Some of you may have noticed a new feature in your Rovio games called Rovio Account. Our fans have been asking for a way to play their game on different phones or tablets without losing their progress when changing the device. This is exactly what Rovio Account lets you do!
Another developer who ends up shipping an in-house implementation that doesn’t rely on iCloud or Game Center. For Rovio, I guess that cross-platform syncing was also an important factor to consider.
Rovio today released the second major update to its Angry Birds spin-off game, Bad Piggies. The big new addition to the 1.2 update are the 30 new ‘Flight in the Night’ levels, with some of them requiring you to “sneak past the napping Angry Birds” – making too much noise will wake the birds up who will attack to try and sabotage you.
In this massive update to IGN’s 2012 game of the year, the Bad Piggies are on the move, and they’ve managed to hang on to the eggs so far! But watch out – you need to sneak past the napping Angry Birds, and they’re sleeping with one eye open! Navigate through 30 new Flight in the Night Levels but don’t make too much noise, or you’ll wake up some seriously furious birds! Also make sure to check out the new “Road Hogs” time trials: can you beat the clock (and your friends) with your crazy contraption?
Also included are 6 ‘Road Hogs’ levels which are time trial levels, another new sandbox and six new achievements. The teaser video of the update which highlights some of the new features is embedded below.
To celebrate the third anniversary of Angry Birds 1.0, which was released on December 10, 2009, Rovio has today released Angry Birds 3.0, a major update to the original game that, after three years, is still sold at $0.99 on the App Store.
Angry Birds 3.0 comes with a new “pink bird”, 15 new “Birdday levels” and other 15 Bad Piggies-themed levels. On top of that, Rovio has updated the game for the iPhone 5′s Retina display as well; the update is also available in the HD version for the iPad. Rovio isn’t new to releasing free updates to an existing game that users only purchased years ago; in fact, many have argued that one of the points of Rovio’s main strategy is creating “brand loyalty” through free updates that add new levels, features, and, for those interested, in-app purchases.
Angry Birds Star Wars is now available for download on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Mac & Windows 8. The game is the fifth installment in the Angry Birds series from Rovio (following Seasons, Rio and Space) and is a collaboration with Star Wars creator Lucasfilm.
“It’s a banner day for us,” said Peter Vesterbacka, CMO of Rovio Entertainment. “This is our best Angry Birds game yet, and we’re excited for our fans to finally meet Luke, Leia, and the rest of the gang! But it’s more than just a game launch: we think fans are going to just love the new animated trailer and the Angry Birds Star Wars products, sure to be a big hit this holiday season.”
The game features more than 80 levels at launch including bonus levels that let you play as R2D2 and C-3PO birds. According to Polygon, which has a great review of the game, Angry Birds Star Wars currently “track the events of A New Hope, while a soon-to-be-released free Hoth level pack will dig into the beginning of Empire Strikes Back”. There’s also an in-app purchase for an additional level pack that is set in Dagobah that is available at launch for $1.99.
The makers of Angry Birds Star Wars have imagined how the the original Star Wars trilogy might have looked if performed by their coterie of birds and pigs — truly, a bizarre undertaking. Angry Birds Star Wars succeeds, though, because it is more than just a Star Wars tie-in. Polygon
Rovio and Lucasfilm also held a Google+ Hangout a few hours ago where they counted down to the launch whilst discussing the game and chatting with fans – that video is available to watch now.
“We can’t wait for fans around the world to experience the fun of launching the Angry Birds characters into the Star Wars universe,” said Colum Slevin, Vice President, Head of Studio Operations for Lucasfilm Ltd. “This is the kind of creative partnership that has helped Star Wars remain vibrant and beloved for over 35 years.”
Bad Piggies, the latest game from Rovio, is now available for download on iPhone, iPad, Android and Mac. This latest Rovio game is a twist on the infamous Angry Birds series in which you now control the pigs and must pilot them safely to the bird eggs. Unlike the simple mechanic featured in Angry Birds in which you simply slingshot the birds into the pigs and their structures, Bad Piggies requires you to make “the ultimate flying machine” and steer them through the levels.
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!
The game currently features 60 levels, with another 30 unlockable by getting three-stars on levels and will, like Angry Birds, receive free updates that add levels. There’s also 4 sandbox levels in which you can really have fun with making some awesome flying contraptions with various fans, wings, motors, balloons and other objects. If you’re interested in reading a review, check out this one by Polygon’s Chris Plante:
Bad Piggies’ levels aren’t nearly as fast as Angry Birds. They require attention and patience as the pig slowly travels from one end to the other. Unlike Angry Birds, it’s not as easy to play on a subway or during a coffee break. The main game is a fine distraction, something to do with your hands while watching sitcoms or talking on the phone.
