Saturday, October 2, 2010

Angry Birds

The manfriend and I have discovered something new to do in bed as a couple, and it kept us up well past our bedtimes last night.

It's called Angry Birds, and it's simply the awesomest game ever for the iPad. I have certain standards for video games. I don't like being shot at too much. I don't like games where there's pressure on me to do things quickly or with great coordination. I don't like games that take themselves too seriously. Nothing too gory. Or mindless. I like puzzle and strategy games, basically. My favorite from childhood is a pyramid exploration game for the Macintosh called Scarab of Ra. Shadowgate was cool too, but the torch burning down stressed me out. Favorite finds of the past few years have been the perplexingly awesome Katamari Damacy, the Rhem games (similar to Myst), and Machinarium. Holy crap. Machinarium. So wondrous. If you're reading this, you probably have a computer, so you can download and play it. Do so now! Or at least play the free demo. If it weren't enough that it's fun and challenging, it's utterly gorgeous. Great way to pass a blizzardy indoor weekend this winter.

But I'm getting off topic. Angry Birds! Yes, the fact that its heroes are round birds doesn't hurt its case for me. But beyond that it's just super simple and fun and addictive. It's available for the iPad, iPhone, and a beta version is available for some non-Apple smart phones. If you buy the full HD version it'll cost you as much as a glass of wine and it's worth every penny, plus a two-dollar tip.

Basically, you slingshot little round cartoon birds at funky constructions made of wood, ice, and stone, trying to vanguish smug green pigs. There's a bit of strategy to it, because you have to do some reasoning to figure out which bit of the structure to target. Here's the one-minute trailer:



But even if that looks fun, it's not even a quarter as fun as actually playing it. I can't vouch for the gaming experience on a phone, but if you have an iPad, I highly recommend you download it. If you don't love it, there's something wrong with you.

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