When I was growing up, my friends’ parents never really got gaming. Some might have appreciated that their kids loved playing games, and would still buy them the relevant equipment, but they never really understood why it excited us so much. I happened to be part of a, then, very select group. I had parents who figured it out perfectly. My Dad was never any good at playing any games but he enjoyed talking about them because he was forever fascinated by the progression of technology. It was my Mum, however, that turned into a major rival. In the good sense, of course.
As a kid, we would have battles to beat each other’s Tetris scores. We’d compete at games of Columns too, meeting up to work together to progress through Bubble Bobble (we never did beat it).
One of the most important things I believe I’ve ever been given is a set of parents that were constantly supportive and encouraging of what I set out to achieve. That’s continued right up until today.
With my father sadly no longer with us, my relationship with my mother is even stronger than it was before. Having pursued a potentially risky path of freelance writing, she’s always been there fully supportive. Whether it be by accepting that money is a little tight this month, or by making sure I’ve got a sandwich by my side while I struggle to meet a tight deadline. Of course, I do the same for her, but Sunday isn’t about me, it’s about her!
Crucially, she’s quite the solo gamer and tech enthusiast now. In recent years, she spent a few hundred hours playing through Dragon Quest VIII on the Playstation 2. Something that I’m rather proud of telling other gamers. More relevantly for readers of 148apps, perhaps, she’s unlocked and at least two-starred every single level of Angry Birds imaginable, and I don’t mean just standard Angry Birds. I’m talking standard, Space, Star Wars, Seasons and Rio. She’s a machine when it comes to flicking birds towards pigs.
We’ve got the one iPad between us which luckily isn’t too much of an issue, although it never stops either of us flocking to the Apple Store together to gaze at the new specimens. Sure, we both know that the iPad 2 is a very fine device in its own right but that doesn’t stop either of us eyeing up the size of the iPad Mini or pondering just how much faster the iPad 4 might seem. She’s got her own iPhone now too, having been given my “old” iPhone 4. It’s the perfect tool for her to play SpellTower while on the move, her language skills being far superior to mine.
She hasn’t quite delved into the apps world as much yet. She reckons it’s because she’s too busy. I reckon it’s because there’s always “just one more” level of Angry Birds to conquer.
I’m an extremely lucky person to have not only such a supportive mother, but one that is just as excited as me about new technology, gadgets and the wonders of the App Store.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mum. [And from all of us at 148Apps, too, Jen's mum! --Ed.]
Posted by Rob LeFebvre on January 11th, 2013 iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
Angry Birds Space just updated with 30 new levels, all set in a strange water planet galaxy with Bad Piggies in boats. The physics is all watery in these new Angry Birds levels, and there are some new power ups, like Flock of Birds, Space Egg and Pig Puffer.
Make a splash in 30 NEW LEVELS!
Get ready for the ultimate underwater boss level!
Three-star levels for 3 new bonus levels!
Use Flock of Birds for a pack of destruction!
Create black holes with Space Egg!
Expand the pigs with Pig Puffer!
Check back daily for a free power-up!
Power-up specific leaderboards in addition to regular leaderboards!
Posted by Rob LeFebvre on November 1st, 2012 iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
Rovio keeps things interesting with a new update to Angry Birds Space, which includes 10 new Red Planet levels, new eggs, and an additional secret level. Get those Bad Piggies…in…SPACE!
What’s new in Angry Birds Space:
Check out 10 blazing new Red Planet levels! The Bad Piggies are still hiding out on the fiery planet with the commandeered Mars Curiosity Rover. Can the birds recover their eggs and rescue the rogue rover?
Navigate 10 volcanic new levels, including the Mars Curiosity Rover boss level!
Get three stars on all levels to unlock a new antenna egg level!
Hunt for the hidden rover to unlock a super-secret bonus level!
All new space eagle bonus levels, one per episode! Get 100% on the space eagle destruction meter to unlock 5 new levels!
Host Carter Dotson and co-host Brett Nolan discuss several new releases on the App Store, including that one particularly big release from last week.
Carter talks to Chin Nuttapong, one of the developers of Madcoaster, about the inspiration for the game and also about the iOS development scene in Thailand.
The day after we learned that Zynga has purchased OMGPOP, the developers of Draw Something, we are reminded what a real franchise on the App Store is. Angry Birds with it’s 600+ million users is expanding.
