When people talk about iOS games, and how much their popularity has grown, Angry Birds is generally one of the first examples cited. Those crazy birds with their various gimmicks have become something of a sensation, with shirts, plush toys, and all kinds of other merchandise available. There is a even web-based cartoon for the franchise. The Angry Birds franchise has given Rovio, the company responsible for creating them, a license to print money.
In the background are the pigs, the bad guys of the Angry Birds world who just don’t get the same attention as their bird counterparts. That is until Rovio gave them their own game called Bad Piggies. In this game, the birds are no where to be found, so it’s the pigs turn to take center stage.
As expected, the game did not sell nearly as well as the Angry Birds, but that’s no reason to discount it yet. If you have not yet tried it, you definitely should, as it is another fantastic physics-based puzzle game.
Gameplay – Angry Birds and Bad Piggies
Bad Piggies doesn’t stray far from Rovio’s comfort zone of physics puzzlers, but it is definitely a different kind of puzzler from that seen in Angry Birds. Instead of using a slingshot to launch birds at structures, you are building a structure with the ultimate goal of moving your pigs from one location to the other.
The game provides plenty of tools to accomplish your pig moving goal, including items like soda bottles, balloons and fans to propel them forwards through each level. Each level will require you think a great deal about how to use the tools provided to get your piggy from one side to the other. Of course, the levels get harder as you progress, so Bad Piggies will certainly test you.
Thankfully, there are hints available for when you get really stuck on a level. These will not give you an exact solution, but they will point you in the right direction. If you need to find out exactly how beat a level you can use the mechanic who will show up and build the correct contraption outright. The game provides some mechanic help free, and additional help is available via in-app purchase.
Overall, the gameplay in Bad Piggies is very good. Personally, I enjoy Angry Birds a little more because it feels more involved, while this game features more of a “build and let it run” mechanic. It’s a fun concept that most puzzle gamers will enjoy.
Audio & Visuals
The visuals look exactly like Angry Birds. The art style, level design, and character models are clearly created using the same assets from the Angry Birds games, and that’s just fine with me because I’ve always been a fan of Angry Birds style. Of course, if you did not find Rovio’s other games to be aesthetically pleasing, you will not like the look of Bad Piggies either.
Background music is lighthearted and fun, and it matches well with the rest of the game. Like the visuals, the musical style should feel very comfortable to anyone who enjoyed Angry Birds. It’s clear that this game was made by Rovio, a team that clearly understands how to make a game that is appealing to iOS gamers.
Game Life
There are in excess of 100 levels in Bad Piggies, so there should be plenty of enjoyment to be had. These levels are split into three main categories, such as When Pigs Fly, where you are focused on putting the pigs in the air with the help of balloons. The overall gameplay remains the same in each level type, but the tools at your disposal change. There are also race and sandbox modes to keep you coming back for hours on end. In addition, some of the levels are pretty challenging, so it might take a good amount of time to find the solution, provided you don’t turn to the mechanic as soon as you have trouble.
For perfectionists, this game has an even longer game life because going back and earning three stars on every level is really hard and will take quite a while. Unlike Angry Birds, stars in this game are earned through different means on each level. On some levels it might involve reaching the goal, collecting a star and not using any explosives, while a different level might require you reach the goal in a certain amount of time, and not popping a balloon.
Conclusion
No longer are the pigs stuck in the shadows of their more famous bird brethren. With their own game available on the App Store, the piggies can finally get the credit they deserve. While I personally like the Angry Birds games a little better, this is still a fantastic puzzle game that all fans of the genre should have installed on their iOS devices.
Have you played Bad Piggies? Do you prefer it, or Angry Birds? What will Rovio think of next? Add your thoughts in the comments, below.
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