As avid Angry Birds fans since the game first left the nest in 2009 your Gadget Helpline team sadly began to feel that the format of the franchise has become very stale in recent times, with seemingly copy-and-paste updates from developer Rovio for both original and Seasons editions leaving us feeling the need for something a bit different. Even sending our furious friends into Space with the added challenge of some pretty crazy astro-physics, although an exciting addition on the outset, beamed out quickly, becoming just another Angry Birds fad.
Our enthusiasm was restored with added intrigue on hearing that the Angry Birds universe would be flipped on its feathery head and a follow-up was coming which would focus on those villainous swines who get the Angry Birds so aggrieved, and today we finally got to grips with Bad Piggies.
Firing up the Bad Piggies HD game for Apple iPad we’re presented with a bright and cartoony opening screen and it’s clear we’re still very much in the world of Angry Birds – it’s just a lot greener! Everything is laid out as you would expect and the interface is one very familiar to Angry Birds players. On to the action and we’re into your typical landscape, but instead of the usual slingshot and choice of avian ammo there’s a number of squares with a row of items below – as well as one Bad Piggy!
The idea here is to construct a vehicle from the parts provided, some of which are recognisable from the crude fortresses built by the porkers in previous games, using the boxes to position the components in a suitable configuration for the task ahead. Letting your chariot of chaos loose will send it on a path of destruction, racing down dips, jumping over ramps and hopefully delivering the pig to a finish line at the end of the course within the specified period of time. It does however take an eagle eye to survey the landscape to adjust your plans for all the little divots that could disastrously derail you!
As the levels progress in difficulty the simple box and wheel combos can be connected with a total of 33 items including bombs, bottle rockets and fans to create imaginative, fast moving and high flying contraptions used for collecting assorted bonuses found in starred boxes. These bonuses contain tips and time extensions to allow you a little longer to design your perfect device and ensure the pig arrives safely at its destination. If you crack or snap your vehicle you’ll not be able to grab all three of those highly desired stars (those are back too just like in early Angry Birds games).
The Bad Piggies game is a little bit bonkers to begin with and the creation of your vehicle takes a little getting used to (a lot like the contraptions in Rovio’s other recent release, Amazing Alex), but really with this one the fun is in the experimentation. Even if you blow it, it’s still amusing to put together the multiple variations of machinery to see how they handle the crazy courses, and if you’re still not that trusting of the Bad Piggies after their early egg-stealing ways, it’s just great fun sending them on their collision course!
Bad Piggies HD is released today complete with 60 levels to test you through the App Store for Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch as well as the Google Play store for your favourite Android smartphones and tablets.
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