‘Angry Birds 2’ Goes Free To Play, Available Now

The 15th game of the “Angry Birds” series from Rovio Entertainment, “Angry Birds 2,” is now available to download for iOS and Android devices as well as the Windows Phone. The sequel to the first “Angry Birds” was announced earlier this month, with the promise that the game would be “bigger, badder and birdier.” The game’s major changes include the fact that it is free to play and will include boss fights for the first time in an “Angry Birds” game.

According to GameSpot, this is the first time an official “Angry Birds” game has been free to play since other titles like “Angry Birds: Transformers” were considered spinoff games. Previous “Angry Birds” games gave mobile users the option to pay for the premium version of the game or play the free version that’s advertisement-heavy, but now there appears to be only one version of the new “Angry Birds 2.”

Some of the game’s mechanics have changed for “Angry Birds 2,” though the core gameplay of flinging birds to destroy obstacles and save the eggs remains the same. The levels now have a multi-area layout with multiple catapults, whereas levels in the previous games would have only a smaller area with one catapult.

The sequel also sports a new card system for the birds, as each one is now in a deck for the player to choose. Players will start out with one card for each bird, but destruction bonuses can lead to multiple cards of the bird used. There are also in-app purchases for those who want to get the best birds right away but are impatient with getting through the game.

Bosses are also now a prominent part of “Angry Birds 2.” While players will mostly go through pigs that are easy to beat, some stages will have a boss fight with a bigger and more powerful pig that can take more damage than the other enemies.

Like most games that are free to play, “Angry Birds 2” has a lives system that regenerates over time. Lives are lost when players aren’t able to complete the level but can be replenished by watching videos. Apparently, the lives refill fast enough, as stated in Pocket Gamer’s review of the game, though watching videos does also give players a decent amount of in-game currency.

“Angry Birds 2” is available on the iTunes App Store and Google Play. The game has multiple worlds and hundreds of stages, with Rovio stating that more would be added through various updates.