Angry Birds Star Wars Review

Our verdict on the latest incarnation of this insanely addictive app series!
Make no mistake, Rovio's creators must now be swimming in pools of gold thanks to the legendarily addictive Angry Birds franchise, and so it's no wonder that the developers are now milking the series of iOS and Android apps in every avenue. For this Winter, we've got a shiny new Star Wars edition of the bird-flinging-athon to play with, and interestingly it offers some of the most diverse twists on the standard formula yet.

Set into the classic 1980s 'Original Trilogy', particularly A New Hope and The Empire Strike Birds, Angry Birds Star Wars features dozens of levels on Tattoine, space asteroid fields, Hoth, the Death Star and Dagobah. Better yet than these iconic locales, we get tonnes of themed new birds inspired by the likes of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca and Princess Leia, each containing special attributes and power-ups that are fairly representative of those much-loved fan favourite characters. There are even a good few cutscenes that narrate the action of the first two movies in light-hearted humour and satire, although a fair bit of the narrative impact is lost when it's just depicted through a few static tiles of beautiful anime art.

Best of all, there's plenty of replay value, with bonus levels featuring C-3PO and R2-D2 offered to those who can attain three stars in every level, plus a downloadable purchase of a 'Jedi Training' segment available on Dagobah too. All in all, then, at £2 Angry Birds Star Wars is an absolute steal- while the story elements still leave a little to be desired, the alleigance to the titular franchise here is incredible, and it's certainly another kick into the face after the big flop of Activision's retail Angry Birds Trilogy last Autumn. Long live handheld gaming, eh?
4.5/5