Angry Birds Space is now available on just about everything with a screen. This of course includes iOS devices both large and small. Angry Birds Space is available now for $0.99 [App Store] and $2.99 for the iPad [App Store] version. Both versions includes 60 levels in the initial release. For a quick round-up of Angry Birds Space, see the post from Carter on the game from yesterday.
Talking yesterday with Peter Vesterbacka, CMO of Rovio, we can expect to see regular updates to Angry Birds Space over the coming months — much as we have seen with the other Angry Birds games.
We also learned from Peter today that we can expect four additional Angry Birds games this year. Rovio will also be launching a brand new franchise this year, separate from the Angry Birds brand. Something to look forward to!
We’ll be posting our review of Angry Birds Space in the morning. But we’re guessing if you are Angry Birds fans, you won’t wait for our word on the game.
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.
The latest version of Angry Birds will be displayed to public for the first time at the South by South West Interactive conference being held in Austin, Texas. Even before the first demo, details about the upcoming game have been released.
The newest Angry Birds game will be titled Angry Birds Space, and as the name implies, the game is space themed. The biggest space themed addition will be zero gravity levels that should add an interesting twist to the game play.
Rovio, the developers behind the popular franchise, has even partnered with NASA. Don Pettit, who is an astronaut aboard the international space station, will introduce the game. Pettit has already made a video talking about some of the physics in the game. NASA hopes that the game will encourage children to learn more about physics and inspire them to pursue careers in technology and science fields.
The app will be released on March 22 for the iPhone, iPad, Android platform, PC, and Mac. Other platforms will be receiving the app too, but at an undisclosed later time. At the South by South West Interactive conference the game will be demoed on a Samsung Galaxy Note, since Rovio has a partnership with Samsung. The launch of the app will occur in tandem with the launch a slew of Angry Birds Space themed merchandise.
Angry Birds Space will have 60 levels at launch, with more levels available later for free or as in-app purchases. The game will also include 6 new birds and super-powers. The app will be launched with an unprecedented amount of other Angry Birds themed merchandise, such as toys, books, and candy. Rovio is even working with National Geographic to publish an Angry Birds Space book. According to Rovio, it has licensed their characters for more than 20,00 products and has sold over 25 million Angry Birds toys.
Bird flingers have a month to get their space-gear ready because Rovio just announced the next Angry Birds game is blasting off on March 22 for the final frontier. Rovio has been teasing press and fans alike with a vague note on their blog saying the 4th game in the franchise, Angry Birds Space, is “a completely new game with innovative new gameplay, but with some of the familiar Angry Birds elements that fans already know and love — plus some surprises! “
The blogsphere is awash with best guesses, including that aliens, not pigs will be the enemy and that gravity will (or won’t) play into the physics. The only non-speculative information comes from VentureBeat. They report that the new game based on uber-hit Angry Birds – which passed 700 million downloads recently and launched last week on Facebook – “will have numerous new characters and players can expect the science part of the game to be physically accurate … On top of launching birds at pigs in zero gravity, the game will have a variety of other gameplay elements, including slow-motion, lightspeed destruction.”
Rovio put out a teaser with a menacing space-faring cardinal and promises more information in early March. It’s a safe bet that this will be even bigger that the Angry Birds Rio movie tie-in from last year, or anything we’ve seen from the Finnish game company so far. We’ll keep you posted as details land here on Earth.
We cover it all. The latest games, apps and more are all reviewed across the 148Apps network of sites. Just take a look at what you might have missed this week.
We’ve got the one iPad between us which luckily isn’t too much of an issue, although it never stops either of us flocking to the Apple Store together to gaze at the new specimens. Sure, we both know that the iPad 2 is a very fine device in its own right but that doesn’t stop either of us eyeing up the size of the iPad Mini or pondering just how much faster the iPad 4 might seem. She’s got her own iPhone now too, having been given my “old” iPhone 4. It’s the perfect tool for her to play SpellTower while on the move, her language skills being far superior to mine. 
[And from all of us at 148Apps, too, Jen's mum! --Ed.]
Rovio keeps things interesting with a new update to Angry Birds Space, which includes 10 new Red Planet levels, new eggs, and an additional secret level. Get those Bad Piggies…in…SPACE!
PODCAST IN SPAAAAAAACE!
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.
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.
The blogsphere is awash with best guesses, including that aliens, not pigs will be the enemy and that gravity will (or won’t) play into the physics. The only non-speculative information comes from 
