This week in mobile games is a pretty big one, mainly because of the release of one rather important sequel. You may have possibly heard once or twice of Angry Birds. It’s an app on Android and iOS, and it is getting a sequel today. For the two or three readers who have played this obscure title, we have a review of the sequel ready and waiting.
For those other readers who are not as interested in some game about launching birds, we have plenty of other titles for your consumption. No matter what platform you’re rocking, we have a cool free game for it. Android, iOS, and PC are all represented here at the Weekend Games Corner. So if you’re looking for some casual entertainment this weekend, look no further. We’ve got you covered.
Angry Birds Space (Android)
Angry Birds Space is the first real sequel to the market-destroying success that was the original Angry Birds. The App Store has produced many classic games, but none as addictive and wildly successful as a quirky game about launching wingless birds.
Needless to say, the sequel has a lot to live up to. Gamers won’t accept the same thing twice, either. ABS has to be somehow new and better than its predecessor in order to be successful. Knocking down pigs is great and all, but it does get old…
…Except in space. Like Super Mario Galaxy, Angry Birds Space abandons planet Earth for new adventures in the Final Frontier. Apparently the pigs become space mechs and the birds have to stop them by donning sunglasses to become the new Power Rangers. We have no idea what, if any, actual story is contained within ABS.
What is in the game is some rock-solid gameplay. Again like Super Mario Galaxy, Angry Birds Space riffs off of its own formula to create some incredibly creative moments. Those moments are pretty much summed up by the title. It’s the same bird-flinging gameplay that you know and love, but in space.
This time around the birds are launching themselves off of tiny planetoids toward the pigs. These microplanets exert gravity in small circles, which affects the path of birds in motion. They fly straight through space but are curved by planetary gravity.
This idea makes for some singularly awesome moments. Flinging a bird around one planet’s gravity into another’s to swing around and nail a dastadly pig is very cool. Other levels teach you the basics of satellite motion or what happens when two planets have overlapping gravity.
There are plenty of planets to go around, too. Angry Birds Space comes with loads of new levels and even a branching level path. If you get stuck on one set of levels, you can move on to the other. Throw in secret levels packed with references to classic retro gaming and you’ve got level design gold.
Angry Birds Space is simply one of the best games for Android we’ve had the pleasure to review. It’s free, has barely any advertisements, and is just a lot of fun. You’d have to be crazy to pass this one up.
Download Angry Birds Space
The Hunger Games: Girl on Fire
By now just about everybody in the United States has heard about yesterday’s release of the film adaption of The Hunger Games. First it was a best-selling children’s book, then a best-selling movie, and now it’s a decent iOS game.
To be honest, THG:GoF (how’s that for an awkward acronym?) feels more like a marketing tool than a fully-fleshed out game. It’s pretty telling that the app includes a page specifically for buying tickets to the movie.
That’s OK, though. Girl on Fire is still pretty fun, gameplay-wise. You play as an auto-running version of Katniss Everdeen as she sprints through the forest at admirably fast speeds. She is chased by giant flying wasps… yep.
The wasps can be killed by tapping them. Katniss launches an arrow in the direction of any touch. The game gets interesting when the wasps start firing back and bringing in new enemy types. Girl on Fire is fun in a sort of frantic, fast-paced way.
The old-school graphics are a subtle warning sign of the surprising part of this game- the difficulty. For an app intended as a tie-in to a children’s movie, Girl on Fire is hard. Success requires serious concentration and reflexes, just like old-school retro video games.
If a casual run-and-gun sounds like fun or you’re a Hunger Games superfan, Girl on Fire will be right up your alley.
Download The Hunger Games: Girl on Fire
You Are a Box
You Are a Box is a clever, humorous twist on traditional platforming games. Instead of controlling a protagonist and guiding him to a destination, you are a box. Shocking, we know.
The protagonist this time around is a brainless computer character named Nibbles. Nibbles is not very bright and needs your help to get across the screen. You (the player) control a box. This box can be moved and strategically deployed to save Nibbles from dying on his way to the finish.
We thought it was a lot of fun. The puzzles require some thought and experimentation to solve. The only issue was that too many of them required quick timing and fast movement over drawn-out thought and experimentation.
Still, that’s just a matter of personal preference. You Are a Box is an entertaining way to pass the time.
Play You Are a Box
This week’s games corner is dominated by Angry Birds Space. That’s to be expected when the most popular game for the mobile platforms makes the list. Have you played Angry Birds Space yet? Which other games did you like? Share you thoughts in the comments.
