''Peggle Blast'' is a casual puzzle video game developed by PopCap Games and published by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

in the ''Peggle'' franchise. Released on December 2, 2014, to Android and

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

, it is the second game in the franchise released to mobile, the first being a port of ''

Peggle ''Peggle'' is a casual puzzle video game developed by PopCap Games. Initially released for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X systems in 2007, it has since had versions released for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, the Nintendo DS (with the h ...

''. ''Blast'' was exclusively available on

Google Play Store Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store, Play Store, or sometimes the Android Store (and was formerly Android Market), is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certifie ...

and

App Store An app store, also called an app marketplace or app catalog, is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not i ...

until its release to web browsers as ''Peggle Blast HD'' on March 31, 2020. Electronic Arts announced ''Blast'' in late 2014.

Gameplay

In most levels, players must hit all 25 orange pegs to beat the current level. However, some levels require the player to drop gems, hatch eggs or perform certain Style Shots in order to progress. Two power ups are provided that are unique to each character. Another different mechanic in ''Blast'' is that it uses a level system as well as a life system. If a player fails to beat the game, they lose a life and have to retry the level. Players who lose all five lives must wait until the lives are regenerated. ''Blast'' also introduces power ups for purchase which can be used in-game, such as the Super Guide power up. The game also introduces a lot of obstacles such as fireballs, pegs covered in mud and frozen pegs. Other game modes include hatching phoenix eggs or dropping diamonds to the bottom of the board. Players can connect to ''

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

'' within the game to gain an extra life, send extra lives to friends and see friends within the world map. Achievements can be earned in-game by connecting to

Google Play Games Google Play Games is an online video gaming service by Google for Microsoft Windows, Chromebooks, and Android devices. Google Play Games on Android, launched in 2013, features "instant play" games, gamer profiles, saved games and achievement ...

on Android or

Game Center Game Center is a service by Apple that allows users to play and challenge friends when playing online multiplayer social gaming network games. Games can share multiplayer functionality between the Mac and iOS versions of the app. Game Cent ...

on iOS.

Release

''Blast'' was released both to iOS and Android on December 2, 2014, almost a year after its predecessor, '' Peggle 2''. The game has received updates that add new levels and masters. In March 2020, ''Peggle Blast HD'' was announced on ''

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

'' from the official ''Peggle'' page. The game was released on

Pogo.com Pogo.com (stylized as pogo) is a free online gaming website that offers over 50 casual games from brands like Hasbro and PopCap Games. It offers a variety of card and board games to puzzle, sports and word games. It is owned by Electronic Arts ...

on March 31, 2020. ''Blast HD'' has improved graphics, new achievements and integration of Pogo services.

Reception

In general, the iOS version received "mixed" reviews according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. ''

Gamezebo ''Gamezebo'' (sometimes stylized ''GameZebo'') is a website which reports on and reviews video games. Founded in 2005 by Joel Brodie, it was billed as the first website to solely cover casual games and expanded its scope to social games in 20 ...

''s critic, Nadia Oxford, praised the graphics of the game, but disapproved of in-app purchasing, writing "EA has us pegged for suckers". The ''

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017 and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. Histor ...

'' critic, Chris Carter, criticized the game's micro transactions, comparing it to '' Candy Crush''.

References

External links

* {{Electronic Arts 2014 video games Android (operating system) games IOS games PopCap Games games Puzzle video games Video games developed in the United States