November 2007 Archives

Earlier this year, The Orange Box was unleashed upon the world. Along with Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode One, the much-anticipated "box" shipped with three brand new games: Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2, and Portal. Peggle was one of the games that capitalized on the hype, with the demo featuring images and sounds from the Orange Box.

Developed by PopCap, this addictive game was described as a cross between Pachinko and Pinball, with the objective of knocking out all of the orange pegs in each level. There are 10 "teachers" that guide you along the way, each possessing a different special ability that can be triggered by hitting one of the two green pegs in each stage.

Nothing can beat the thrill of hitting the last orange peg in a given level (or every peg in the level), the moment when you reach Extreme Fever (or Ultra Extreme Fever). As you approach the last orange peg in the level, everything slows down and the camera zooms in on your ball. If you successfully hit the last peg, you will be greeted by an explosive choral/orchestral rendition of "Ode to Joy". Brilliant.

The soundtrack features Electronic grooves and elements of classical music. For the most part the music is in the background, so as to not infringe on the cool sound effects.

Once you "graduate", you will be presented with "Challenges". Challenges, are, of course, far more difficult than the levels in the "Adventure" mode of the game, and will provide hours more of entertainment (or frustration).

Peggle is one of those games that you can play for 10 minutes, but you usually end up playing longer, because it's so much fun.

This article was originally published on November 19, 2007.

Video Games Live was everything I expected and so much more. A live orchestra and choir performed familiar (and sometimes obscure) game themes as relevant video clips played overhead. This was embellished by an amazing light show and some live action, interspersed with commentary from executive producers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall.

The concert was held at Jack Singer Concert Hall in Calgary on November 9 & 10 with the Calgary Philharmonic, and I attended the latter date. The show was sold out, and every seat was filled in the acoustically stunning Jack Singer. Pre-show events mostly consisted of video game demos, Guitar Hero battles, and of course, merchandise tables.

It was in the midst of this craziness that I overheard a couple of older people talking about the pointless nature of video games and "instilling violence in our children". Wow. I wasn't expecting that, and I couldn't help but snicker as they were watching some kids play the new Ratchet & Clank game. I don't think there could be anything more emasculating to a pre-teen boy than to crush his ingrained desire to be a hero (even if it is in a fantasy world). I guess I should mention that Mr. Tallarico did try to dispel such accusations, so these people probably weren't the first critics of this event. But I'll get off my high horse to continue my report...

Unbeknownst to me, a costume contest was held at the event, and before the show started a winner was selected by audience applause. The finalists consisted of a guy dressed up as Link from the Zelda series, and a girl dressed up as Yuna from Final Fantasy X. Even though the girl's costume was pretty good, the audience was mostly unanimous in their opting of Link.

Then there was a cool Pac-Man (or Ms. Pac-Man?) video which was preceded by some "poetry", which HTML coders and web surfers around the world would surely appreciate. The Pac-Man video was a humorous live action segment that featured Pac-Man running around the city being chased by our favorite ghosts, Blinky, Pinky, and Inky (if I'm not mistaken).

Then the show began. The opening number was a medley of classic video games perfectly synchronized to video (starting with Pong). Many of the themes in this medley were somewhat obscure, but then I quickly realized that the best was yet to come.

Some of the other highlights for me included the jazzy, relaxed Island-feel music from Sonic the Hedgehog, the Final Fantasy solo piano medley (though I didn't recognize every song), the lively and quirky music from Super Mario, and Civilization IV. In all honesty though, all of the music was so moving and captivating that the whole experience was very enjoyable even if I wasn't familiar with every theme being performed. It was as if the emotional content of the music leapt right at you without it ever being lost in translation, and that's hard to come by.

I've been to a lot of great concerts this year, but Video Games Live takes the cake. It's hard to imagine a more enjoyable experience. For a couple of hours I was immersed in this community and camaraderie of gamers, this Geek-dom, and I've never felt so welcome.