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Originally written for my school newspaper...

“Peggle Complete,” rated Everyone ($10 via Steam) “Peggle Extreme,” rated Teen (Free with “The Orange Box” for PC) “Peggle” is a difficult game to explain but a very simple game to play. The player shoots marbles at pegs, where it bounces around with realistic physics. To win, a player usually has to clear the board of all orange pegs, which fills the screen with a ridiculously huge rainbow with bonus points as Beethoven’s “1812 Overture” blasts from the speakers.
The Complete version offers over 50 levels with different playable characters, each with their own special ability. The Extreme version, in addition to being free, has a “Half-Life 2” theme and comes with 15 levels.
Both also have multiplayer on one computer and provide several hours of simple fun. Alternatively, you can play a free demo in your web browser at www.popcapgames.com. 3 out of 5 logs.

“LostWinds,” rated Everyone ($10 via Wiiware) LostWinds is a beautiful platformer that lets you control a young boy named Toku and Enril the wind spirit at the same time in order to navigate their vibrant but dangerous world. Using Enril’s wind powers by aiming the Wiimote and controlling Toku with the control stick allows increasingly complicated landscapes as the pair venture off to defeat the spreading evil.
While sporting amazing graphics and interesting wind-based puzzles, the game doesn’t have the challenge or length some gamers may expect, clocking in at only three to four hours in length. Those who overlook this, including myself, may enjoy playing through it several times to beat their completion times. 4 out of 5 logs.

“Paper Mario,” rated Everyone ($10 via Virtual Console) When it comes to the most content for your digital dollar, there aren’t many titles that deliver more than Paper Mario, a light-hearted RPG starring everyone’s favorite plumber in a quest that lasts over 20 hours.
While the story is fairly elementary, as Princess Peach must once again be rescued, the Mushroom Kingdom is displayed in a 2D paper-style and the battles rely on timing-based maneuvers such as mashing a button or pulling the control stick in a certain way. This title, originally released for the Nintendo 64, was followed by sequels on other systems but largely eclipses its successors in quality. 5 out of 5 logs.

Never played Peggle Complete. I don't have a steam account.

Lost Winds and Paper Mario deserve a 4/5 and 5/5 respectively.

I didn't get into the nitty gritty, but I believe that version of Peggle was (only) available to those who bought The Orange Box (PC version.) But yes, Steam required.