Finnish videogame maker Rovio has announced “Bad Piggies”, a spin-off of the popular Angry Birds franchise that will let users play from the pigs’ perspective. Titled “Bad Piggies” and set to launch later this month, the game will shift the focus from the birds — typically, the main characters — to the pigs. It is unclear how this will translate in terms of game mechanics, but Rovio promises “never-before-seen gameplay” without slingshots, Angry Birds’ tools to complete levels and clear them of pigs, the enemies.
There’s a lot of empathy towards the lovable enemies from the Angry Birds games, and we’ve been constantly asked: what about the pigs’ side of the story?” said Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio. “Bad Piggies gives you the chance to play as the second-most-loved characters in the Angry Birds universe, and explore this rich world through their green eyes.
After the modest success of Amazing Alex — a new IP from Rovio based on the acquisition of a game previously called “Casey’s Contraptions” — Rovio kept on releasing updates to Angry Birds, adding new levels and options for free. Earlier this year, Rovio launched a new version of Angry Birds called “Space”, which was downloaded over 100 million times in just 76 days. Also earlier this year, back in May, Rovio announced the billionth download for the Angry Birds franchise, and reported revenue of over $100 million for the fiscal year 2011.
Rovio may have just released Amazing Alex a few weeks ago, but it’s committed to bringing more levels to its Angry Birds franchise that continues to be popular. In an update released today, the original Angry Birds game for iOS got 15 new tropical levels that sees the “piggies continue their beach vacation”, that is, until the birds show up.
Today’s update also sees the addition of four power-ups; King Sling, Birdquake, Super Seeds, and Sling Scope.
King Sling upgrades your slingshot for “maximum power and velocity”
Birdquake will bring the pigs’ defenses “crashing to the ground”
Super Seeds will turn your bird into a “pig-popping giant”
Sling Scope lets you use laser targetting for “pinpoint precision”
Upon launching the update you’ll get 20 free uses of a power-up and each day you get one additional use. But of course, if you can’t wait that long there’s a bunch of in-app purchase bundles to give you more uses of those power-ups, ranging from a 5-pack of any power-up for $1.99, 10 uses of a single power-up for $0.99 or you could go all in for 125 power-ups for $20.99.
A little side-note, Rovio has now (finally) brought full retina support for the iPad 3 so you can enjoy the game on the wonderful Retina display.
The next game from Rovio, creators of Angry Birds, Amazing Alex has today arrived for iPhone, iPad and Android. The game, like Angry Birds, fits into the genrè of a physics puzzler but this time you’re setting up “objects to bounce, pop, ricochet, bash, and crash into each other and create an elaborate Rube Goldberg device”.
Meet Amazing Alex! With his boundless imagination, this whiz kid turns everything into adventure! From cleaning his room to battling cardboard robots in his backyard, Alex creates amazing chain reactions to get the job done. Now he has some challenges for you! What’s the most creative solution YOU can create? With 100 challenging levels, there’s a whole world of creations to explore!
The game features 100 levels across four locations but as Rovio has already said, regular future updates will see more levels added, just like Angry Birds. Where Amazing Alex gets more interesting is the ability for you to create your own levels with “35 interactive objects” and then share them with friends or even the whole world.
You can purchase Amazing Alex for the iPhone ($0.99) or iPad ($2.99). (more…)
Initially teased back in May, Finnish game maker Rovio formally announced its next game for iOS and Android today, launching a dedicated website, a set of wallpapers, and a video to reveal more details of the upcoming title. Coming “in July 2012″ for iOS and Android (in May, Rovio said the game would launch within two months), Amazing Alex will be a puzzle game focused on letting Alex — the main character — build chain reactions across different locations, levels, and using a variety of objects to create fun and engaging Rube Goldberg-like devices and machines.
Rovio acquired the game from developers Snappy Touch and Mystery Coconut — it was originally called Casey’s Contraptions — and reworked it with a new physics engines, new graphics, and further developing the character of Alex.
Whilst it’s still unclear whether Amazing Alex will be a paid title or a “freemium game”, Rovio is already promising 100 levels, regular free updates, 35 interactive objects, and the possibility of building and sharing puzzles with your friends. A promo video posted on Rovio’s website (and also embedded below), doesn’t show any actual gameplay footage, but suggests a highly colorful and distincitive setting for the game.
You can check out the teaser site for Amazing Alex here, and follow @amazingalex on Twitter for future updates. (more…)
Rovio today released the second major update to its Angry Birds spin-off game, Bad Piggies. The big new addition to the 1.2 update are the 30 new ‘Flight in the Night’ levels, with some of them requiring you to “sneak past the napping Angry Birds” – making too much noise will wake the birds up who will attack to try and sabotage you.
