Angry Birds

Do you like swiping your finger across your iPhone, Palm, Android or Nokia smartphone but lack a compelling reason to do so?  Well then I might have the game for you.  Angry Birds is a very addictive puzzle game that has you swiping your finger to slingshot birds at the pigs that stole their eggs.  Along the way you'll most likely have to destroy various structures built of wood, glass, and stone.

The story plays out through cut scenes after certain levels.  The gist of it is an epic adventure of a group of limbless birds who have somehow managed to produce eggs.  Naturally, the are upset (angry) when some (equally limbless) pigs steal their children.  The main goal is to pull your finger back and release to send the birds flying towards the pigs.  Although you start out with the plain red bird, you eventually get birds that split into three, explode, boomerang and have other skills.  Also the puzzles get more and more complicated as you progress.  In the screenshot you can see me whiffing on my first shot.  The bird in flight was launched from the slingshot at the left, and the two red birds on the bottom are my last two shots.  The game starts off just that simple.  Hopefully you can aim better than I can when trying to screenshot something.

The game costs $2.99 on the iPhone, although there is a lite version to test it out.  The beta version is free for the android and has more levels than the lite version.  That's not fair!  Try it out for yourself, but it is probably worth the price for the amount of game-play you get. This game seems to have the Tetris effect; many people who rarely play games will happily play this for hours.

If you want a walk-through for each level and the locations of the hidden golden eggs click here, don't buy one of the several pages of apps that offer the same thing.

Pros:

• The game has been updated several times at no cost, providing more birds, and more levels.
• You can play a round in less than a minute, making it ideal for a mobile game.
• There is an achievement system that lets you share your level of obsessiveness with your friends.

Cons:

• Can kidnap you or a loved one for months.  Its that addictive.
• Not a lot of variety in game play.

Final Thoughts:
Angry Birds is well worth the price.  It is fun to play, and that's not just my opinion.  Angry Birds is the #1 paid app in just about every country that has the concept of money (and some that don't).  This game is a lot of fun and if you are a perfectionist, will keep you busy for months.(Seriously)  If you don't have a smartphone and want to try the game, Rovio plans to port this game to the Computer, Playstation Portable, Playstation 3, possibly the Nintendo Wii, and DS, and perhaps certain deli-meats.