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[BuggyDClown]

Angry Birds Go! is a Kart Racing game that plays a bit like a runner where you don't control acceleration or breaking. Your job is to just drive the kart, break fruit, grab coins and get first.

You can upgrade your karts and unlock new racers as well. Each bird has their own unique ability, just like in the standard Angry Birds games. Each race begins by launching your kart from a slingshot at the starting line.

I know there has been a thread about the minimization in this game and I will make two points clear in this first post. There are very obnoxious high value karts, which may or may not break the competitive game, and there is not payed version or unlock all option.

That being said, I have yet to feel the need to spend a dime, and have played over 30 races now, and upgraded my vehicle many times, while almost always maintaining first place. So I do not see any reason so far in the main game to spend any real money if you don't want to, nor does it appear to lock out the full game experience.

Below I made a breakdown of the game, with a preview of it's systems and how the coin values in the game work. I'm putting it on the second post, in case somehow someone is worried about anything spoiler related.

Spoiler

I know.. it's Angry birds. Who cares?

 

[BuggyDClown]

Alright let me get this out of the way and say Angry Birds Go! Is SICK (you can swap to New Zealand App store to get it before the 11th)

The only downside is the pay to play model for vehicles and racers. It was amazing for the beginning but once you unlock a second racer you have to use in game currency to keep your racers stamina up to keep racing. The Stamina meter does not come into play until you unlock the first racer.

Each racer can seemingly do 5 races every 20 mins. So Once you have enough of them unlocked it wont be an issue but I hate games that put time caps on.

Games like this and PvZ2 annoy me because id shell out some actual coin for a unlock all/payed version like apps used to always offer.

The in game currency is not broken though, Ive been able to easily gather enough coins while playing to upgrade vehicles and stay in first without dropping a penny even after about 30 races.

Took some screen shots too.

Vehicle upgrade screen. You can see the coin value after Ive already done a dozen upgrades is not offensive.

Character select screen

You can see there will be plenty of racers to unlock. You can see the selected birds stamina on the top right, currently it is full meaning she can race 5 times. Then wait 20 minutes for her to refill or spend 10 crystals. The crystals aren't hard to come by but are in much less abundance than coins.

Level select here shows the different game types. Time trials, head to head, standard race and fruit splat. The center racer can be unlocked when you complete the challenges and then beat him in a race.

In game race. I find the touch controls much easier.

Race end screen. You can see a single race win got me enough coins for more than half an upgrade. So no payment seems required if you want to play. They do always annoyingly have the double coins for life button which costs 9.99$

You can also see your friends top scores next to yours on the top right.

Im really loving this game. Its by far the most fun Ive had on a Kart Racer for iOS and it looks sweet too.

 

[Tripon]

It'll be interesting if this game can get any Mario Kart fans or fans of Kart racing in general.

 

[Interfectum]

Disgusting business model.

 

[BuggyDClown]

Disgusting business model.

I wouldn't go that far. This isn't a monetization of time nor is the balance broken.

The only reason you would spend a dime is to not wait between every 5 races the20min limit. This is per racer, not overall, so once you have three or four racers, you won't even notice.

I haven't had to grind at all to upgrade my kart, so getting coins has been very balanced.

Now to say the value of the items they are selling is gross, well sure. I just don't see any reason to buy anything, the free game is a lot of fun and not limited.

 

[epmode]

The freemium bullshit is especially insidious when it's bolted into games that are targeted towards young children. Nice going, Rovio.

 

[Uncle Rupee]

Knocking off Mario Kart. The first step towards admitting you have no original ideas left. (of course, I realize that Angry Birds was itself a knock off of a flash game)

 

[BuggyDClown]

The freemium bullshit is especially insidious when it's bolted into games that are targeted towards young children. Nice going, Rovio.

Did you even read the breakdown? I purposefully went over how the game is built that you don't need to pay a dime.

Knocking off Mario Kart. The first step towards admitting you have no original ideas left. (of course, I realize that Angry Birds was itself a knock off of a flash game)

Well It's not like we can get Mario kart. So yeah.

So much mobile hate on gaming side.

 

[Face it Tiger..]

Knocking off Mario Kart. The first step towards admitting you have no original ideas left. (of course, I realize that Angry Birds was itself a knock off of a flash game)

What are you talking about, nothing about Rovio was original.. Angry Birds was and is a colorful ripoff of crush the castle.

 

[zinder]

(you can swap to New Zealand App store to get it before the 11th)

How exactly do I do this?

