Platform:  iOS

Release Date:  September 27th, 2012

Developer:  Rovio Entertainment

Genre:  Puzzle

Rating:  7.5 out of 10

Let’s face it, Angry Birds (and its many manifestations) took the world by storm, but the series is suffering from market over-saturation.  For those tired of flinging birds, it’s time to give Bad Piggies a try.  We now get to see the world from the pigs’ point of view, and truth be told, they’ve got it much rougher than the kamikaze birds.  The piggies must build myriad contraptions out of a mind-boggling array of parts in order to reach various goals, often times reaching the same goals in different ways.  Bad Piggies requires keen perspective, a lot of experimentation, an astute understanding of the in-game physics, and more than anything, patience.  It’s not quite as kid friendly as Angry Birds after the first handful of levels, but it is in many ways much more satisfying.

As a pig, the player is presented with a sort of “course” in each level.  The primary objective is to reach the marked goal.  Each level has a finite amount of space in the form of blocks in which the player can built a type of vehicle or machine to transport the pig to the goal.  Each level also allows only certain parts to be used; all parts are not at one’s disposal in every level, although it is not mandatory to use every single component.  In each stage 3 stars can be earned, and the first usually requires that the pig simply cross the goal.  The other 2 stars are awarded for various tasks depending on the stage; these include passing the goal without the contraption breaking, using or not using certain parts, reaching the goal in a set time limit, and physically passing over stars on the way to the goal.  In some cases all 3 stars can be collected in one single play, but more often than not each star will entail the usage of a particular machination in a particular way.

The “vehicles” start out modestly, usually basic contraptions such as square frames with wheels.  As the stages wear on, Bad Piggies adopts a steep incline in difficulty.  Crossing the goal becomes much harder, as do collecting the additional stars.  The machines increase wildly in complexity, first using engines that must be manually started and stopped, moving on to well-timed explosives (like the TNT boxes in Angry Birds), and eventually evolving to all sorts of complicated elements working in tandem.  Propellers, bottle rockets, airplane-like pieces, ropes with weights, and balloons, just to name a few, must be used in differing combinations and constantly monitored over the course of the stage, such as starting and stopping engines and propellers, and discovering the perfect timing and placement of objects like the bottle rockets.

Some stars in later levels are exceedingly hard to procure.  Giant pigs must be moved to the goal, eggs must be carried without breaking free, and the courses themselves require increasingly specific machines to successfully navigate.  In a few levels, the Angry Birds themselves are on the hunt and must be avoided lest they wreck the piggy’s ramshackle transport.  At times all this madness will leave the player literally screaming in frustration, but hey, that’s what YouTube is for, right?  Some of the stages will assuredly leave you wishing you had a doctorate in physics.

To further complicate matters, little hidden bonus are littered throughout.  They can be recognized as part of deceased piggy, strangely enough.  Items like skulls, helmets, and mustaches are placed in generally hard to reach areas and when collected will reward the player with bonus levels and items for the sandbox (more on the sandbox next).  Since a stage is considered complete when the goal is crossed, those skulls located beyond the goal are especially difficult to obtain and necessitate even higher levels of genius than anything prior.  Between all the stars and skulls and the sheer number of levels, there’s more than enough content to keep anyone with a modicum of patience busy for quite awhile.

In addition the regular levels, Bad Piggies contains a “sandbox mode” where the player is free to experiment with all kinds of items and contraptions.  It’s a great way to blow off steam between seemingly impossible stages, and also an awesome way to play with different combinations of parts and increase one’s understanding of how exactly gravity and inertia are handled.  It’s a lot of fun as well to play with totally impractical vehicles, and a nice place for the kids to visit when the proper game has gotten the better of them.

Bad Piggies has spent its fair share of time frustrating the hell out of me, and truthfully I’ve been forced to hunt down solutions on more occasions than I can remember.  It’s not a game for everyone, but it contains a tremendous amount of depth for both a puzzle game and an iOS/Android title.  The virtually infinite number of combinations available in each stage ensures that Bad Piggies never stagnates, and creates a beautiful balance between intellect and creativity.  Sometimes (more times than you may think) the difference between winning and losing depends on if the pig is in the front box or the second, and other such seemingly trivial issues of placement.  Updates have arrived steadily that continue to add items and levels to the game.

Although Bad Piggies is technically a spin-off of Angry Birds, don’t let that affect your opinion one way or the other.  Bad Piggies is an entirely different game, and just because you hate Angry Birds it doesn’t mean you’ll hate Bad Piggies and vice versa.  If you’re looking for an addictive and mega-challenging puzzle game to run down your iOS/Android device’s battery, this is worth every bit of the $0.99 and then some.

Reviewed by The Cubist