Angry Birds (iPhone)

~Here we go!~

I am sure everyman and his dog has heard about this game by now, if not where have you been? I know most people will already know all they need to know about this iPhone application, but just in case you've been held in captivity and know nothing of this game, I have written all you would need to know just in case you were interested in purchasing.

Angry Birds, best selling, highest rated game on iTunes ever. The game was developed by Rovio Mobile and published by clickgamer Technologies LTD in 2009, it was last updated in July 2011 The size of the current 1.6.2 version is 15.7 MB and is available in many different languages. It is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requirements are IOS 3.0 or later.

~So What's It All About?~

It's about a bunch of birds that got real angry with the pigs that stole their eggs. They want revenge for this theft and so go about setting up a catapult on each and every level, so they can be catapulted across the screen and reek havoc on the little fortified castles the pigs have built around themselves in order to keep themselves safe. But, with the help of the human finger or thumb, their little places of safety can and will be destroyed, resulting in chaos for the pigs ending in ultimate and certain......death!

I have played this game on the computer, on a Tablet PC and now on my iPod Touch. The quality of the game is fabulous, the simplicity of operating the game is amazing, the sound effects and music are spot on, the addiction of this game is unhealthy, there should be a warning on this game, I play for a few minutes, which turns into an hour which turns into several hours.....I'm losing my life to this game, but I'm addicted, once I start playing it I can't stop.

~Angry Birds~

The Angry birds aren't just any old birds, no, they all have their own special force that they can and will use, in order to destroy all the enemy pigs and their fortified castles, where they thought they would be safe. The Angry Birds are too smart for the pigs......I have catapulted that many birds across each level that I have strained the thumb in which I use to catapult, but you have to remember, I have arthritis in my hands, so hours of Angry Birds is not really that advisable for me. But once addicted it is very hard to stop, so I battle on despite the pain. (Only Joking by the way, it doesn't hurt that much) I will not only get lots of points for destroying the nasty pigs, I will also get points for everything I destroy in the process, so whether their fortified castles are made of sticks, glass or concrete, I will strive to destroy as much as I possibly can, with the help of my heroes the "Angry Birds" and together we will be victorious!

~The Birds and More~

I love the birds they are my heroes, there are several different kinds of birds. We will start with the Red bird.

Red Bird-----The most basic of the lot, he doesn't really have any special force as such, I aim him in the direction I want him to go and sometimes, only on later levels I have found if the screen is tapped just before he hits his target, he will hit it slightly harder than normal, thus causing a little more damage than he usually would.

Blue Bird-----He is much smaller than the others but when I aim him in the direction I want him to go, I can tap the screen mid flight and he will split into 3, how cool is that? 3 birds for the price of one. Thus causing three times more damage than he would have done alone. But I have to be quick to tap the screen at the right moment otherwise they will all fly off, too high or even worse if I tap to late, the X3 is wasted and he just lands with a thud as a single little bird doing no damage at all. Such a waste.

Yellow Bird----He reminds me of a piece of cheese, or a pie piece in a game of Trivial Pursuit. He's a tough cookie, when I aim him to where I want him to go he flies fast, but once I tap the screen he flies even faster he dives in a downward motion at the exact time I tap the screen, with a very strong force, this is great for causing lots of destruction to the pigs and their castles.

Black Bird----I love the black bird, he is my favorite of all the birds, he's big and round and he's basically a bomb. As soon as I have let him go, if I tap the screen he will blow up, I love him but sometimes forget he's a bomb and tap the screen prematurely and he blows before I want him to. If I leave him to land within the pigs castle he will blow when he is ready, this is great as loads of damage is done with the black birds.

White Bird----Now then, the white bird looks somewhat peculiar in my opinion, Once I catapult the white bird he will fly where directed until I tap the screen to release an egg, strange but true, Once I have the white bird in the position I require I can tap the screen and he will immediately release an egg, so timing here is crucial. The white bird has to be exactly above where I need his egg to land in order to cause as much destruction as possible, lots of times I fail with the white birds, I find it hard to line it up most of the time. I'm not over keen on the white birds.

