Now Playing: Angry Birds Star Wars

I, along with many other people on this planet who own a smartphone, am completely addicted to Angry Birds. For those of you out there still in denial don’t be afraid to admit it. Better yet let’s take a moment to reflect on that addiction statement I made, and then I’ll move on…Ok, good. Now that we got that out of the way let’s move on because I want to talk about the new Angry Birds game. Yes, there’s another however this new pig busting game now features one my favorite franchises. Star Wars! Yes, two popularly “milked” franchises have come together into one game and the result is pure addictive awesomeness.

PROS:

Loving The Star Wars Theme
With the Original Trilogy as the backdrop, Angry Birds Star Wars once again brings it’s classic destructive style with a Star Wars twist. Stages are set in places like Tatooine and the Death Star. Dagobah (Path of the Jedi) is available for a small fee while Hoth will be available later as free DLC. Even the birds themselves are styled after popular characters including Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Princess Leia. R2-D2 and C-3PO show up in bonus stages. The pigs are styled as Stormtroopers, Tie Fighters, and even Darth Vader himself. The story is told through cutscenes and there’s a moment where Han encounters Greedo. Yes, even in the Angry Birds universe, Han shoots first!

The Red Bird Has A Powerup?
In every Angry Birds game the red bird is usually nothing but your average bird with no special abilities making him rather useless compared to the others. Not here in Angry Birds Star Wars. The red bird is Luke Skywalker, and once he meets up with Obi-Wan Kenobi he gets a lightsaber. Now he can slice through walls and take down enemies in style. The red bird is useful for once as he joins a group that includes Obi-Wan’s force ability, Han’s blaster skills, Chewie’s Wookie brawn, and so much more.

Still The Same Addictive Angry Birds Game
Nothing’s changed in the game’s formula except for the characters and abilities. Angry Birds Star Wars is a combination of the original games along with Angry Birds Space released earlier this year. The Mighty Falcon also makes a return as well, but with a Star Wars twist becomes the Millenium Falcon shooting down everything in it’s path. Rovio basically takes the approach of “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, but you can always improve it.” Once I started playing I couldn’t stop as time flew by all around me while I was too busy trying to score three stars on each stage.

CONS:

Day One DLC?
Are you kidding me? Along with all the Star Wars goodness that I have, there’s a section called “Path of the Jedi” which takes place on Dagobah. Here Yoda will teach Luke the ways of the Force along with the ability for the red bird hero, Luke Skywalker, to branish a new lightsaber. Ok, while all this sounds cool the only problem I had with this is the fact that it’s an in-app purchase of $1.99. Sure it’s more levels (tough levels by the way), but to me it’s sort of an insult considering the fact that I just spent $2.99 on the game. C’mon man.

IN CONCLUSION

Who would’ve thought that Angry Birds would venture to “A Galaxy Far, Far Away” and be this much fun. Then again when is an Angry Birds game not fun? Rovio and Lucasarts combine forces to make a gem of a game that’s fun for everyone. Of course there’s that other part about bringing down office productivity and not wanting to spend time with the family because your trying to get three stars on a level thats kicking your ass. Angry Birds Star Wars is great for fans of either milked series along with anyone who likes a fun casual game. Beware, it does get very addictive.

May The Force Be With You.

Developer: Rovio, Lucasarts
Platform: iPad, iPhone
Players: 1
Price: $2.99 (99 cents on iPhone)

Baseball Superstars 2 Review: Pitching A Mean Curveball

Pros:
Gameplay Is Fun And Addictive
Tons Of Replay Value

Cons:
Difficult Learning Curve For Simplistic Game
Batting Can Be Frustrating

Review Based on Version 1.0

Baseball Superstars, from Gamevil, was a huge hit for iPhone and iPad players. How do you follow it up? With a sequel of course. Baseball Superstars 2 brings back everything you loved about the first game. With all the greatness of the original game returning I should mention that there are a few issues that hamper the experience just a bit. However, I should also mention that this game is free so don’t let a few technicalities get in the way of the addictive fun that you will have.

When you first start playing Baseball Superstars 2, you’ll think this is just a baseball game. Well it’s more than just baseball. This game also has deep RPG elements that enhance the gameplay in between games. Throughout your experience with the game you’ll be improving your team, acquiring new players, and increase popularity for your team with things like TV exposure. You can even make your players into beastly versions of themselves as they smash balls out of the park or record tons of strikeouts at the mound. No steroids have been used on these players.

Baseball games on consoles and PC have become rather complex throughout the years. I’ve noticed this and it’s turned me off to them. Of course the steroids issue turned me off to actual baseball years ago, but I find myself coming back rather slowly. Baseball Superstars 2 takes the complexity right out of the game and strips it down to it’s most basic elements. That would be pitching, batting, and simplistic fielding. Baseball Superstars 2 brings me back to the old Sega Genesis days of me playing RBI Baseball and World Series Baseball. Those games were all about fun and that is a big plus in my book. Let me go ahead and break it down for you.

When pitching, you get a variety of pitches to choose ranging from the typical fastball, curve, change-up, slider, and sometimes even a unique pitch that can really confuse the batter. You’ll also choose where you want the pitch to go in the strike-zone. It’s that easy! Batting is as simple as swinging away or using a bunt to advance the base runners. Fielding is also pretty simple. There’s no need to run to the ball or catching because all of that is automatic. Pop flys will be caught by the computer. The only thing you’ll control is where to throw the ball. The end result is that the touchscreen controls are brilliant and easy to use which makes this game great for casual players.

With all this said, I should also reveal the game’s biggest crutch which could frustrate players. This is the extremely deep learning curve. Baseball Superstars 2 looks and plays very simplisticly, but this is the type of game where patience is needed. When you play your first few games be prepared to suck at playing. You’ll be striking out at the plate and giving up lots of home runs. While this will frustrate some to the point of deleting the game off your iPhone and iPad, let me just give a word of advice. Practice! Take the time to learn the game. Pitching will be the first aspect you’ll get accustomed to as you change up your pitches and work the strike zone to get that K. Batting will take a bit longer since timing is what you need to learn. Stick with it and you’ll be a virtual Babe Ruth in no time.

Gamevil sure put a lot of effort into Baseball Superstars 2 and the end result pays off with an addictive experience that will keep you playing beyond it’s slight flaws. All I can tell you is that you need to give the game a chance and not dismiss it because your losing game after game by over 10 runs or maybe even 20 runs. All games take time to master and Baseball Superstars 2 is one of them. Besides the game is free so I suggest taking the chance and download this game today.