Review: Angry Birds 2- Free to Play, but I Can't Even Be Mad

If you have been living under a rock for the past several years, you may never have been introduced to the phenomenon that is the Angry Birds franchise. Much like the insanity that has become the Sims, Angry Birds has become the stuff of internet legend. Spawning thousands of knockoffs, spinoffs and blatant copies, Angry Birds is a force to be reckoned with. In the latest installment, Roxio has sought out not to just add a new backdrop and fan service to the bird-flinging fun, but also to also make the game, itself, a better experience.

Angry Birds 2, like all of its predecessors, is a free-to-play. Those of you hoping for a premium addition will be staunchly and throughly disappointed. The game charges for new and slightly more badass animals to fling, as well as more opportunities to fling them. Gems make a reappearance here as your go-to in game currency and the price you will be paying is only slightly less than what an actual treasure trove would run you. There are options this time, however. The newest incarnation will allow players to watch videos for more lives and there is also the time tested option to just wait for your lives to restore. They have allowed for some time and date manipulation, too though, if you aren't above a bit of settings-based time travel.
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Angry Birds 2 has taken the franchise and bumped it up to a new level. Roxio has added a slew of new features such as daily login prizes, Facebook friend prizes, and a handful of meters to up the overall excitement of a game which is essentially a game based on bowling and catapult physics. There is a little bit more story in this one and the bosses are even tougher than before, which gives seasoned bird-tossing veterans an unexpected challenge. There is an arena for a little multi-player action which awards players with some sweet bragging rights and spells have been added for an entirely new dimension on a straightforward game.

The graphics have been ramped up to an entirely new level, as well. Players will need a newer device to get the most out of this game. The iPhone 5, iPad Mini 2, and iPad 3 are the oldest devices recommended and players running the game on older equipment will find their runs plagued by a myriad of crashes and hold ups. The game, itself, is downright pretty compared to older versions, complete with a nice backsplash effect to the camera following a solid hit.

Overall, the game is not designed to be a free binge-play for everyone. Sooner or later, you will need to make a choice between setting down your game to wait for that meter to refill or parting with your hard-earned cash, but supporting a developer who has done something pretty great can't be all bad... can it?

We have given the game 4 out of 5 stars, because we like Angry Birds and this new incarnation is just as awesome as we had hoped it would be.