 

[sakipon]

Well It's not like we can get Mario kart. So yeah.

So much mobile hate on gaming side.

It's not mobile hate, more like hating copycat games. For some reason those are often found in the mobile game business.

 

[sakata1]

Played this on the iPad Mini 1st gen. Looks good but I bet it probably looks great on a retina screen.

The game is all about upgrading your ride but too much grinding for my taste for a racing game. Its ok if you want to kill time when you are on the go but I would rather play Mario Kart DS. Heck Crash Team Racing on PSP is still the best kart racing game.

 

[thefit]

Why do they have karts when they can fly?

 

[zinder]

Why do they have karts when they can fly?

Pigs can fly?

 

[epmode]

Did you even read the breakdown? I purposefully went over how the game is built that you don't need to pay a dime.

Plenty of exploitive freemium games are built like that. And please stop trying to convince people that a game with a stamina meter isn't exploitive.

Fact is, children in particular have poor impulse control and games like this are designed to get them to harass their parents.

So much mobile hate on gaming side.

It's a distaste for monetization schemes that were popularized on mobile devices, not anything against mobile games in general. Didn't you see the outrage over Microsoft's fee to pay garbage in Forza 5?

 

[Succinct Verbosity]

I don't really mind more mascot racers, but aren't they just all "angry birds"? I mean, are there different Angry Birds?

 

[BuggyDClown]

It's not mobile hate, more like hating copycat games. For some reason those are often found in the mobile game business.

A kart racer is a genre at this point, just because it has been done doesn't mean it shouldn't be. I know the OG Angry birds was a ripoff of crush the castle, but I never liked the art style of that game. There's no reason these games can't co-exist.

How exactly do I do this?

View your Apple ID and change the country to NZ just remove the credit info and put in a city in Nz. After downloading just go change your info back. It will still update and sync with Game Center. Plus if you don't intend on making in-app purchases since it's free there is no downside.

 

[Glass Joe]

Plenty of exploitative freemium games are built like that. And please stop trying to convince people that a game with a stamina meter isn't exploitive.

Fact is, children in particular have poor impulse control and games like this are designed to get them to harass their parents.



It's a distaste for monetization schemes that were popularized on mobile devices, not anything against mobile games in general. Didn't you see the outrage over Microsoft's fee to pay garbage in Forza 5?

Having vehicles so expensive in an app like this is morally troubling to me. I envision scenarios where parents hand off their iPhone to their kids to shut 'em up in the car or something. Only to discover that little Timmy downloaded in game content that cost way more than the parents could have dreamed of. Especially since Angry Birds apps are commonly $2 or so.

 

[clay_ghost]

Did you change the red bird to neogaf logo? Or am I blind? Anyway it look like a Mario Kart clone from all the video I see with shitty iap. Sure you cam defend it by saying once you unlock more racers you can choose anothers while it recharge, but everyone have their personal likes and I assume each control differently. In Mario kart I rarely play the heavy weight for example, in this game I will have to wait or make do with a racer I don't like. I really rather that I can buy the game instead of the iap.

 

[AlexMogil]

Pigs can fly?

In this industry?

 

[epmode]

Having vehicles so expensive in an app like this is morally troubling to me. I envision scenarios where parents hand off their iPhone to their kids to shut 'em up in the car or something. Only to discover that little Timmy downloaded in game content that cost way more than the parents could have dreamed of.

This happens all the time. Apple is pretty good about refunding people who complain though.

edit: I know they refund people when their kids spend thousands of dollars on IAPs. I'm not sure about smaller amounts.

 

[BuggyDClown]

Plenty of exploitative freemium games are built like that. And please stop trying to convince people that a game with a stamina meter isn't exploitive.

Fact is, children in particular have poor impulse control and games like this are designed to get them to harass their parents.

It's a distaste for monetization schemes that were popularized on mobile devices, not anything against mobile games in general. Didn't you see the outrage over Microsoft's fee to pay garbage in Forza 5?

Sure and I acknowledge that it's bad but it's also not the worst. The core game is in no way hamperd by their model. Unlike say PvZ2 where certain plants are essential and the game in a nonstop grind. This isn't a review for CNET or yahoo for their kids. This is GAF, generally people here want to know if they can just play the game without it being broken or locked away. This is one of the best experiences with that I have seen with free to play on mobile. Usually you can't win at games without dropping coin.

