘Ode to Joy’ comes blaring out your speakers, you cry with satisfaction, feeling that you’ve accomplished the impossible.
This too, is a testament to Popcap’s Genius. Ever rewarding the player with extra points, delightful sounds and quirky messages, the player feels a true sense of reward, essentially, after every shot. “Never mind you didn’t hit that Orange peg,” The game tells you, “you got an EXTREME SLIDE!”
So there you have it. Peggle is the most fun you can have with your clothes on, and is definetely worth your money!
And so we raise the immortal question, Should videogames simply be escapist fun, or should they be something more? I feel that’s something that deserves it’s own post, and should be looked at in more detail. Stay tuned for that.
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