Peggle Blast

I don't trust Peggle Blast.

That's because the whole game is built around an economy where Popcap's best chance of getting paid is making me lose.

If I'm on the cusp of losing, I can pay for a super guide that reveals the full trajectory of my next shot, or a fireball that makes my ball roast any pegs it gets near.

And if I actually lose, I can pay for a few extra balls to keep playing. And if I lose again, I'll quickly run out of hearts and can't play on until I wait half an hour, pay money, or badger my Facebook friends.

When the system is this obvious, you don't have to be a jaded, anti-F2P cynic like me to realise that the odds might be stacked in the developer's favour, which leaves a nagging sense of doubt in your brain, and a bad taste in your mouth.

For the most part the game is the same as the curiously addictive peg-popper that came out a few years back.

The screen is awash with coloured pegs, and you have a cannon that can fire a single pinball. Your job is to hit - and thus remove - all the orange pegs from play before you run out of balls.

You also have cartoon helpers like Björn the unicorn who give you special abilities on their stages, and a scoring system to encourage replaying old levels.

Peggle, in general, is fun, addictive, and straddles that balance between skill and luck like an Olympic gymnast.

And it's hard not to be swayed when everything you do results in joyous, overblown, moon landing-level celebration.

Each level finishes with a rainbow, explosions, fireworks, massive great golden stars, a point total in the six digits, and Ode to Joy blasting out your iPhone speakers.

And Peggle Blast has a lot of that. It's largely the same experience, only played in portrait mode and featuring one of those Candy Crush-style world maps where your Facebook pic floats from level to level.

But there are now suspicious new elements that seem designed to gobble up your balls, or leave you stuck if you don't use boosts.

There are big lava balls that instantly burn up your balls, Phoenix eggs that take three hits to crack, and tumbling gems that have a nasty habit of getting pinned in an awkward way.

It's annoying enough not being able to finish a level, but when you're then offered the chance to buy a few extra balls or a boost that will let you easily clear the stage, Peggle Blast is about as suspicious as the only other person in an elevator full of farts.

It's still a colourful, bouncy, tactile, and satisfying game. And there's loads of new content and fresh mechanics that Peggle masters will enjoy.

But if you're naturally distrustful of free to play games, that charming exterior will quickly fall away to reveal the crooked smile of a conman. Trust is everything in a game of luck and chance, and I don't trust Peggle Blast.