I do not own an iphone, but I do own an 8-gig ipod touch. I don't have a camera, a lot of space, or long battery life, and I have to rely on Wifi if I want access to the internet. All of these things can be pretty annoying from time to time, and sure, I've never bought an Apple product before and even this one was a gift, but I love my ipod. I have played several games on this thing, many for hours at a time; of these games, I choose to review Angry Birds since that's the one I've recently spent so much time playing. A Few months ago, it would have been Plants vs. Zombies, after that, the (now) 35-in-1 game app. I could also review many other apps that aren't videogames, such as the Opera browser, Google Earth, or NPR news, but why do that?
I feel that the games designed for the iphone/ipod touch do not deserve a full review like I have given previous games. This in part is because they aren't meant to be games like the ones on consoles. Well, most of them aren't. I was this close to buying Final Fantasy II. Anyway, the main reason I don't feel they earn my full review is that they're, for the most part, only $1. Even if you don't like it, you can spend a buck for a couple hours of play time and it'll be worth it just as a time waster when you need it. So, with a different type of review comes a different type of score system. Instead of rating it from 1 to 5 stars (Awful to Super Dope), it will simply be a recommendation on whether or not to buy the game. A "yes" or "no" at the end of a, most likely, shorter review.
To start, Angry Birds has a kind of story. Some, seemingly inflatable, pig-heads have taken the eggs of a flock of varying birds and that of course makes them (are you ready for this?) angry. This game is really just a puzzle game and each level is a little stand alone thing, in which you slingshot birds, willing to sacrifice their physical safety again and again in order to get those few eggs back. I think only three are ever shown being taken, while many more birds than that are left broken with black eyes and probably fractured skulls. I think they could have come up with a better idea than ramming glass, wood, and stone head-on to pop the pigs in heated revenge, but the game doesn't bother with such technicalities, so why should I?
Each bird, a total of more than five, has a different characteristic, activated by tapping the screen: the first is normal, another splits into three, and one even explodes (my personal favorite). With these tools, you'll topple the pig defenses and blow up the crowned pig-king. In the game there are three episodes and in each episode there are at least 45 levels, 15 to 21 on each screen, and in each of those levels there are certain types of birds attacking certain types of pigs. Once you pop every pig, you beat the level and can move on to the next one. Similarly, If you complete an entire episode, you continue to another set of levels. To keep you coming back for more, there is a rating from 1 to 3 stars in each level, which is earned through having enough points. You always want to try to destroy as much stuff with as few as possible birds in order to get three stars. More than that, there are actually secret, golden eggs strewn through random levels (and other places) that open up a crazier set of levels, designed to be more fun and silly than tough to beat.
As for how much fun it is to play, well, take my advice when I say it's best not to play it at work. Most of the levels are easy enough to beat and move on, but passing each level with one star (the lowest score) and rushing through the game was not for me. I wanted as many stars as I could get, and on account of this, many of the levels were incredibly frustrating. Still, with every victory comes a comparable wave of self-satisfaction that only the most masochistic of us can realize.
Easy to play, several birds to keep things interesting, and varying levels of varying difficulty makes Angry Birds well worth the money. In my most, apparently condescending, positive review, I recommend this game to anyone who has the time to waste. And, really, who doesn't?
Yes, Buy It! It's Worth Only One Dollar! Dope!
No comments:
Post a Comment