Angry Birds 2
| Angry Birds 2 | |
|---|---|
| File:Angry Birds Under Pigstruction icon.jpg The app icon | |
| Developer(s) | Rovio Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Rovio Entertainment |
| Series | Angry Birds |
| Engine | Unity |
| Platform(s) | iOS, Android |
| Release | July 30, 2015 |
| Genre(s) | Puzzle |
Angry Birds 2 is a 2015 puzzle video game developed by Rovio Entertainment as the twelfth game in the Angry Birds series, and is the direct sequel to the original Angry Birds. It is free-to-play with optional purchases for in-game currency. The gameplay features a new bird named Silver, spells instead of power-ups and gameplay occurs in multi-stage levels. It was soft-launched in Canada on March 5, 2015, as Angry Birds Under Pigstruction,[1] released for iOS and Android worldwide on July 30, 2015, and the name was changed to Angry Birds 2.[2]
Gameplay
Just as in the original Angry Birds, players use a slingshot to launch birds at nearby structures; a key difference in Angry Birds 2 is the ability to select birds of desired choice from a deck. This can give the player more freedom by allowing the creation of their own unique strategies. The main enemies of the game are green-colored pigs of varying sizes and abilities to defense, who can be defeated by hitting them with birds or objects.
Individual birds and spells are represented on cards. Tapping on a card will select it, placing its contents on the slingshot for launching. Players increase their score by destroying objects and pigs and leveled up birds multiply the score. Birds can be leveled up by gaining feathers of the respective birds. The "Destruct-o-meter" fills up during play and if it gets full, a random card will be given to the player. Only three cards can be displayed at a time; the rest appear in the deck. The player loses a life if all cards have been used and at least one pig remains undefeated without the use of gems to continue the level; once five lives have been lost, the player must use gems, watch an advertisement or wait (30 minutes for each of the 5 lives) until the lives are refilled.[3]
Levels include multiple waves of pigs, which progress through separate structures. Bosses will appear on some levels, and require the complete depletion of the boss's health bar in order to defeat it. Spells are disabled for boss levels.
Gifts are randomly located in the levels. Hitting blue gifts allows the player to send a gift to a friend through Facebook. Hitting red gifts will reward the player gems or bird feathers. Occasionally, Golden Pigs may appear in some levels, which fills the "Destruct-o-meter" when they are popped. They are not required to go to the next stage though, but are helpful to get one extra card irrespective of destruction caused. The game may be connected to Facebook to backup scores and play in the arena. Gems, lives and avatars can be earned from in-app purchases while only gems can be collected by completing daily quests.
Arena is unlocked after reaching level 5, the concept of Arena is similar to Angry Birds Friends. The players in the world were randomly divided in a batch of 15 and feathers were awarded to a particular bird according to the high score of each player in endless level of same arena event which changed every day. After the Mount Evernest update, with same division of players, the arena became a six-day-long tournament where the rewards were gems instead of feathers. The endless levels of arena event are now randomly given and not fixed for a particular day and multiple events can be played in a day. Instead of player playing alone for a high score, now the player competes with a randomly chosen opponent and one with better score is awarded stars according to the margin of victory. Stars decide ranks of the players. The top three move up a league and bottom three go down one league. Players also get medals if they finish in top three in Arena.
Episodes
| # | Area | Location | Release date | New Mechanics | New Features | Number of levels | Number of boss levels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cobalt Plateaus | Feathery Hills | July 30, 2015 | Flowers suck and redirects objects falling on it | Red (structures topple with its battle cry), The Blues (attacks as a trio by splitting), and Chuck (speeds up), Chef Pig, Foreman Pig and King Pig, Golden Duck (rains ducks from the sky) and Blizzard (turns all blocks into ice) | 15 (1–15) | 3 |
| 2 | Pig City | New Pork City | July 30, 2015 | Fans that blow objects away from it | Matilda (drops an explosive egg), Silver (loops then strikes), Bomb (explodes), Hot Chili (makes Pigs explode), Pig Inflator (makes Pigs inflate), and Umbrella Pig (floats down gently) | 20 (16–35) | 3 |
| 3 | Bamboo Forest | Eggchanted Woods | July 30, 2015 | Portals teleport objects from one place to another through a particular colored path | Terence (strongest, needs no ability), Portals, and Magic Pig (turns the Birds into various objects) | 25 (36–60) | 3 |
