You’re going to like this one. Angry Birds has a flavour all its own because what other game would let you slingshot birds out of a catapult at some mischievous pigs? Never mind that they can fly, poor things, the damage that you’ll wreak with your sling is usually devastating and extremely fun. So their sacrifice is rarely in vain.

Indeed, your airborne friends (ammunition), which you find more of as you swiftly progress through the game, have their own special characteristics that make each situation different. Tapping on the screen at the right moment triggers an ability (except in the case of the red birds) that range from suicidal explosions or a mad hurtle towards the enemy to egg firing and bird cluster bombs, five birds in all. The introduction of the different fowls is timed just right to hold your interest in the game before it starts to feel like you’re doing the same thing over and over.

Rather than being a chore that has too many variables in it to lead to success, the physics based gameplay really hits the sweet spot between too simple and overbearingly hard. You control only one thing, the angle of the shot. Sure, there is strategy in the different birds for different jobs but as the order is predetermined it is usually easy to figure out, particularly on the levels with two or more disparate birds. Swiping back with a finger on the catapult sets this angle, and you can zoom in and out with the familiar pinch gesture—allowing you to fit the level onto the screen and thereby giving you a better understanding of the course. What is nice is that the previous flight path is remembered so that you can choose to mimic or use it as a guide for how high (or low) the next shot will be.

What’s most refreshing about this game is the very eminent tribal quality the flock of birds have. Banding together as a trained unit of deadly soldiers, each having their own death cries, you can’t help but feel like the commander and it feels good. Sweet, sweet candy, this one ensnares you into its 63 level trap and that is perhaps the only complaint that we can level against the game because it is really rather short. You’ll get two hours out of it, give or take an hour depending on how well you get to grips with this game.

Whilst the graphics may not have that wow factor they don’t really need to. The game relies on the camaraderie of your fowl and the grunts and muttering of the pigs to carry the experience along, and this is reflected by the game’s spartan use of a musical accompaniment that is only used after stage clear and in the menu screens. The other sounds, especially glass smashing are top notch too. Having said that though it isn’t an ugly game, it is just drawn in a style that’s very familiar nowadays.

This is overall another fantastic puzzle game that is a great fit for publisher Clickgamer and their stable of fun casual games. For the money, it is one you can’t miss if you’re after some light entertainment even if it is fairly a short experience.

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