Angry Birds Beta (Android) Released

[acnpt]

Download it from the Marketplace for free. (I can't as my phone is still on 1.6, and doesn't have multi-touch :blush: )

What does it take to make an addictive game? Not much -- just throw in some super simple controls, cute graphics, and basic physics. Rovio Mobile's Angry Birds is one such game that includes all these elements, and today the studio's just released a public Android beta to cater those without an iOS, webOS or Ovi-enabled device. In case you're not already familiar with the popular title, the backstory is that a gang of hungry pigs snatched away some eggs from the birds, forcing the feathered creatures to embark on a rescue mission for the sake of their survival. The gameplay on the Android version is just as simple as before: in each level you use a fixed slingshot to fling the birds -- one at a time -- into the forts, in order to kill all the pigs inside. As a secondary challenge, you must also attempt to get a three-star rating depending on the amount of structural material you destroy, so the key is to perfect your shooting angle.

At the beginning you're only given one type of bird that does nothing more than just headbutting, but throughout the game you'll come across six more birds, each possessing one special power: multiply, explode, accelerate, dropping egg bombs, boomerang, and extra strength. Don't worry, the instructions are pretty clear when you first meet these enhanced kamikaze birds -- most involve just a single tap anywhere to trigger their special abilities mid-flight. Once you get the hang of it, you'll soon be wanting to try out all sorts of trajectories to take vengeance on those cheeky green hogs. Seriously, the pigs really do laugh at you when your birds miss them.

While we're not familiar with the Ovi Store and webOS versions of Angry Birds, we've definitely spent a fair amount of time on the iOS flavor. Sadly, since the latter's still running on a low 480 x 320 resolution, the blurred graphics on the notoriously sharp retina display does no justice to the game. On the other hand, the Android version looks a lot prettier on our Nexus One, Dell Streak and HTC Desire, as it runs on their native resolution of 800 x 480. That said, overall the Android beta didn't feel as well-oiled as its iOS counterpart -- we've noticed the occasional light hiccups while panning across the scene, so here's hoping that this will be fixed in the final release. Regardless of this minor flaw, we'd still highly recommend Android users to check out this free Angry Birds beta in the market -- go grab it while it's hot!

Engadget

[HawkMan]

they should learn to make games not require multi touch.

it's such a useless function, and you can't play casually with multi touch anyway.

[Singh400]

Yeaah, been playing this non stop since it got released late last night.

And people have been running this fine with 1.6. It's not available on the Market for you, but if you can get a hold of the APK, it will install and you can play it. Albeit slightly laggy.

[Minifig]

I wish they'd stop making games for 1.6 ONLY .. some people like me who are running developer G1's can't run 1.6.

:pinch::crazy:

[Jeston Veteran]

My friend told me about it at work on his iphone and told me to look for it on my Droid. Sure enough there was the beta! It's very fun and addicting. Just finished playing it tonight. Can't wait for the full version!

[Ently]

I don't know if i am the only person but I just cannot get into the game. I played it for about 5 minutes then got really bored. *shrug* each to their own i guess :)

[AbandonedTrolley]

Yeaah, been playing this non stop since it got released late last night.

And people have been running this fine with 1.6. It's not available on the Market for you, but if you can get a hold of the APK, it will install and you can play it. Albeit slightly laggy.

Not aware that it would be against Neowins ruling, but if so a mod can delete the link.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9348709/pkg.apk

:)

[Deesto]

This game is so fun when you're bored. I'm glad that android phones are starting to get similar support that iphones get.

[Xilo]

It's a good toilet game.

[MrArifPatel]

It's a good toilet game.

Rofl, good to know, and cheers abandoned for that link, don't work for me though on my g1

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

I have it for my iPod touch, just installed the Beta on my phone, and it plays perfect on my end, I saw no lag or anything at all. Definitely will purchase when it comes out, as it is, as Xilo said, a perfect toilet game. :laugh:

[tuckeratlarge]

I play it on me daughters iPod Touch. I seriously need it on PC or is there a iPod/iPad emulator :whistle:

[Pallab]

they should learn to make games not require multi touch.

it's such a useless function, and you can't play casually with multi touch anyway.

It doesn't need multi-touch and works great even on 1.6. Just obtain the latest apk from somewhere, and it will install without any problem.

[HawkMan]

need to get my X10 back from service first. but thye finally fixed it, now they're probably gonna take another week o packit up and send it after that really though 5 minute flash job.