Angry Birds

Overview

Angry Birds is a puzzle video game originally designed for the multi-award winning iPhone and iPod touch series. The software has now transpired over to the record setting 3DS and has been developed by Rovio Mobile. The basis of the game is to fling a large sorting of different birds with different capabilities and special effects strategically at comic pigs positioned on different structures, aiming to destroy all the pigs on each level. The game remains one of the best selling apps of the past few years on iTunes and it's easy playability has meant it has been ported onto as many different hardwares including Android, iOS, and also home PCs and Mac computers.

Gameplay

Using their fingers or a stylus on a touch-enabled device, players pull back on a slingshot, launching specialised birds to destroy different strength green pigs and earn points. The pigs are protected on each level by various structures made from wood, ice or stone. The game has several types of birds that are unlocked as the player completes levels. Each of these birds have different special abilities. For example, a blue bird will split into three smaller birds and a black bird has a bomb function when tapped. The number and type of birds are pre-determined for each level. To advance further into the game, all of the pigs in a level must be destroyed. Extra points are earned by causing damage to the structures surrounding the pigs, and 10,000 points are awarded for each unused bird. Scoring in Angry Birds is on a one to three star scale. Depending on how many points you get, you'll get anywhere from one to three stars. The points required for each number of stars are relative to how many points are available in each level. For instance, if a level only has one bird, the requirements will be low because not many points are actually available in that level. Three stars is the highest amount, and there are achievements for getting three stars on every level.

Rewards

Every time you complete a level withing Angry Birds, not only will you get a score, but you will also get a stars. Depending on how well you did on that level. Also, completing certain objectives will unlock rewards in Angry Birds. A general online rank is given for each episode based on the cumulative score acquired from all stages in that specific episode. The rank is not numbered; rather, the rank shows the player's bar on a ladder. The higher up the player is on the ladder, the higher the rank the player has among other people who have played Angry Birds on their mobile device. Achievements are also unlocked for doing various things such as destroying 1000 pigs or getting a certain amount of cumulative score in an episode. Each achievement has its own point value, which, similarly to the Xbox 360, adds up to a cumulative score for the game. Golden eggs can also be unlocked in the game. Golden eggs are special levels in the game that can be unlocked either by doing a special task, finding one hidden among a level, or gaining three stars in all levels of an episode.

Release

Angry Birds is to be released as a downloadable title during 2012. Three versions of Angry Birds are to be available, mirroring the three releases on the iOS App Store. As well as the original version, "Angry Birds Seasons" and "Angry Birds Rio" will be released. "Angry Birds Seasons" features Halloween, Christmas and Valentine's Day themed levels. "Angry Birds Rio" is the third installment, based on the 20th Century Fox animated film, Rio. As well as featuring birds from the other versions, "Angry Birds Rio" is also expected to feature characters from the film. It is expected that Angry Birds will be released for the eShop some time during 2012. At one point people thought Angry Birds was cancelled due to no information etc but it has now been confirmed it has not been cancelled and will be coming in 2012.

Reception

Angry Birds has not been played by members of the public on the 3DS, but it has received generally positive reviews on other devices and has been downloaded over 50 million times, and has been included in the top 10 apps on the iTunes app store for over a year. Over time, Angry Birds has become something of a phenomenon, with over 100 million sales of it and its various versions across all platforms. As shown by the sales figures (approximately 1 person in 100 in the whole world has downloaded it), it is a highly popular game, one expected to gain even more downloads on the 3DS. Angry Birds has often been near the top of 3DS Buzz's list of greatest reader interest.

History

The game was first released for Apple's iOS in December 2009. Over 12 million copies of the game have been purchased from the iOS App Store, which has prompted the company to design versions for other touchscreen-based smartphones, including those using the Android, Maemo, webOS, and the Symbian^3 operating systems. Angry Birds has been released as a Playstation Mini game, which can be played on the PSP or Playstation 3. It has also been released on the Mac App Store.