Must Have Games Final Week: Angry Birds

Angry Birds has finally come to Windows 7, but was it worth the wait?
It is hard to say. I mean on the one hand, Angry Birds has the very same gameplay that we all know and love from playing it on literally every other device ages ago. Did they add anything new? Just achievements and a heftier price tag. For a game that is available, and has been for a very long time, on other formats for $1 or less, it would seem odd to charge the last platform to receive it the most. Maybe I am confused, but that seems like paying more money today for the same blu-ray play that was out 2-years ago. I know from the many a forum post, that most people don't feel it is justified to pay 3-times as much for port of a game that has been around since 2009. I for one could not agree more.
I don't feel the need to go into lengthy details about the gameplay, graphics or sound. As I said before, literally nothing has been changed. We all know Angry Birds inside and out, and there is simply nothing new. That being said, it is still loads of fun, and perfecting the trial stages alone will sap enough of your time. If you need more level variety, might I suggest Chicks'n'Vixens or the equally free Pandas vs Ninjas. I agree with Microsoft that this is a must have title for WP7, but I don't feel it is a must have at this price. Rehashed title, at thrice the price. For me, it is trial mode until it goes up for DotW. Sure that may be a while, but I've waited this long right?

Must Have Games Week 4: Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 1

This weeks "Must Have Game" is sadly far from a necessity. There are so many areas in which this title could be improved, that it seems hard to believe that they were simply things were overlooked. Instead, it seems that its mishaps are more the result of flawed design. When you get down to it, the whole "reinventing the hedgehog" thing has been done to death, and, quite frankly, has been done better in other instances.

My primary concern is typically with price, and this title is no exception to the example of price gouging that is all too prevalent for Xbox Live titles Windows Phone. Currently set at $6.99, it will remain one of those titles I simply will not buy based on past purchases where you pay too much for far too little. I may wait to pick it up when it inevitably makes it to the Deal of the Week circuit, but only time will tell.

Moving on to the control scheme. To say the least, it is obnoxious. In fact it is the digital equivalent of trying to race around a field covered in Dorito chips, while barefoot, and carrying an egg on a spoon betwixt your teeth. Sure it's not the most agonizing things in the world, but I would not put it on my list of things to suggest to friends. While it does give you the option to select between two different modes of play (tilt or touch), they are both equally unattractive. In the touch mode, you have the a D-pad and jump button on screen. The jump button works surprisingly well, considering how terrible the D-pad functionality is. It is difficult to do the most basic of side-scrolling moves, like crouch for example. Which is entirely essential for this particular game.

The tilt controls do not fair much better, the only thing that seems to be improved by this mode is that you can go faster by simply tilting more. There's the rub, since this game is designed to go point A - point B as fast hedgehoggedly possible, you simply tilt the phone to the right. This affects nearly all of your jumping in the game, and the ability to backtrack when necessary. Speaking of jumping, there is no accuracy whatsoever in the tilt mode. You end up redoing areas with all the care and precision of a blind Grounder. You are either flying past a floating ledge, or not tilting far enough to land on it. Why not just adjust the tilt sensitivity you ask? Good question, short answer: There are no options. That's right, tilt controls and no options to change how responsive they are. Also, I have still yet to figure out how to spin-dash in this mode.

Graphics and sound are probably the best part of this title. Sounds are nostalgic and live up to the Sonic standard. They take you back to the times before that god awful Were-hog, when we still liked Sonic games. WinMo displays the vibrant colors, and HD graphics flawlessly. If I were going to point out a flaw in the graphics, and I am, it would be the way that it handles loops. Another Sonic staple made atrocious, and at times, just plain nauseating. Instead of the camera following the blue blur through the loop, the loop instead causes the screen to rotate in a somewhat jerky manner while Sonic seems to remain standing still. I am not sure why someone thought this would be a good idea. Needless to say, these two features are not enough to save this game.

Overall, I think Sega should pull an Anthony Weiner, take down the game, claim their account was hacked by some miscreant, then later make a public apology where they admit that they actually put it up as part of some absurd joke that apparently nobody thought was funny.

So let me be the first to wag the finger of shame at both Microsoft and Sega. Must have game indeed. Synopsis: Unplayable. Save your money for far superior titles and apps.