Angry Birds Stella launched on iOS, Android and Blackberry devices today. Angry Birds has been hugely successful since its iOS launch in 2009. Since then it has been downloaded around 2 billion times and is available on most gaming platforms from smart phones to tablets and video-game consoles. It even has a spin off TV show.
If you've not played these games before they combine simple game-play where avian projectiles are flung at teetering towers with a comical aesthetic and low price.
The challenge for developer Rovio has been to keep the franchise fresh while not loosing the simplicity of their early games. In this light we have had a series of Angry Birds tie-in and spin-off games as well as the kart racing Angry Birds Go!, role play adventure Angry Birds Epic and now a "girl-friendly" experience with Angry Birds Stella.
Although many were skeptical of a "pinkified" version of the game that leveraged a line of Angry Birds Stella homely toys and characters, playing Angry Birds Stella soon placates some of these concerns.
The game plays much like previous Angry Birds games with players aiming different bird characters at the piggies hiding in the various structures. Here the Stella cohort of characters take center stage and don't shy away from the high impact exuberance of other games. Fears of a dress-up or home-making Angry Birds experience are allayed.
Stella is joined by Poppy, Luca, Willow, Dahlia and Gale. Each of the characters has a different ability in the game that enables them to solve the increasingly mind bending projectile problems. Levels can often be completed quite easily but to get the maximum score takes a lot longer.
These high scores are essential to unlock the different characters and abilities -- which each require a certain number of stars. These complement the game's other currency, coins, that enable you to buy extra lives and one-off power-ups. However, while coins can be topped up with real money, stars have to be earned.
This is where the Telepod toys come in. These miniature spherical figures can be placed in front of your tablet or smartphone camera to grant access to the related characters in the game. It's a nice way to offer some cross-over functionality and doubtless to sell more toys as well.
Interestingly, unlike Angry Birds Go! there doesn't currently seem to be an option to purchase the characters in the game without the toys. This is another positive step in my book as it keeps the value proposition of the toys simple as well as underlining the one-to-one relationship between physical and virtual avatars.
The game proceeds through a series of levels grouped initially to introduce different characters. As is the way of these games they start very easy and get harder -- in this case very slowly.
Although this can be a little tedious at first there is a pleasant rhythm to the action and the levels soon start to fly by. If you fail to dispose of the dastardly piggies in a particular stage you can simply try again. You can also buy additional attacks or lives if you have earned enough coins, or are willing to purchase more with real money.
In addition to the potentially costly purchasing of these coins, the app is also funding by adverts that run for 15 or so seconds before you can skip them every few levels. The repetitive nature of these short videos and having to wait before skipping can be a little tedious, although they do offer a chance to look up and make eye contact with those around you every so often.
There is a real sense of quality all round with Angry Birds Stella. From the title music to the characterization to the level design, Rovio have obviously invested a lot of care and attention on this project. Marry this with the toys themselves that not only offer a way to unlock characters in the game but provide different projectile and dress-up play schemes in the real world and you have an all round package for the younger gamer.
The next game in the series will be Angry Birds Transformers, which features toys that not only transform from cars to robots but also function as Telepods in the app.
