So here it is, the inevitable ‘karting’ game that gets made whenever game developers run out of ideas. Sonic Racing, Mickey’s Speedway, Crash Team Racing – we’ve been here before with varying success, but Angry Birds Go! deserves a fair crack given the series’ excellent track record.
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Angry Birds Go! does all the things you’d expect it to – there are races and time trials, boss levels and upgrades. You can tilt to steer or simply tap either side of the screen. It looks nice and handles well, too, but despite getting all the basics right, something here feels very run-of-the-mill. Even the more novel level ideas are lifted from other games, such as the Fruit Ninja-indebted ‘Fruit Splat’ races or many a concept lifted from Mario Kart. The lack of an online or multiplayer mode is equally disappointing, although there’s every chance they could be added in at a later stage.
Perhaps we’ve been a bit harsh here, after all, Angry Birds Go! is free to download and its in-app purchases don’t feel too intrusive to the game as a whole. Somebody new to Angry Birds could have a lot of fun racing their way through the game’s many levels, but the problem-solving satisfaction which made the original great is sorely missing.
Angry Birds Go! is far from the worst karting spin-off we’ve played – in fact, it’s perfectly decent – but it’s hardly re-inventing wheel either.
Current version: 1.0.1
Requires Android: 2.3.3 and up