Get out of 'The Darkness'

CASUAL GAMES

Peggle
($19.95; www.popcap.com; Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista)
Recovering Bejeweled junkies beware: PopCap Games is at it again. A nifty mashup of Pachinko and Arkanoid, Peggle is an action-puzzle game in which players must clear rows of cleverly arranged pegs and rectangles by ricocheting a ball off them. Players only have a limited number of shots to do this, and must also contend with an assortment of fiendish obstacles.

If this title has any fault, it is that the game's replay options — namely, the multiplayer and challenge modes — can never approach the thrill of your first time through the single-player game. Fans of other PopCap titles will likely recognize Peggle for what it truly is: a colorful, addictive game whose brilliant simplicity only adds to its charm and appeal. A- — John Grover

Cake Mania: Back to the Bakery
($14.99; www.sandlotgames.com; Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista)
Put away those spatulas and whisks: the tasty pastries you'll be preparing in Cake Mania: Back to the Bakery require little more than a mouse and some wicked reflexes. The premise is simple: players must create custom cakes ordered by an increasingly impatient line of customers. In between rounds, your hard-earned money can be spent upgrading your kitchen. The game's real trick lies in learning how long each step in the cake-preparation process takes — and juggling accordingly.

If all this seems like, well, a piece of cake, think again. While easy to learn, the difficulty ramps up rather quickly — and some players may find themselves as frustrated as the customers they're trying to serve. But don't let the challenge ruin what is otherwise a surprisingly entertaining exercise in time- and resource-management: a little perseverance goes a long way in revealing this title's sweet rewards. B+ — JG