Nerdlocker! – Angry Birds Rio Review

A game about an upset flock of birds who’ve forgotten they can fly teaming up with a bird that’s too afraid to. Yes, it’s much more awesome than it sounds.
Last year, mobile and casual gaming were hit with a juggernaut. Just about everyone with a smartphone or an Ipod touch has experienced the awesomeness of the angry birds application. Like many great games in history, the plot makes no sense. Birds are greatly upset, structures holding unsuspecting and immobile enemies stand in their way, and firing themselves out of a slingshot to destroy them seems like the most logical solution. The simple controls, addictive play, incredible difficulty, and unbeatable price has won over millions. To put this in perspective: my favorite xbox game of 2010 was Mass Effect 2, which cost me sixty dollars and gave me about 40 hours of play all in all. I spent one dollar on angry birds and, roughly estimating the time spent playing while I traveled, chilled, and toilet…ed? (don’t act like you haven’t), about 75 hours of play came from it. On a mathematical standpoint, Angry Birds is around 113 times better than Mass Effect 2. Anyone that’s earned a dollar lately, can experience the new Angry Birds adventure set in the upcoming movie Rio.
As much as I hate movies from Twentieth Century Fox (Ghost Rider, Avatar, Jumper), and as much as everyone hates video games based on movies (almost every one ever), I have to admit Fox has been a part of the only movie games I’ve ever really enjoyed: X-men Origins:Wolverine, and this one. The extra money here is incredibly evident. The animations, background, and scoring are noticeably better looking than the originals. The music and sound effects are familiar, but changed enough that I want to attend the party it’s playing at. The story here is a bit deeper. Instead of revenge upon limbless swine, your goals are a bit more varied and focused. The angry birds bust out of their cage in a warehouse, while the more level-headed fowl are in need of rescue. Once again, slingshot first and ask questions later. After a warehouse escape, you’re on the run from monkeys, lots of monkeys. These prove to be a bit more fun than the pigs, but the real change here comes in difficulty. Chains and lights on the ceiling in the warehouse will mess up your shots on a regular basis. While the monkeys ability to hang on walls and correct themselves while falling make them much more irritating than those dirty green hogs. And the most fun in these first sixty levels are capstoned by a boss level with a moving target. These new challenges make the game much more fun and are a welcome next step in the franchise. There are only sixty levels here but assumed 120 more coming between now and November. Basically, there isn’t a single person on this planet I won’t be suggesting this game to. For one dollar you can enjoy hours of pure, family friendly, addictive, and frustrating fun without lugging your console about. It’s a five out of five game and is going to replace all the reading material in your bathroom (until Zelda on the 3DS comes out.)