(minis) Angry Birds

Posted 2 years ago By - Marko Djordjevic

Chances are that if you own a mobile device, especially an iPhone or iPod touch, you’ve played - or at least heard of - Angry Birds. The game which achieved mainstream success in 2010 has made its way onto the PSP and PS3 as a PS Minis release. While it might be the pricier version available, it still delivers the same addictive gameplay that can be enjoyed in short bursts or have you easily losing track of the time.

For the few of you unfamiliar with Angry Birds, it is a catapult-based puzzle game that has you taking your Bird characters and launching them towards various placements which are populated with green pigs. The objective is to use as few birds as possible to destroy the structures and eliminate the pigs. The concept is simple; though each puzzle has a different designs which requires various strategies in order to succeed.

You’ll begin with a basic red bird, but as you play through, additional birds - such as those that can explode, drop bombs or speed through the sky - will become available. Each has their own pros and cons against the various materials used to make the different structures. Placements are built using materials that include glass, concrete and wood. While fast-moving birds can crush through wood, the moment they hit concrete, they stops dead in their tracks.

There are over two hundred puzzles to be tackled. The great thing about Angry Birds is that each is relatively short, but mastering them all will take a while. Since physics is involved, you can sometimes luck out and complete a puzzle using a single bird. Alternatively, there are those that will require a few attempts before success is achieved.

The controls are extremely simple. Whereas the iPhone version was touch based, here, the analog nub/stick is used for aiming. You can either flick the stick in the opposite direct to launch your birds or use the X button if that’s more to your liking. While flicking the stick works for the most part, for those who don’t wish to risk making a mistake, the X button is a suitable alternative. It also is used to trigger the abilities of specific birds. The only other buttons you’ll use are the L and R buttons to pan and scan the larger puzzles.

As far as audio and eye candy are concerned, Angry Birds retains everything from its mobile relative. Everything from the quirky looks of each bird to the weird quawks and oinking present and accounted for. One problem I did have was that some levels experienced serious frame rate issues, especially those stages with a lot going on. Not every level suffers from this problem, but those that do, you can really notice the stuttering.

Other than that, the only other concerns that hamper this version of Angry Birds is the price and the lack of any sort of online integration. For the former, the fact that you can pick up a mobile version for a dollar hurts when comparing to this four dollar edition. There is a scoring system but considering the lack of online integration for all Minis, this feels out of place. It would be nice to see how well you score in comparison to other people, but that just isn’t possible unless you’re sharing the same system.

Conclusion

This is still the addictive game that so many people, both gamers and non-gamers alike, have lost plenty of hours on. The use of the Analog Stick actually works in favor of those folks with stubby fingers or who find touch controls a bit too imprecise at times. If you haven’t experienced Angry Birds, want to and don’t have an iPhone/iPod, then you won’t be disappointed with this edition of the game.