Angry Birds 2
| Angry Birds 2 | |
|---|---|
 App icon | |
| Developer(s) | Rovio Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Rovio Entertainment |
| Series | Angry Birds |
| Engine | Unity |
| Platform(s) | iOS, Android, Windows 10 |
| Release | July 30, 2015 (Android, iOS) August 15, 2019 (Windows 10) |
| 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
Like 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 the 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 defend, 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. Upgrading the slingshot also multiplies your score. Birds can be leveled up by gaining feathers of the respective birds and the slingshot can be leveled up by completing a hat set (hats are purchased by black pearls). 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 begins with five lives (or more by purchasing) and loses one if all cards have been used and at least one pig remains undefeated; once all five lives have been lost, the player must use gems, watch an advertisement or wait (30 minutes for each of the five 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, or it may also be an apple or a treasure chest. The player can only acquire it if they successfully completed the level. Occasionally, Golden Pigs may appear in some levels, which fills the "Destruct-o-meter" fully 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, avatars and many miscellaneous items can be earned from in-app purchases while only gems can be collected by completing daily quests. Also in the game, players can care for a Hatchling by getting an egg and naming it and have to wait or can pay some gems to speed it up, and collecting or buying apples to feed it which can also level it up and increase all birds' multipliers, but it needs to be fed regularly to let it stay.
The Arena is unlocked after reaching level 5. The concept of the Arena is similar to Angry Birds Friends. The players in the world were randomly divided into a batch of 15 and feathers were awarded to a particular bird according to the high score of each player in an endless level of same arena event which changed every day. After the Mount Evernest update, with the 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 events 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 a better score is awarded stars according to the margin of victory. Stars decide the 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 the top three in Arena.
Plot
After the events of Angry Birds, Chef Pig steals the eggs and puts them in an airship, leaving Red to gather the rest of the flock pursuing him and the rest of the pigs. After Chef Pig is defeated, the Foreman Pig takes over followed by the King Pig on defeat. It goes on to avoid the birds from recovering the eggs.
In other media
Silver, a bird who first appeared in the game, went on to appear in the animated film The Angry Birds Movie 2, voiced by Rachel Bloom. In that film, she is Chuck's sister, a skilled engineer and a potential love interest for Red.[4]
Promotions
Rovio uses new spells for promotional use which are similar to the 'Golden Duck' spell. These spells can be used until the completion of only one level and no other spell can be used on 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 win 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 were only available for a limited time.
The Gravity Grove update promoted The Angry Birds Movie by using the character appearances from the movie in the levels.
Reception
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 66/100[5] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| IGN | 6.7/10[6] |
| Pocket Gamer |    [7] |
| TouchArcade | [8] |
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.[9] 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."[6]
Three days after its release, Angry Birds 2 was downloaded over 10 million times; it is a free game on all platforms.[10] One week after its release, Angry Birds 2 was downloaded over 20 million times.[11] On August 6, 2015, the game was the number one downloaded iOS game in 100 countries and the most downloaded game on Android.[12]
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.
- ^ O'Connell, Sean. "Exclusive Angry Birds 2 Clip Introduces Audiences To Silver". CinemaBlend. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ "Angry Birds 2 for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ a b "Angry Birds 2 score". IGN. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
- ^ "Angry Birds 2 review PocketGamer".
- ^ Hodapp, Eli (31 July 2015). "'Angry Birds 2' Review – The Best, and Most Free to Play 'Angry Birds' Yet". TouchArcade. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "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.
