Review: Angry Birds

Angry Birds is the smash hit game developed by Rovio. Is it a worthy game to spend you money on though? Time to check out this App Store #1 in all it’s glory.

Story

Angry Birds has a rather subtle story, that I suppose not many would care about. It’s a puzzle game, so it’s gameplay the gamer wants not a story. Non-the-less there is a story there, so why not mention it. A group of green pigs have stolen the birds eggs and this has made them angry. Hence the name Angry Birds. The birds are that angry at the Pigs they want them destroyed, and so start launching themselves at the structures they are hiding in, in an attempt to get back their eggs.

Gameplay

As I have already mentioned, Angry Birds is a puzzle game. The aim of the game is to fire your multi-coloured Birds out of a slingshot at wooden, glass  and stone blocks arranged in various shapes and sizes. The birds aren’t multi-coloured just for the sake of it either, each has a different ability. For example, red birds are standard birds that just go through the air and hit their targets, whereas black birds will fly through the air, like the red ones, but when you tap the screen or after so long they will explode. There are a total of 7 different types of birds for you to fling through the air, and they are all implemented great.

Each level starts with a set number of birds and set types of bird available but you can’t select the order. This can be a bit annoying on some levels, but 9 times out of 10 the order is perfectly selected for you to be able to complete the level easily enough. After each level you are given a score and a star rating out of 3. These are influenced by how many pigs you destroyed in a single shot and how many shots it takes to get rid of them all. You get 10,000 extra points for every bird remaining and obviously your star rating is better the more birds left. I should also add that there are varying sizes of pig aswell as pigs that have hard hats, making it hard for them to be killed.

Graphics and Sound

Angry Birds has a unique soundtrack, although there isn’t much variation, and the graphics have a crisp, clean and satisfying cartoon style. This style suits the game well and makes it vibrant and visually appealing.

Support

This is a section not usually found in reviews. But obviously iPod apps get support from the developers and publishers in the form of updates via App Store. Rovio haven’t left this feature unnoticed. Since it’s release in December last year there have been 3 major updates to Angry Birds each giving a bumper pack of levels for players. Since its initial launch on iPod Touch/iPhone, Rovio deemed it such a big success they decided to start porting it to other handheld devices. To this day, Angry Birds is available on:

• iPod Touch/iPhone
• Nokia N900
• Nokia N8
• iPad
• Palm Pre

Rovio have also begun bringing Angry Birds to the Google Android program. Aswell as this Rovio have begun making adaptations for major Gaming Devices, these include: PSP, PS3, Wii and DS.

Pros:

• Addictive Gameplay
• Great graphic style
• Head-scratching puzzles

Cons:

• Extremely frustrating at times

Verdict: Buy!

I definitely say buy to this app. It’s addicting and fun whilst keep an appealing appearance. And even if your still not convinced on buying this 59p app, there is a free version available. So no excuse, try this app!