liberal - to - play games often look likable , but it ’s hard to make love at a glance whether the business organisation model is insidious and fun ruining , or reasonable and worth pumping a few bucks into . With Freemium Field Test , we ’ll take a recent devoid - to - romp iOS game , put it through its paces , and let you hump if it ’s really deserving your clip ( and money ) .
Rovio , once the Martin Luther King Jr. of Io gaming and the creative force play behind millions of license Angry Birds shirt and doodads , is on a serious downswing right now . The studio apartment reporteda 73 - percent drop curtain in profitslast year , due to a issue of grounds : Its flagship brand is losing steam , the merchandise is n’t selling , and its free - to - play efforts simply are n’t compete with current App Store behemoth .
Angry Birds Stella Pop couch Rovio ’s top - of - the - pipeline production value to slap-up use , with lustrous graphics and enticing backdrop .
Candy Crush SagaandClash of Clansreportedly pulled inat least $ 1 billion apiecelast year , yet attempt to contribute Angry Birds into the free - to - drama blank space have n’t been able-bodied to quicken the success of before paid entries . Angry Birds Stella Popis the previous attempt , and it shows that Rovio ’s strategy at this point is more or less , “ If you ca n’t tucker ’em , clone ’ em”—Stella Pop is not only a spinoff of a spinoff ( of last fall’sAngry Birds Stella ) , but also a copy of a copy .
This bubble - popping function is built in the mold of colonnade classic Bust - a - Move ( a.k.a . Puzzle Bobble ) , but really , it ’s a near - identical copy ofBubble Witch 2 Saga — from the interface to the magnate - ups , map screen , and more . sorry of a statement as it is about the series ’ current mindset , Angry Birds Stella Pop continue an enjoyable freemium plot , best its rival on production note value while delivering amusing gameplay — but also difficulty spikes and arbitrary wait periods .
The pitch
Angry Birds Stella Pop replicates the marrow design of Taito ’s excellent Bust - a - Move , see on numerous weapons platform over the last two decades — include anaging paid versionand a currentfree - to - play iterationon iOS . Using a house of cards rocket launcher at the bottom of the screen , you ’ll flash the celestial sphere upwards in the hopes to matching at least three comparable - discolor house of cards together on the silver screen . Generally , the goal is to remove the board using a limited number of bubble .
That ’s Stella Pop on the left and Bubble Witch 2 Saga on the right . Aside from the esthetical shift , they function and act as identically .
confect Crush maker King simulate that purpose for the Bubble Witch Saga series , and it ’s last summertime ’s fluffier - await sequel that Angry Birds Stella Pop uses for its template . It ’s uncanny : aside from the permit swap , the game and port are indistinguishable . The plot screen looks the same , down to the power - up emplacement ( and the great power - ups themselves ) , the winnings conditions and various level target are all very conversant , and even the map covert is carbon paper - copied here . And in a braid that ’s likely coincidental , yet still mind - boggling , the heroine of Bubble Witch 2 Saga is named Stella . severely .
You ’ll wind along the path from event to outcome , but each new human race prompts you to either waitress , pay up , or nettle your Facebook pals .
If you did n’t live better , you might think that King was contracted to make an Angry Birds reading of its very popular bubble - popper . In fact , I full expected the skirt to be dressed up like wizards , with the slob pattern as phantasy ogres . No such portion . Still , if I had to clean between the two games based on App Store listings , I ’d take Stella Pop in a jiffy . King ’s generic aesthetic is conveniently top by Rovio ’s boldly color and lavishly animate offering .
And despite its questionable lineage , Angry Birds Stella Pop is an gratifying bubble - Sir Karl Raimund Popper . There ’s nice variety in the level object glass — unmortgaged the screen with limited bubbles , hotfoot a timer to the top , smash a Sus scrofa - centrical puzzle that spin out with each collision , etc.—and the controls find more reactive than in Bubble Witch . And it does n’t make out off as inane , either : There ’s skill required to get through many of these stages . Well , right up until the point in which freemium balancing butts its head .
The catch
Out of bubbles or meter ? The plot is glad to extend a helping hand — in exchange for some coin , uncommitted for substantial money .
The loose - to - bid manakin at work in Angry Birds Stella Pop is a very familiar one , reminiscent of those find out in game likeCandy Crush Soda SagaandPeggle Blast . It hangs in the background for a while , let you play a solid opening stretch of the game , justly up until the point where you struggle . And it ’s then that you realize that the odds are n’t tuned in your favor . Which is neither surprising nor even particularly devious : It ’s just the nature of many free - to - play biz .
Stella Pop ’s DOE system gives you five hearts to act upon with , which take 30 hour apiece to rejuvenate . fall back a few level try in a poor span of time and you ’ll be hold back to play , bugging Facebook friends for free lives , or spending premium in - game coin to carry on . That ’s pretty typical . Also typical ( and thwarting ) are the trouble spikes — the horizontal surface that seem like they can only be cleared with the pure lineup of colored bubble , which seldom tear apart out . peradventure they ’re notimpossible , but they stick out like afflictive thumbs and seem expertly crafted to repulse you crazy .
mention how the $ 6.99 option is a spoilt value per bubble than the cheaper one . Sure makes $ 2.99 seem like a mass , does n’t it ?
So what do you do , aside from bashing your mind against the virtual bulwark over and over again ? Well , you expend cute coin to purchase a few extra bubbles , an additional stretchability of time , or extra power - up bubbles . Do so and you may push in advance . But there ’s a cost , of course : Coin sheaf range from $ 1 to $ 35 , and the “ popular ” $ 3 bundle throw you about four continues worth , or the power to fully refill your lives five times .
Stella Pop also wee you wait for 24 hour to access a new cosmos of levels , unless you annoy your Facebook buds or spend coin . Ultimately , I expend about $ 9 on coins , and used those to go on on in various slipway : bash the barriers , get an surplus few shots at finishing a stage , or continue on when my lives were tapped . I was well-chosen to no longer be stuck , but there ’s trivial atonement in paying your way out of problems — especially when they palpate so contrived .
The verdict
If I were n’t testing out the in - app purchases for this clause , I ’m sure that I would n’t spend a penny on Angry Birds Stella Pop . That ’s not to say that it ’s a bad game , but it does n’t have that rousing appeal or addictive clinch that can make me pull up out my wallet .
Enjoyed only as a gratuitous game , it ’s a worthwhile diversionary attack : encounter a few rounds here and there and sop in the low-cal teaser gameplay and prima production values . But when a barrier deliver itself , it ’s safe to take the time to do something else . Rovio may not have made an original secret plan here by any stretch of the imagination , but at least it made an pleasurable one . It ’s just not quite spellbind enough to guarantee pay past the prompt .
