Angry Birds Star Wars II Review
Price: $0.99
Version: 1.0.1
App Reviewed on: iPhone 5
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There once was a man named George Lucas who decided he wasn’t prosperous enough. In search of never-ending wealth, he released three new films in his storied Star Wars franchise. After eventually completing his quest for riches and fortune, Lucas licensed out the rights for his films to Rovio, the brains behind the Angry Birds franchise. And thus a glorious gaming baby was born in the form of Angry Birds Star Wars II. Can this entry make just as big of a splash as the first installment, or have the days of Force-wielding fowl long since passed?
Angry Birds Star Wars II is the perfect opportunity to get a fresh take on the Angry Birds formula, by introducing fantastic new abilities to complement the plethora of characters that make an appearance in the prequels. Sadly, with the exception of Jar Jar Binks’ tongue swinging mechanic and Yoda’s ever-amusing “bounce-a-thon of doom,” this time around feels far too much like the first outing. Sure there are force powers and lightsabers a-plenty, but essentially these play like variations on abilities that have previously existed in the series. Familiarity may prove to be an advantageous strategy in the long run, but throwing additional lightsabers into the hands of General Grievous doesn’t make him interact with the environment any differently than other lightsaber wielders like Qui-Gon Jinn, which is tragic.
Calling back to the marketing potential alluded to earlier, this is one of the newest titles to cash in on the, “toys that import into games,” craze. Specially marked Telepod Angry Birds Star Wars figurines can be scanned into any stage, taking the place of the less-desirable default feathered hero. This works by placing a base station directly over the iOS device’s camera, and then placing the figure atop the pedestal. The station itself actually acts as a magnifying glass that enables the reading of a QR code positioned on the bottom of the collectable figures. Everything in this process works exactly as promised, with the addendums that light side characters can only be used in light side stages, and vice-versa.
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