| 4 | Cobalt Plateaus | Chirp Valley | July 30, 2015 | N/A | Mighty Eagle (pops all the pig in an instant, also falls down unsupported structures), Rocket Pig (blasts upward when in danger then parachutes down) | 30 (61–90) | 3 |
| 5 | Pig City | Shangham | July 30, 2015 | N/A | Construction Pig (throws screwdrivers) | 30 (91–120) | 3 |
| 6 | Bamboo Forest | Greasy Swamp | July 30, 2015 | N/A | Firefighter Pig (can instantly burn Birds) | 30 (121–150) | 3 |
| 7 | Cobalt Plateaus | Greenerville | July 30, 2015 | N/A | N/A | 30 (151–180) | 3 |
| 8 | Pig City | Steakholm | July 30, 2015 | N/A | N/A | 30 (181–210) | 3 |
| 9 | Bamboo Forest | Misty Mire | July 30, 2015 | N/A | Wizard Pig (shoots projectiles in an arc) | 30 (211–240) | 3 |
| 10 | Pig City | Pigsyland | August 26, 2015 & September 15 |
Trampolines/Bumpers bounce objects at specific angles | Magician Pig (changes places when in danger) | 40 (241–280) | 6 |
| 11 | Bamboo Forest | Snotting Hill | October 8, 2015 & October 23 |
Slime | Objects falling on the slime gets stuck and directed along a path | 40 (281–320) | 6 |
| 12 | Cobalt Plateaus | Fluttering Heights | November 12, 2015 & November 26 |
N/A | Chemist Pig (swaps materials [ice, wood, stone] when popped) | 40 (321–360) | 6 |
| 13 | Cobalt Plateaus | Mount Evernest | December 17, 2015 & December 31 |
Steam Geyser and Ice | Steam geysers blow away objects when its cover is popped and Ice slowly slides away objects on it | 40 (361–400) | 6 |
| 14 | Pig City | Ham Francisco | January 14, 2016 & January 28 |
N/A | Fiery Red Pig (explodes when popped) | 40 (401–440) | 6 |
| 15 | Cobalt Plateaus | Pig Bay | February 11, 2016, February 26 & March 11 |
Water (exerts buoyant force on objects) | Rubber-Ducked Pig (stays afloat), Diver Pig (can stay underwater) | 60 (441–500) | 9 |
| 16 | Bamboo Forest | Gravity Grove | March 26, 2016 & April 7 |
Tractor Beams | Beam's pull holds objects in an anti-gravity manner | 40 (501–540) | 6 |
| 17 | Pig City | The Pig Apple | April 21, 2016 & May 5 |
N/A | N/A | 40 (541–580) | 6 |
| 18 | Cobalt Plateaus | The Hamalayas | May 19, 2016 & June 2 | N/A | Astronaut Pig (temporarily disables gravity on objects around him when popped) | 40 (581–620) | 6 |
| 19 | Bamboo Forest | Madagooscar | June 16, 2016 & June 30 | N/A | N/A | 40 (621–660) | 6 |
Promotions
Rovio uses new spells for promotional use which are similar to 'Golden Duck' spell. These spells can be used until completion of only one level and no other spell can be used in that particular level. These spells are available for a limited time and change with ongoing events.
The ongoing festivities are also promoted by specially designed levels which gives a premium treasure box in return if the players wins it. Only one attempt is given for this level. This started on February 14, 2016 which promoted Valentine's Day through a specially designed level. These levels are only available for a limited time.
The Gravity Groove update promoted The Angry Birds Movie by using the character appearances from the movie in the levels.
Reception
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 66/100[4] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| IGN | 6.7/10[5] |
| Pocket Gamer UK | 7/10[6] |
| TouchArcade |  [7] |
The game has received mixed reviews. Pocket Gamer gave the game a 7/10, feeling that the gameplay was a step forward in puzzle design and the graphics were gorgeous; however, it did not like the energy system that, after failing to complete a few levels, either makes the player stop playing or use gems to continue playing; overall the website thought the game was Rovio at its best.[8] IGN awarded it a score of 6.7 out of 10, saying "Ever-shifting levels and limited lives take a lot of the fun out of smashing pigs with birds in Angry Birds 2."[5]
Three days after its release, Angry Birds 2 was downloaded over 10 million times; it is a free game on all platforms.[9] One week after its release, Angry Birds 2 was downloaded over 20 million times.[10] On August 6, 2015, the game was the number one downloaded iOS game in 100 countries and the most downloaded game on Android.[11]
References
- ^ "New Angry Birds Game Soft Launches in Canada". 5 March 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- ^ Ashcraft, Brian (July 16, 2015). "Angry Birds 2 Will Be Released This Month". Kotaku. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
- ^ "Angry Birds Under Pigstruction has multi-stage levels, a competitive Arena, and boss fights". Retrieved 10 March 2015.
- ^ "Angry Birds 2 review for iOS".
- ^ a b "Angry Birds 2 score". IGN. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
- ^ "Angry Birds 2 review PocketGamer".
- ^ "'Angry Birds 2' Review".
- ^ "Angry Birds 2 review". Retrieved 31 July 2015.
- ^ "Angry Birds 2 tops 10 million". 3 August 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ "Angry Birds 2 downloaded more than 20 million times". 6 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ "Angry Birds passes 20 million downloads in one week". 6 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
