Peggle Nights

A true gem in a sea of casual game rehashes.

June 18 2009

The casual games market is swamped by "hidden object" and "match three" games so it’s a refreshing change when something like Peggle Nights from PopCap Games comes along. Peggle Nights is a sequel to the incredibly popular Peggle which MSNBC hailed as "one of the top 5 most addictive games of all time". After my experiences with the game I can tell you the part about it being addictive is no exaggeration. The concept of the game is relatively simple. Each level is presented as a screen of colored pegs arranged in various patterns. At the top of the screen is your "launcher" and at the bottom of the screen is a "bucket" which moves horizontally back and forth. Most of the pegs are blue but the ten orange pegs are the ones you want to pay attention to. There’s also a purple peg that changes location for each turn and two green pegs per level but I’ll explain those later. The idea is to shoot metal balls from the launcher and try to clear the orange pegs before your allotment of balls for that level runs out. You get 10 balls per level. Once you shoot a ball from the launcher gravity pulls it towards the bottom but you want to try to hit as many of the orange pegs as possible on (...)

A challenging hidden object game in a Civil War setting.

June 10 2009

“Four score and seven years ago…” Are you a history buff or do you just enjoy a great challenge? Then this is the perfect game for you. In Hidden Mysteries: Civil War you get to travel back in time and visit the great battlefields of the Civil War. As you travel through the game you join General Walker, a loyal follower of Abe Lincoln, and collect clues and letters left by a secret society. I found this game for 99¢ and I am glad that I didn’t have to pay full price for it. I am not saying it (...)

With the release of the third installment of the Red Alert series, Command & Conquer returns to the roots of what made the game series so entertaining – no more terrorists, no alien ore – just Soviets, Allies and a little something (...)

June 04 2009

On the verge of defeat and the country in chaos, the Soviets employ a time machine to give themselves an advantage. They travel back in time and extinguish Albert Einstein. They return to their present to discover that their plan worked and they are once again holding their own against the Allies. However, they have also unintentionally unleashed a new enemy – the technologically super advanced Empire of the Sun. To make matters worse, wiping out Einstein wiped out all nuclear (...)

Explore the Wild West, build thriving settlements, and fight off dangerous bandits!

April 13 2009

Westward II: Heroes of the Frontier is a new casual game from Sandlot Games for Macs and PCs. It’s sort of a hybrid simulation and real-time strategy game that has elements found in games such as The Oregon Trail, Age of Empires, and Virtual Villagers. It’s popular predecessor, Westward, is only available for the PC and there’s already a sequel, Westward III: Gold Rush, also only currently available for the PC. Westward II is actually pretty complex for a casual game and there’s alot to do. (...)

Are you smarter than a 5th grader? Well hop on to The Amazing Brain Train to find out.

April 08 2009

In The Amazing Brain Train from Grubby Games you get aboard Professor Fizzwizzle’s Brain Train, which is powered by your mental energy, and go on amazing brain–boosting quests. There are 15 different games in 5 categories including search, planning, spatial, memory, and numbers. There are 3 gameplay modes to choose from called test, quest, and practice. There are many extras in this game as well including high scores and trophies. I found that this game works very well with the HeadMouse (...)