Peggle 2
ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS
BACK
Normally the rallying cry for any videogame sequel is that it has to be different, fresh, innovative or ambitious. Something that pushes the original formula in a new direction, enough to feel fresh and relevant. Yet that never seemed to be the case with those clamouring for more Peggle. The peg-clearing puzzle game was such a breath of fresh air that really, all the sequel would have had to have been was more of the same and fans would likely have been happy. Yet, bizarrely, Peggle 2 fails to satisfy even that basic criterion.
The gameplay has returned untouched from the original outing and it’s still strangely compulsive. Inspired by pachinko, you have to fire a small metal ball so it pings against orange pegs. Clear them all and you clear the level. In your way are blue pegs, moving pegs, obstacles and your own desire to crack high scores, which is achieved by scoring points bonuses (like bouncing the ball off a wall before pinging an orange peg, for example).
Although you have to aim your initial shot, it’s the unpredictability of what happens when the ball starts to ping around that holds your interest and eventually leads to you planning where the ball will bounce. There’s an element of luck once the ball is in play that isn’t entirely different to the same formula that’s powered Angry Birds into mainstream culture. Because there’s a random element to the gameplay, a beginner can accidentally stumble upon a winning shot that hits lots of pegs and trigger Peggle 2 ’s cache of fireworks, numbers pinging across the screen and ‘Game Clip Recorded’ notifications that all pat you on the back for a job well done.
But alas, the one thing you won’t be doing is beating the scores of others, because there aren’t any leaderboards. In one of the biggest and oddest oversights in Peggle 2, there aren’t leaderboards of any form, so one of the biggest elements of the original has been dropped. There’s no obvious substitute for leaderboards either. There are optional objectives now, adding incentive to return and perfect each level particularly as they’re tied into Achievements). There are specifically-crafted trials, testing every element of your Peggle skillset with different shots and demands. But there’s nothing that helps replicate that thrill of competition in beating the scores of friends – such a big part of the original’s appeal.
The closer you look, the more you see that’s missing. There are fewer Peggle Masters than the original, which means there are fewer special moves to experiment with. There are also fewer levels to clear, which becomes a problem when those who have any Peggle experience will rattle through the first half of levels with ease, and even after that the difficulty in Peggle 2 never quite scales up in the same way that it did
for its predecessor..
There are also further problems that irritate. Peggle 2 is overzealous when it comes to recording clips, more so than any other Xbox One title to date. Play a few games and your hard drive will be littered with short videos of various Peggle 2 shots, the vast majority of them barely worth viewing again, let alone recording and keeping forever. There’s also slowdown in some of the later stages. The nature of the gameplay means that slowdown never really impedes nor intrudes but it remains baffling how a game like Peggle 2 can have any slowdown on nextgeneration hardware.
But the biggest problem here is the complete lack of local multiplayer. PopCap has promised that local multiplayer will be added in a free update, but its absence simply fuels any cynicism you might be feeling about Peggle 2 and how it feels like it may have been rushed out the door to hit Xbox One’s launch window. It’s bizarre, but at times it often feels like this is the original and Peggle is the sequel, so long is the list of omissions and problems that plague this second outing.
That Peggle 2 overcomes these problems is testament to just how good the core gameplay is and how easy it is to pick up and play. There are no complex mechanics to trip you up and there’s no real steep learning curve involved, and yet that doesn’t stop Peggle 2 from being a game that draws you back for more as you grow with confidence learning each level inside out. Although ‘casual’ gaming has become something of a dirty phrase over the years, Peggle should serve as the template for what the genre should be about – accessible, simple and easy to understand for those who might have never picked up a pad before.
It’s also worth noting that those who never played Peggle will find little to complain about here, as the slimmer content, absence of leaderboards and lack of local multiplayer will only really grate with Peggle veterans. Peggle 2 is a game that’s bursting with bright personality and character, and there’s still little else in gaming that can match the triumph of Ode To Joy and explosions of rainbows upon completing a level.
Yet there’s no denying this is a missed opportunity and one that feels like its flaws may have arisen due to PopCap perhaps rushing it onto Xbox One’s storefront rather than anything else. For all the steps backward, it’s the new feeling of cynicism that Peggle 2 inspires which is perhaps its biggest flaw. A missed opportunity and a real shame.
DETAILS
Format: Xbox One
Other Formats: PC, Xbox 360
Origin: US
Publisher: EA
Developer: PopCap
Release: Out now
Players: 1 (1-2 Online)
Online Reviewed: Yes
No comments:
Post a Comment