Bad Piggies for Windows Phone on Lumia
You didn’t think the pigs had gone away for good, did you?
To downplay the impact that Angry Birds has had on the mobile gaming market would be akin to ignoring Alexander Fleming’s influence on modern-day medicine.
Since its launch in 2009, the franchise has witnessed more than two billion downloads and the latest spin-off now comes to Windows Phone and Lumia devices.
As its name suggests, the central characters in Bad Piggies are those troublesome porcine egg-stealers. However, this time you’re playing from their perspective, rather than their avian counterparts.
The aim? To construct the ultimate vehicle – whether than be rolling, crawling, spinning or flying – for carrying the greedy pigs to their prized eggs.
After launching the game, you’re back in familiar territory; the bright, bubbly graphics look fantastic – especially on Lumia screens, while the audio is playful and entertaining. It has the instant ability to draw in gamers of all ages.
However, the gameplay does away with bird-slinging catapults, instead having you assembling contraptions from a collection of ‘tools’ that you position together to create a pig-dwelling vehicle.
Each level starts with those iconic introductory videos, which explain the backstory, while in-game tuition comes in the form of a help book that can be accessed at any time for a quick pointer.
One of the things we love about this series is how it doesn’t matter whether you’re a seasoned Angry Birds pro, or a fledgling newcomer – it’s super intuitive; just pick up your Lumia and start playing.
When you’re ready, launch your machine to reach your goal; the first episode has you picking up shards of a map that were accidentally shredded, for example.
Pick up goodies along the way – such as special boxes – or complete a level in quick time and you’ll be rewarded with stars. Get enough of these stars and they’ll open up side-game levels.
Achieve three stars on every level and there’ll be a further 36 episodes to work through. For the $0.79 price, you’re looking at days, if not weeks, of enjoyment.
As expected, the game become devilishly hard as you progress. But this simply adds to the addictiveness of what is another great title from Rovio.
Well recommended.