14 DAY TRIAL // 
Peggle delivered a hugely addictive experience back in 2007, once again cementing PopCap's reputation among casual gaming studios. After a few new experiences, like Peggle Nights, the studio, which has since been acquired by Electronic Arts, is back with Peggle 2.
Promising to deliver a full-fledged sequel experience that brings new Peggle Masters, complete with impressive powers for players but also even more imaginative challenges and levels, Peggle 2 is looking to be a successful new iteration of the classic experience.
Does the game deliver on these promises or should PopCap retire the series? Let's find out.
Peggle 2 starts off with the franchise's mascot, Bjorn the Unicorn, who gently introduces (or re-introduces) players to the core mechanics of the series. The premise, as always, is simple at first glance. You launch a ball at the top of the level and try to hit all the orange pegs and bricks.
Your supply of balls is limited to 10, but you can supplement it by earning enough points during a single launch or by hitting the ball catcher, which constantly moves at the bottom of the screen.
You can simply say that the game is all about luck, but the actual mechanics have a logic that can be mastered, provided you spend enough time with the title. Trajectories, at least for the first few hits, can be mapped out, or at least approximated.
Then you have the different powers granted by the Peggle Masters from the new title. These range from Bjorn's Super Guide, which shows a bit more of the ball's trajectory, to all sorts of new and crazy powers. One can turn the small ball into a big bowling one, while other powers can freeze the whole board and make the pegs behave like bits of ice.
Each of the five Peggle Masters has 10 different levels but, after completing them and their associated challenges or trials, you can play them with other Masters.
Level design, as always, is quite imaginative, sometimes basing the models of the blue and orange pegs on the image in the background, while other times they're completely different. In Peggle 2, the actual layout of the pegs remains the same, but the location of the orange and green pegs (which help activate the Master powers) is randomly generated.
This can lead to a few frustrating experiences, especially towards the latter portions of the main campaign or when certain areas are blocked by physical barriers and you can rely only on ricochets and the notoriously fickle bumpers. Seeing as how you must complete a level to progress further, this can lead to a lengthy series of restarts until you actually get a layout that's simpler to complete.
After playing all past Peggle releases on the PC, I was a bit hesitant to use a controller, as I thought it wasn't possible to replicate the precision of certain shots using the thumbsticks. Luckily, PopCap enables Xbox One users to fine tune trajectories using either the left and right bumpers or the left and right directions on the D-pad.
Peggle 2 also features a multiplayer mode that, for now at least, is only available online via the Xbox Live service (a Gold subscription is needed). In this experience, players can challenge others to complete various stages as quickly as possible while earning more points than the other person.
In terms of visuals, Peggle 2 looks as crisp and as colorful as ever, but there aren't any effects or moments that truly show off the power of the Xbox One next-gen console. Special mention goes to the hilarious introduction sequences for each of the Peggle Masters.
Sound-wise, however, Peggle 2 is a delight, as practically every audio cue is engineered to provide a melodic experience. Things are taken up a notch during the end of a stage, as Beethoven's Ode of Joy makes a glorious comeback. This time, however, each Peggle Master has a different end track, including Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, for example.
Conclusion
Peggle 2 is a great new Peggle experience bringing fresh Peggle Masters and powers but also plenty of new challenges, not to mention an even greater sound design. Unfortunately, some stages have annoying layouts and, overall, the game doesn't introduce that many new elements to make it a full-fledged sequel. It's just more of the same and, particularly when it comes to Peggle, that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
