1st Impressions

I’m probably one of the few reviewers of iOS games that hasn’t played Angry Birds. Considering how long it has been on the top of the sales charts, I may be the only one with an iPhone to have never played it. But, after recommendations from multiple people, I decided to give Angry Birds Halloween a whirl a week before the holiday and see what all the hoopla was about. And boy am I glad I did.

Angry Birds Halloween is a $0.99 sequel to the grossly popular Angry Birds franchise. Published by Chillingo, this title has been everywhere. It is on multiple platforms and there is even talk of plush toys and movies. And for good reason. The Halloween sequel to Angry Birds has 45 levels exclusive to the iOS platform that have a decidedly spooky theme to them. At its core, the Angry Birds game play is reminiscent of the old games where you shoot cannons or missiles at a target by determining the correct trajectory. In this case though, you are shooting birds (seven types) from a fixed slingshot at a construction containing pumpkins and pigs. Once your “bird” hits the target, physics takes over and angle and force of impact come into play to hopefully collapse it. The different bird types act different ways. For example, tapping the screen somewhere between the launch and impact of the bird will make it split into multiple projectiles, speed up, or even explode. Destroying all the pumpkins before you run out of “ammo”, and doing it with the least number of shots possible, finishes the level and determines your score. There is a nice trailer for the game on YouTube that will show you a good teaser for the overall experience.

It is hard to put my finger on exactly what makes this little game so enjoyable. I’d have to say it is a combination of great graphics, great sound effects, simple game play, and fulfilling sense of destruction. The game definitely gets five-stars from me and makes me run right out and purchase the regular Angry Birds title….if I had the self control to put the game down long enough to go to the app store. LOL