Yesterday Valve released The Orange Box, a collection of 6 games for a mere $50. The game includes 3 segments of the Half-Life 2 story, an innovative first person puzzle game called Portal and the sequel to the first team-based first person shooter game I can recall, Team Fortress 2. It would be a crime to turn down such a spectacular collection, especially since I did not own any of them. I pre-ordered the package so Valve granted me an additional 10% discount and access to TF2 beta tests nearly a month before the game was released. (The married man must manage his gaming budget with great care.)
I never expected I would neglect the first 2 weeks of the beta playing Peggle Extreme, the last game included in the series. The game is hardly worth mentioning among so many distinguished and promising titles. It seems to have been included as an after thought; regarded as a sort of Cracker-Jack prize. Peggle centers around a set of blue and orange bouncy pegs. The object is to touch all the orange pegs with a pinball that is launched from the top of the screen. I’ve learned that my computer lacks such simple pleasures. I threw down an additional $10 for the complete version of the game, Peggle Deluxe. Later I learned I am not the only one that finds value in cheap, simple “casual” games. It wasn’t long before I turned my attention back to TF2, but I still start up Peggle when I have a few minutes to spare between obligations around the house.