Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • There’s a

  • bit more than a small sense of irony to thisto seeing the biggest mobile game of all-time

  • and a bellwether for the future of gaming on the goplaying on the Nintendo 3DS...a

  • product that, despite all its fancy bells and whistles, represents a business model

  • that statistics and experts suggest is losing relevance.

  • Sadly, this is not the time for a thesis on the evolution of handheld gaming and the impact

  • the mobile device has had on it. This is a review of a really great puzzler.

  • Actually, three of them. It’s Angry Birds Trilogy for the Nintendo 3DS.

  • Geez, it does feel weird to say that. Angry Birds on a handheld. I mean, talk about storming

  • into enemy territory! Not only are these birds angry...theyre merciless.

  • So if youre one of those gamers who refuse to acknowledge iOS and other mobile devices

  • as legitimate gaming platformsyes, I know youre out therelet’s get up to speed.

  • Angry Birds debuted on iOS in 2009, it went on to take over the world...it has sort of

  • become a symbol for the pattern of portable gaming going mobile. Copious merchandise and

  • plush toys ensued, as did...more games.

  • Of course, if you don’t do mobile...youve missed out. And that’s why this particular

  • package is so symbolically interesting, but if you don’t do symbolism, either...youre

  • at least getting a chance to crush some pigs.

  • Angry Birds Trilogy contains 2009’s Angry Birds, 2010’s holiday-themed Angry Birds

  • Seasons and 2011’s Angry Birds Rio...a game that will go down in gaming history as one

  • of the few movie games that will be remembered much longer than the film it’s actually

  • based on. One cool thing is that Trilogy includes all the levels from each game...including

  • the extra levels that have been added since their release.

  • Trilogy is also available on home consoles, but...advantage 3DS in the sense that the

  • Angry Birds games were born on and optimized for portable gaming. It’s best in shorter

  • gameplay sessions, so it’s an ideal game to have in your pocket. And having three in

  • a single cartridge is definitely a nice idea for handheld devotees.

  • Ignoring that, you know...you could get even more on your...well, you know.

  • And again, the mobile/handheld dichotomy is kind of an unavoidable issue. Angry Birds

  • Trilogy costs you about $30 new, and you can get all three of its games in the App Store

  • for literally a fraction of that...like, a tenth of that. So this one has 3D and two

  • screens, neither of which add much, and it comes in plastic. And there’s your luxury

  • tax.

  • I find the mere existence of this game an interesting point in the progression of the

  • industry, but for the purposes of the traditional review...I’ve always found Angry Birds a

  • brilliant puzzle game. Pull back, judge the angle, work out the physics, knock down the

  • pigs. It’s simple and accessible, which is why it’s such a hit, but it’s also

  • really clever. And that doesn’t change on the 3DS. But the problem with Angry Birds

  • Trilogy is, fittingly, the same thing driving the change that’s transforming mobile gaming.

  • It’s cheaper, faster and more convenient on your...well, never mind.

There’s a

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it