So I've introduced you to the birds in question, these are the heroes who I am working with, these little fellows are helping me to get through each and every level, killing and destroying the pigs as we go. Each new level gives me a new set of birds to play with, this is ok but I would like it better if I could choose the order in which I use them, as they all do different things and I have to logically work out exactly where I am to catapult each and every bird I am given, for each particular level, this can be quite frustrating at times because I find I need particular birds to do particular things and would get on better if I could choose the order myself. But I guess this just adds to the fun of the game. There are about 270 levels to get through on this game and each level tests my skill and precision, progressively getting more and more difficult, trying my patience a little more with each new level presented to me. I love the feeling when I complete a level, the feeling of accomplishment is great, especially when I have tried continuously for ages over and over again on one single level, getting more and more frustrated and wound up.....Who's more angry at this point me or the birds? It's difficult to tell I can assure you. But I can never be angry for long with this game because as soon as I turn it off totally frustrated with it, I want to turn it back on again as I don't want it to get the better of me........The pigs will not win!

~There's more~

It's not just about killing the pigs though, there are other things to aim for, one thing being the stars, on each level there's a chance for me to earn myself 3 stars, whether I get all 3 stars or not depends on how well I complete the level, it all depends on timing, the amount of birds I needed to use to complete the level etc. The better I do the more stars I will get. I have managed to get 3 stars quite often, but not all the time. There are those frustrating levels that take up so much of my time, that when I do finally manage to get through it, even if I got no stars I wouldn't care, just finishing some levels is accomplishment enough for me.

So to the golden eggs, these I randomly find hidden in certain levels, once collected they are stored and each one reveals a bonus level. There are seven of these golden eggs to find, I don't know when or where these are going to appear, this makes for more fun whilst I'm playing the game. There are 6 different sections to complete throughout the whole game, not including the golden egg levels.

Poached Eggs, this is the first of the six sections of the game which compromises 21 individual levels.
Mighty Hoax, the second section, compromises 21 individual levels also.
Danger Above, third section, compromises 15 individual levels as do all the rest.
The Big Set Up, number four.
Ham 'Em High, number five.
Mine And Dine, number six completes the sections, I need to complete in order to finish the game.

~And More~

At the end of each section I am greeted with a cut scene that takes me into the next section, like a little story, moving me along each and every section to the very end. Since the update in July I now have the option to wipe out all the nasty pigs with the help of the eagle eye. If I get so distressed with a level and I feel I cannot cope with it any longer I can tap the eagle eye situated on the screen and this causes an eagle to swoop in and wipe out all the pigs. I haven't used this option myself, so I don't know how effective it is, but I have spoken to others that have, who claim it can be a god send when your close to breaking point.

Sometimes the music really bugs me, but there is an option to mute so that's good. The birds each have their own distinctive sounds they make as they are catapulted across the screen, which at first is quite comical, but can get rather annoying after playing for a while. But not half as annoying as the pigs when they laugh at you if you fail. However if you win the level, you are immediately greeted with cheers from all the birds, it's great fun. Overall though the music and sound effects are really good, well I think so anyway. The game works perfectly on my iPod touch, I can't speak for the iPhone or iPad as I've not played the game on those devices, but I would imagine the game would play just as well, if not better on them. I really cannot fault this little game at all, apart from getting annoyed, irritated, wound up and sometimes ANGRY at it, the game is faultless.

~And Finally~

If you have an iPod touch or iPad or iPhone and you don't yet have this App. I would not wait a second longer, I would get straight to iTunes and download this App, but be warned you will become addicted, the game is just amazing, all you need to do is download it and your ready to play, it is so easy, the moment your finger touches that screen to play, you will be hooked, you will instantly know what you have to do and you will just do it, believe me I know and if I can do it, anyone can.

There are several other Angry Birds games to choose from now, which I will definitely be downloading, I won't be able to stop myself. At 69p for this Angry Birds App I really can't understand why everyone hasn't got it already. There are plush toys also, how cute is that, I want a black one but then again I wont just want one, I wont be satisfied till I've got them all.

~But, Oh Dear~

I can't help myself.......My name is Michelle and I'm an Angry Birds O'holic.....Phew, there I've done it, I've admitted it......it should get easier now.

Thank you for reading my review which may also be posted on other sites.