Peggle: Dual Shot Review - Screenshot 1 of 3

Over the past few years, Peggle has become known as one of the most addicting and enjoyable puzzle action games on the market. After playing for only a few minutes, you know you’re playing special and will immediately become hooked on the game.

After already hitting the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 as well as the iPhone, PopCap Games thought that gamers wanted even more Peggle, so what do they do? Why none other than bring the series to the biggest handheld machine the world has ever seen; the Nintendo DS. Despite the concept remaining the same, does the Nintendo DS version warrant a purchase or should you just stick with the version you already own?

For those living under a rock for the past few years and are completely unaware about what Peggle is, it can described as a mix of pachinko and pinball. When you first start, you’re presented with a field full of blue and orange pegs, and in order to progress to the next level, the orange ones have to be cleared. It’s a rather simple concept that becomes increasingly addictive as you put more time into the game.

So then, you’re probably wondering how exactly you’re supposed to clear all these orange pegs. By firing tiny balls from the top of the screen, which bounce down on to the lower screen and clear any orange pegs that they come in contact in. The real challenge is that once the ball has been fired on its trajectory, physics steps in and takes control of the game.

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At heart, the concept behind Peggle: Dual Shot is extremely simple, but with that being said though, the game is anything but easy. While playing, you have a limited amount of balls at your disposition, and since physics play such a large part in the game, it could take some trial-and-error before you finally hit a specific peg.

For those who are worrying that Peggle: Dual Shot could be a little boring, fear not. After playing the game for a couple of minutes, you’ll be blown away. Whatever there is about watching the balls drop down the screen and interacting with pegs along the way makes the game so fun. As previously mentioned, the more you play the game, the further addicted you’ll become and thus the more fun you’ll have.

Besides the blue and orange pegs, there are also purple ones that move location after every shot. Due to the trouble you’ll have to go through to hit these pegs, the game rewards you with a hefty point boost if you successfully get one. Hit five purple pegs in one round and you’ll get teleported into a bonus round zone where you bounce your ball around collecting gems. By collecting enough gems, you’ll get an additional ball that can be used when you return to the stage you were playing.

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Another neat aspect of the game is the Peggle Masters: a group of animals that will become available through the course of the game. Each master has their own unique ability that will you aid you in the levels. To activate their special abilities, you simply have to hit the green pegs that appear on-screen.

One of the biggest draw-ins to the Nintendo DS version of Peggle is the Nights expansion which includes a large array of new levels that are all played in the night. Besides this, there’s also a brand-new master to be unlocked in this expansion. When it’s all said and done, the Nights expansion is a neat little addition that should be more than enough to merit veterans of the series to pick this game up.

In total, Peggle: Dual Shot holds host to over 125 different levels. Besides this, there’s a competitive Dual mode in which players can engage in battles using a single DS. Players simply take turns using the machine, dropping balls one at a time. It’s a neat little diversion from the main game and really adds to the replay value, that is, if you have somebody to play with.

Conclusion

If you’re one of the few people who have never played a Peggle game before, Peggle: Dual Shot is a great place to start. The game offers a large amount of stages that will keep you occupied for a long period of time as well as a very engaging single-player mode. The only fault with the game worth mentioning is the lack of an online mutliplayer mode. Just imagine what it would’ve been like playing against other Peggle fans around the world. Besides that minor fault, Peggle: Dual Shot is an excellent addition to anyone’s Nintendo DS library.