Peggle 2

Peggle 2 is a casual puzzle video game developed by PopCap Games and published by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to the original game, Peggle, which was created by Sukhbir Sidhu and Brian Rothstein. Electronic Arts announced Peggle 2 during the E3 2013 press conference, and also as a timed exclusive for the Xbox One. Peggle 2 adds four new masters, with the return of Bjorn Unicorn, new gameplay options, in-game features, and more. An Xbox 360 version of the game was released on May 7, 2014 as well as a PlayStation 4 version on October 14, 2014.

Announcement
Peggle 2 was announced by PopCap co-founder John Vechey at E3, and was considered one of the most humorous moments of the entire conference. After announcing Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, Vechey announced they had one last thing to show. He then yelled "Peggle 2", leapt into the air, and immediately left the stage upon landing. Videos and remixes of the announcement, and the subsequent lack of applause, became instant hits on YouTube.

Gameplay
The goal of Peggle is to clear all 25 orange pegs from the board with 10 balls to shoot from with a cannon at the top of the screen. 72 blue pegs, two green pegs and one purple peg which moves on each shot are randomly placed on the board. With the green peg, it enables the "masters" power on next shot or even on current shot, while the green peg enables the current playing characters (called "master") power-up. The game uses a multiplier feature which multiplies the players score by the number of pegs you hit. The more orange pegs you hit, the higher the multiplier (stylized as multiplizer in-game), the more points you earn. The multiplizer starts at "x1" and will then go to "x2", "x3", "x5", and lastly "x10". Blue pegs are worth 10x the points of orange pegs, and purples are 50x the worth of orange pegs. At the bottom of the board, a free ball bucket is provided and if the ball falls into the bucket, the player is given a free ball back. Players can also earn a free ball from getting a score of 25,000 (one free ball), 75,000 (two free balls), or 125,000 (three free balls) within one shot. Green pegs are worth the same as a blue peg in points. Once all 25 orange pegs are cleared, players will achieve "Extreme Fever", which gives the player five "Fever buckets" and give the player a score of either 10,000 (on the far left and right), 50,000(between the 100,000 bucket and 50,000), or 100,000(center of board). Pegs are worth x20 during Fever. If leftover balls are present on the "Balljector", the cannon will fire them and give the player an additional 10,000 points.

Trial Mode
Trial Mode is a set of levels made to reach the trial goal. Such trial levels include getting above a certain score, below a certain score, style shot levels, clearing additional orange pegs on the board, and more. Gameplay for trial mode is about the same as normal game mode, but you must meet the trial requirements.

Multiplayer Mode
Players can play online with other users or chose a local match. Online "peg parties" can go up to four players while local gameplay is two players. The host of the game can choose the board map, set the timer, the amount of orange pegs, amount of green pegs, and number of rounds. The goal is the same as normal game mode, but if a player fails to hit one orange peg in a shot, 25% of their total points are removed.

Downloadable Content
Peggle 2 for Xbox One and PlayStation4 feature downloadable content for players to purchase from on the Store within the game.
 * Peggle 2 Windy The Fairy Master Pack: This DLC adds a new master to Peggle 2. Windy The Fairy is a bird fairy who's magical powerup is Fairy Flock. The Fairy Flock power turns blue pegs into a purple peg, which is 50x worth more in score than the blue peg. Along with the master, 10 new levels and trials are added and two new achievements.
 * Peggle 2 Jimmy Lightning Master Pack: This DLC adds master Jimmy Lightning from the original Peggle to Peggle 2. His multiball power now spawns two additional balls instead of one. Along with the master, 10 new levels and trials are added and two new achievements.
 * Peggle 2 Plants VS Zombies Garden Warfare Costume Pack: This costume pack adds one new costume for each Peggle master (including the two DLC masters). Each costume represents a character from the Plants VS Zombies: Garden Warfare game.
 * Peggle 2 Shiver Me Timbers Costume Pack: This costume pack adds one new costume for each Peggle master (including the two DLC masters). Each character's costume is in a pirate-like theme
 * Peggle 2: Eerie Attire Costume Pack (PlayStation4 Exclusive): This costume pack adds one new costume for each Peggle master (including the two DLC masters.) Each character's costume represents an eerie attire from the Gravely Grove.

Soundtrack
Peggle 2's soundtrack was recorded at Studio X in Seattle, Washington, home of PopCap's headquarters. Composed by Guy Whitmore, the soundtrack can be purchased on most music services, such as iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, etc. Peggle 2's music is based on and even uses remixes of classical orchestral music, such as Ode to Joy, William Tell Overture, 1812 Overture, Peer Gynt "Morning Mood", "In the Hall of the Mountain King", Handel's Messiah Choir "Hallelujah" and more. Each master has their own game play music, sound effects, and Fever songs. On Trial Mode, "remixes" of the masters theme are played and created by scntfc and Guy Whitmore. Peggle 2 is also powered by music engine, Wwise. Electronic Arts claims that the Peggle franchise has won multiple awards for its rich orchestral music and dynamic composition. A total of 18 songs are in the official soundtrack.

Reception
GameZone's Mike Splechta gave the Xbox One version a 9/10, stating "Despite it being a casual gamer's best friend, there is still something completely addicting about Peggle 2."