As promised, Angry Birds maker Rovio today released a new physics-based game that turns the famous formula upside down in that it focuses on the green piggies who must protect the eggs grabbed from the birds. After a string of content updates and sequels, some feel the Angry Birds series has run its course.
Rovio is clearly banking on the success of Angry Birds here, but Bad Piggies is anything but yet another Angry Birds sequel. Gameplay footage and more info right below…
Bad Piggies is a fresh new release in its own right, one that took just three hours to take the #1 spot in the U.S. App Store.
Though the game takes some cues from Angry Birds, namely the hilarious characters, the concept stands on its own.
The game is set on Piggy Island, where the Bad Piggies are after the eggs again. The game packs in 60 levels, an additional 30 levels unlockable by getting three stars, plus four sandbox levels to challenge your creativity.
Rather than smash the birds’ structures, Bad Piggies is really a crossover between the Angry Birds universe and Amazing Alex, Rovio’s recently released puzzler that challenges your gray matter with combining various objects and building contraptions to solve levels.
I’ve only had a chance to play a few Bad Piggies levels this morning and my initial impressions are encouraging. The game feels fresh and different enough from Angry Birds, yet the familiar characters will help fans of the series feel right at home.
Petri Järvilehto, Rovio’s EVP of Games:
We’ve never done anything like this. Where Angry Birds was all about destruction, Bad Piggies is all about the joy of construction. It’s not just about getting three stars — in this game, failing is almost as much fun as succeeding.
At the same time, the puzzles and game mechanics are more interesting than those in Amazing Alex, although not as frustrating. The difficulty curve of Amazing Alex can definitely put off causal gamers: I did not have the patience to play through the entire game (unlike all Angry Birds releases that I used to play over and over a bunch of times).
Luckily, the puzzles in Bad Piggies are never intimidating. Even if you get stuck, there’s always a handy light bulb icon a tap away to highlight a contraption you must build. All told, those that like puzzlers definitely wont be disappointed.
Here’s the official trailer.
And here’s nice gameplay footage, courtesy of our friends over at TouchArcade.
Your iTunes release notes:
From the creators of Angry Birds: an all new game from the PIGS’ point of view!
Create the ultimate flying/crawling/rolling/spinning/crashing device and pilot the pigs safely to the eggs!
The Bad Piggies are after the eggs again — but as usual, nothing is going according to plan! Can you create the ultimate flying machine and steer them safely to their destination? Those tricky pigs have a few objects they can use, but they need your help to turn these into the perfect transportation!
With more than 60 levels, and free updates coming up, you have hours and hours of pig-crashing, exploding, and flying fun! Get three stars on every level to unlock 30 more puzzles! HINT: Sometimes you need to play the level several times to achieve all the objectives — try building a new device or steering in a different way to earn all the stars!
Features
● 60 levels crammed with flying/driving/crashing fun!
● 30 additional puzzles unlocked by three-starring levels!
● Free updates!
● 4 sandbox levels to stretch your creativity!
● Ultra-special, ultra-secret, ultra-difficult sandbox level to unlock by collecting all the skulls!
● 33 objects to create the ultimate machine: motors, wings, fans, bottle rockets, umbrellas, balloons, and much more!
Mechanic Pig
● Need help? This little piggy will build it for you!
● Mechanic pig pre-assembles transport for you!
● All you have to do is pilot it!
● Tweak his design to get all three stars!
Bad Piggies is an affordable 99-cent universal download for the iPhone. Unfortunately, a high-def version for the iPad is a separate $2.99 download (boo-hiss!).
An ad-supported Android version is available free of charge via Google’s Play Store. The Mac version will run you $4.99 (Retina MacBook Pro not supported).
So, to get the Bad Piggies experience on your iOS devices and Macs, you’ll have to fork out nine bucks.
Will you be taking the plunge?