“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… a group of desperate rebel birds faced off against a galactic menace: the Empire’s evil Pigtroopers!”
This is how the online shop for the PC version of the newest Angry Birds adventure begins its pitch. And why not? The characters of the two franchises are compatible and the story lines similar: callous personalities of hickory-smoked nature try to steal the universe’s resources, thereby prompting the reaction of a few cute but temperamental featherweights, who band together and blow them to kingdom come.
Angry Birds Star Wars is the fifth instalment in the popular video game by Rovio Entertainment. The original Angry Birds edition was first launched in December 2009, followed by Angry Birds Seasons (October 2010), Angry Birds Rio (March 2011), and Angry Birds Space (March 2012).
Angry Birds Star Wars was the next logical step, combining two monster concepts into one. No more waiting for another film, or setting up a video game on a cumbersome console at home. Get ready to sling those birds and shoot down the Empire’s Pigtroopers, Emperor Piglatine, and the nefarious Lard Vader with a flick of your finger!
The game was released in November 8. It’s compatible with iOS, Android, Microsoft Windows, Windows 8, and OS X, and is going to play its part in Disney’s strategy to expand the Star Wars franchise following the Hollywood giant’s purchase of Lucasfilm for four billion dollars last month.
Rovio has released a few teasers and video clips to introduce its main characters, which we will present in a series of mini articles, starting with this one.
First in line is Red Bird Luke Skywalker, who (according to the Angry Birds Star Wars wiki on wikia) ”begins as the standard Red Bird, but gains a Light Saber early in the game that allows him to inflict greater damage in a wider radius by swinging the Saber. The Saber can be used to deflect laser shots the Bad Piggies fire at the Birds directly back at the Pigs.”
Next in line is Pink Bird Princess Leia aka Stella Organa who has sacrificed “her bubble-blowing power for a new pull beam,” which she “can use… to tug out objects from their original position, causing the structure to become less stable.”
Take that, Lard Vader.