Graphics, Music, Presentation
While Angry Birds’ level design is king, it’s complemented well by its visual appeal and presentation. Graphically, it’s not pushing the boundaries of the hardware, nor does it have to. Instead of flash and glamor, you have a cartoon style that borders on simplistic, and actually gives the visuals a Saturday morning cartoon feel. It certainly makes it easy to get in to, being so aesthetically friendly. It serves it well, though, as the visuals keep the framerate silky smooth with nary a slowdown. When the birds go crashing into walls and causing a ruckus, sending shrapnel of bits and pieces around, everything is presented so cleanly that it makes it even more enjoyable to replay some of the more, explosive levels
Angry Birds is wickedly simple to learn, yet its not in the nuances of control that makes it a challenging and fun experience. Its addictiveness comes from its level design, and a heavy emphasis on chain reactions, and figuring which bird can do the job of starting said chain reaction to let the next bird take it from there. At the start of a level, one has a predetermined amount of birds at their disposal to try and destroy the green pig’s fortifications (I’ll spare you the reasoning behind this fowl and swine conflict, it’s all window dressing to give meaning to the proceedings). You also have a slingshot to fling the many variety of birds that you’ll have to use, but the caveat is that you can’t choose what bird goes in what order–you’ll have to use the birds given to you and the order that they provide. Which you’ll have to figure what part of the fortification you’ll go after first. Each fortified building or structure is made up of different elements. Some parts are made of stone, while others are made of ice and wood. The hodgepodge of materials to bust up present their own types of challenges to work around. In order to succeed, you must find a chink in the armor, and see where to fling your birds to exploit that deficiency. Ice and wood are easily breached, but the tougher stone slabs will take a couple of beatings before they fall, depending on the bird being thrown.
That said, this sort of gameplay can lead to a lot of trial-and-error, repetitive play. In order to get at all the green pigs in each level, you have to work through their fortified locations, but having that task can be tough considering the possibilities and options of your attack. It makes for some interesting situations, and it comes down to some small amount of planning if you want to avoid that sort of trial-and-error approach. Looking at the structure in front of you and assessing what part to attack first with the first bird in your hands will make it a more cerebral, and ultimately, satisfying experience. What adds more to the experience is the sheer inventive level designs that you’ll have to overcome to beat the game. I have to give props to Rovio in creating a magnificent, Rube Goldberg-esque, set of levels to play. The first initial levels are your basic forays to get you in-tune with the birds abilities. Those first levels wont impress you, and to be honest, pale greatly to the sort of mad scientist contraptions you’ll encounter in later stages. They’re fantastic, and really add to that element of surprise and eagerness to move on to the next level. Setting explosions in motion that create chain reactions of destruction is ultimately satisfying and never gets old. It brings the eight-year-old in all of us that loved to knock down the wood block castles of our own making.
In short, Angry Birds succeeds best when it’s about solving the puzzle of the structure to knock down. Taking an approach of discovery to find the right path of destruction is what really makes the game tick, and I can see why it’s such an instant favorite to gamers out there. It’s a simple formula that yields great challenges. In the grand scheme of gaming things, you can’t beat that.