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screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET
Yes, those Angry Birds are back again but this time in a sequel to the original game.
Available for iOS and Android, Angry Birds 2 tries to outdo the original with new graphics, multi-stage levels, boss pigs and even greater destruction, according to Angry Birds maker Rovio.
“Angry Birds 2 doubles down on the core tenets of the original that our fans loved: destruction and more destruction!” the game’s creative director Patrick Liu said in a blog posted on Thursday. “At the same time it adds a whole new layer of emergent strategy gameplay for both old and new fans to master.”
In Angry Birds 2, you can choose which bird you want to next hurl at the pigs. But the bird you choose determines how well you fare at crashing into your nemeses. You can even score extra birds if you crash into enough pigs and blocks to fill up the game’s Destruct-O-Meter. The pigs themselves have also gotten smarter as they’re able to build challenging new towers on Piggy Island, making it even harder to bring them down.
At this point, Rovio is pretty much a one-trick point. Though the company has released other games, Angry Birds remains its bread and butter with new versions, toys, board games and even a cartoon series that ran for two seasons. But with just one major title to market and merchandise, the company hasn’t been doing well lately. Last December, Rovio announced that it would cut around 110 jobs from its global workforce. The company reported a 9 percent drop in revenues last year, according to BBC News, prompting the question: Has Rovio become too reliant on Angry Birds?
The new sequel has also garnered some criticism as it requires in-app purchases to revive a character, BBC News said. Otherwise, you have to wait around half an hour for your characters to “regenerate.”
So what else does the new game offer?
You can use bizzards, hot chilis and golden ducks to try to outwit the pigs. And such spells and other skills will be needed to defeat the new boss piggies, including Foreman Pig, Chef Pig and King Pig, who are all intent on keeping your eggs. Further, you can go online to play the game against other people.
Angry Birds 2 is optimized for the iPhone 5, iPad 3, iPad mini 2 and iPod Touch 5G or newer devices. Rovio says you can try it on older devices but the bird flinging might not be as smooth.
For Angry Birds fans, the gameplay remains fun, and the new features in the sequel make the game more challenging. The key questions remain, though: Are people still interested in Angry Birds enough to download the sequel and pay for the in-app purchases? Or is it time for Rovio to find a new act?
