Angry Birds Space Releases on Thursday. Here's What We Know So Far.

This Thursday, another slot on the top 25 apps likely goes to a galaxy far, far, away as Rovio Entertainment prepares to launch Angry Birds Space. Pun semi-intended. Details and teasers have been slowly trickling out over the last few weeks, but the most substantial trailer yet has been released. This one shows off some actual gameplay footage, revealing some of the most radical changes to the core Angry Birds formula yet.

Gravity will be the big factor that comes in to play here. In particular, gravity will be going every which way, with gravitational fields that will reverse gravity and flip turn things upside down. Thought levels were hard before when they were on relatively flat terrain? Now prepare to launch around spherical planets! Good luck! Pigs will even be floating in space, suspended in bubbles, that players must hit to send to their doom. There are even new giant boss pigs that must be taken down as well. If pigs have developed space travel, why are they still going after the malcontent birds' eggs? Couldn't they just genetically engineer their own? Perhaps the game will explain this.

Many of the classic birds will be back, with two key additions. The Lazer Bird is the same basic idea as the yellow bird from the original game, but will change angle suddenly when the screen is tapped. The Ice Bird explodes and freezes everything in a nearby radius when it hits something. The Boomerang Bird is nowhere to be seen, thankfully.

Angry Birds Space releases this Thursday on the App Store, and while Rovio hasn't said anything about pricing, or if they'll finally release the game as a universal app, we'll know soon enough. As a starter, The Daily has also released a special Birds in Space app that features articles on the creation of the game, with behind-the-scenes details and concept art on the making of the game.