Angry Birds Seasons

Although on its surface, this is just another tactile installment in the great success of the Angry Birds franchise, Seasons has a lot to like for first time players and veterans.

Gameplay is as it has always been, simple yet incredibly important in terms of timing. Fling your bird by pulling back on the slingshot, tap the screen to unleash their specific power – red, black, white and green, all standards are all present – and explode them pigs by toppling their towers.

The same addictive nature as the other versions is still present. “So addicting I had to take it off my phone,” according to my girlfriend. Added to this version is the theme of the game: levels that depict, you guessed it, different seasons with Halloween, Christmas and other holidays present.

Challenge-wise, it seems that the ante has been upped right from the get-go as opening levels are as challenging as some of the later levels in previous entries. This is good for veterans, but amateurs to Angry Birds might want to start with an earlier title in the series.

The only negative I experienced was that one bird I fired and neglected to tap and unleash his powers got stuck between two ramps and caused the game to remain frozen, forcing me to restart by turning off my iPad. A little glitch like this aside, Angry Birds Seasons is the same game with a new face. I would have liked to see some more drastic enhancements to the series, perhaps some more birds or more radically designed levels, there is a new water physics engine in place, but it doesn’t really change gameplay that dramatically. However, as the old saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Another solid entry from this dominating series.