Angry Birds 2 Review: The Return of Angry Birds to Your Smartphones

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The second part of the popular arcade game, which conquered more than one hour of mobile users' time six years ago, turned out to be overly predictable. The company reports costs in the millions of dollars and took two years to develop. The editors of "MacRadar" spent several hours destroying the fortifications of the pigs and learned how original and different the new product is from its predecessor.

Rovio's creative directors would like to erect a monument. Finnish developers managed to stretch the successful original series into 13 thematic variations, starting with Star Wars and Rio with changed decorations, ending with Go or Epic with radically different gameplay. The total number of downloads is even more impressive: in total, applications have been downloaded 3 million times. Six years later, Rovio decided to go back to basics and presented the second part of the already cult game.

In automotive terms, Angry Birds 2 is a deep facelift than a new game. The second part is the same story about birds fighting against pigs, constantly stealing their eggs. There are three significant changes in the new product: graphics, gameplay and monetization.

The first launch of the game provides an answer to the question where the “several million dollars” mentioned at the presentation went. The designers have tried, and in some places even overdid it. The novelty looks colorful and spectacular: the graphics have received a cartoon style, and the physics has become more realistic. The destructibility of the surrounding world has also increased, the explosions are sometimes so detailed that they cause slowdowns even on the productive iPhone 5s and 6.

Angry Birds 2 consists of 240 levels, evenly distributed over 9 sections, and in every fifth mission a boss battle awaits you. Each location has its own characteristics, which are not only in the scenery, but also in hidden assistants. At first, these are flowers, which, when hit by birds or other objects, throw them at a certain distance. In the second location, this role is played by fans, which interfere or, conversely, help to pass the level, giving acceleration to the birds and destroyed elements of structures.

Also, missions now consist of several locations, the number of which increases as the game progresses. First, there are two, and the maximum number is five. In addition, the developers removed the clear sequence of birds, giving the player the opportunity to independently build tactics and choose the desired bird. This is done in the format of cards, of which a limited number is allocated for each mission. The game also provides bonus birds, which you will receive as soon as the "rupture meter" scale is filled.

The presence of bosses is another feature of Angry Birds 2. To complete the task, you will have to be smart and come up with a way to push them off the cliff, undermine or collapse a bunch of stones on them. The only criticism is how they are woven into the plot, if this concept is applicable to the game. When one boss is destroyed, the second one simply intercepts the precious eggs and flies away. After the second iteration, these animations and confronting the big pigs start to get boring.

The familiar family of birds in the novelty was replenished with the Serebryanka, which, after making a loop, dives down and breaks through any material. Skills also come to the aid of the player, which, for example, cause rain from ducks or turn all stone structures into ice. In addition to the campaign, Angry Birds 2 now has an Arena mode. This competition with other players opens after level 25 and invites you to score as many points as possible with an equal number of birds.

Monetizing a new product is its main drawback. Now you won't be able to go through the same mission over and over again, trying to break your record, restart a difficult mission many times and play Angry Birds for hours. You are lured by easy levels, which very soon become really difficult. Then they try to siphon money out of you to buy in-game crystals or extra lives. Of course, you can go through the game without investing money, but in order to restore one heart to restart the mission, you will have to wait half an hour. It's free, but I'd rather pay once and get rid of the intrusive in-app purchases.