Game Info
Game Name: Angry Birds Star Wars
Developer(s): Rovio Entertainment/Exient Entertainment
Publisher(s): Rovio Entertainment/LucasArts/Activision
Platform(s): PS3/PS4/Xbox 360/Xbox One/Wii/Wii U/3DS/Vita/PC/Handheld
Genre(s): Mobile/Strategy
Release Date(s): November 8, 2012
ESRB Rating: E
A little less “Force” next time, Luke
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there is a disturbance in the Force. The pigs have taken over space and a small team of birds has set out to free the planets of the dismal control of the terrible swine. With lightsabers, tractor beams, guns, and brute force, the birds must restore peace to the galaxy. The pigs have power but the birds are angry!
Angry Birds Star Wars is a spin-off of the popular Angry Birds mobile game. The game was released in conjunction with LucasArts and was also released for the PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4, Wii, Wii U, and 3DS among other systems. It received relatively favorable reviews.
I was really into Angry Birds when it was released. The hours spent tweaking with the trajectory of the birds and the frustration of getting one bird right on target with the follow-up bird flying off into the sky both was delightful and insanity driving. Angry Birds Star Wars follows this pattern but at points just feels like more of the same.
Use you finger, Luke…let it guide your Wookie!
As a Star Wars fan, Angry Birds Star Wars is a rather fun take on the original trilogy (though Return of the Jedi is skipped). As you progress through the levels, you get new birds and the birds you have gain new powers. As almost a cheat, you can summon the Millennium Falcon for an attack run that wipes out most of the enemies if aimed reasonably close…by later in the game, you just want the game to keep moving.
The gameplay is virtually identical to previous Angry Birds entries, but the weapons and extra abilities of the birds can be triggered at different times depending on their ability. You have characters like Han Solo who shoot lasers and Chewbacca who uses brute force. When the console versions of the game you lose the rewarding “touch” aspect of the controls and it gives you a bit more accuracy that is helpful but also goes against the basic premise of the game which favors finger dexterity.
I hear this is George Lucas’ next revision to the original trilogy…
It still is rewarding to launch the birds and hear the pain of the pigs as the characters crash into them. The designs of the levels and things like gravity pools keep the game looking fresh while still being an homage to Lucas’s classic film…plus, it is fun to see the character designs (I just wish there were more parodies of even minor characters).
Angry Birds Star Wars is more of the same, but it is a solid puzzle game that has range. The desire to “get top scores” and three-star levels keeps you coming back again and again and questioning if you can do it just a bit better (and being extremely frustrated when you somehow end up with a score that is worse). Star Wars Angry Birds II was released in 2013.