 

[clay_ghost]

Sure and I acknowledge that it's bad but it's also not the worst. The core game is in no way hamperd by their model. Unlike say PvZ2 where certain plants are essential and the game in a nonstop grind. This isn't a review for CNET or yahoo for their kids. This is GAF, generally people here want to know if they can just play the game without it being broken or locked away. This is one of the best experiences with that I have seen with free to play on mobile. Usually you can't win at games without dropping coin.

But its locked, I cannot play the game using only the red bird and not wait for example.

 

[BuggyDClown]

Having vehicles so expensive in an app like this is morally troubling to me. I envision scenarios where parents hand off their iPhone to their kids to shut 'em up in the car or something. Only to discover that little Timmy downloaded in game content that cost way more than the parents could have dreamed of. Especially since Angry Birds apps are commonly $2 or so.

Why does the kid know the password, and why don't the parents disable the in app purchases. I'm not saying its okay, but it is easily avoidable.

Did you change the red bird to neogaf logo? Or am I blind? Anyway it look like a Mario Kart clone from all the video I see with shitty iap. Sure you cam defend it by saying once you unlock more racers you can choose anothers while it recharge, but everyone have their personal likes and I assume each control differently. In Mario kart I rarely play the heavy weight for example, in this game I will have to wait or make do with a racer I don't like. I really rather that I can buy the game instead of the iap.

Yeah definitely. The racers in this are not by weight, the only difference is their power up. You can spend 10 diamonds to refresh your racer, and you can unlock those by doing challenges. I would love a full version of this, and would pay 10$ if it was available, but if the only downside for me to play this game for FREE is swapping racers, waiting or completing challenges so I don't have too. Well that's not a bad deal.

But its locked, I cannot play the game using only the red bird and not wait for example.

Sure, this is true. It requires you to wait, or use the in game diamond currency which you get less frequently as you complete challenges. Then again as I mentioned above, it is free. I do wish I could buy afull version, which I have stated a few times.

 

[Social]

This game is running really bad on my iPod 5th gen. It also keeps crashing.

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

Is buy this for $30 on the 3DS or Vita. F2P model sucks but I'll still check it out

 

[SneakyStephan]

I wouldn't go that far. This isn't a monetization of time nor is the balance broken.

The only reason you would spend a dime is to not wait between every 5 races the20min limit. This is per racer, not overall, so once you have three or four racers, you won't even notice.

I haven't had to grind at all to upgrade my kart, so getting coins has been very balanced.

Now to say the value of the items they are selling is gross, well sure. I just don't see any reason to buy anything, the free game is a lot of fun and not limited.

So is the base game free or what? Because this energy system is terrible in f2p games, I can't even imagine it rearing it's ugly fucking head in a game you paid money for...

A game that doesn't let you play it when you want it ...
Kids asleep and got 2 hours to game for the first time in a week? FUCK YOU GIVE ME MONEY

You guys damage controlling this should be ashamed

 

[Eusis]

This game is running really bad on my iPod 5th gen. It also keeps crashing.

That's because the iPod Touch became the red headed step child of the iOS line. Half the ram of the iPhone 4 on the fourth gen one, and a whole generation behind relative to the iPhone 5. It's one half of why I found the idea of portable gaming going all mobile abhorrent, Android's lacking and there's no GOOD, long lasting cheap option in the iOS space.

The other half quickly became how so many of these games want to go with heavy micro transactions. It's like mobile became completely abhorrent to what I'd want out of gaming, and the worst thing is it probably didn't have to be that way either.

 

[BuggyDClown]

So is the base game free or what? Because this energy system is terrible in f2p games, I can't even imagine it rearing it's ugly fucking head in a game you paid money for...

A game that doesn't let you play it when you want it ...
Kids asleep and got 2 hours to game for the first time in a week? FUCK YOU GIVE ME MONEY

You guys damage controlling this should be ashamed

In between? Honestly that's the best answer I can give. I gladly pay for full games often, and usually hate free to play games because you are locked out of playing the game at full operation without paying. In this game, they limit your playtime with 5 racers per bird. This doesn't occur until you unlock your second bird though.

At that point you can swap birds once one is tired. Now if you want to continue on with the same bird then yeah, it locks you out unless you pay ten diamonds for 20mins. I just swap birds since the bird seems to only change what power up you have. You don't have to pay for diamonds either, you can get them from completing challenges. I've already got 100 of them after only 40 or so races now.

So yeah, it can lock you out, but you get options to get around that still without paying. If the game gave me a 4.99 or 9.99 buy full option I would do it. It doesn't, but I honestly can't seem to get that annoyed since there are other options beside waiting for that bird to rest and I don't have to spend a dime to continue playing.