Angry Birds GO! is Now Available on Android, Your In-app Purchase Nightmare has Risen

Long lost fans of Mario Kart, a potential new addiction has arrived on Android in the form of Angry Birds GO! Oh, and that exclamation isn’t because I’m overly excited, that’s simply how Rovio is spelling the game’s name. But yes, the kart-style racer from Rovio is here and available for free. 

Free is actually an interesting way to put it, though. The game can be downloaded without a cost, it’s just that the in-app purchases are heavy with this one. You start as the red bird, pick from a couple of junky karts to get going (with the option to buy a better one), walk through a tutorial, and then you are on your way.

Once you start playing ABG, you will probably find the gameplay quite enjoyable. It’s easy to get the hang of, does indeed reminder you in a way of Mario Kart, and features enough different styles of play that you shouldn’t get bored any time soon. There are ways to build up your kart to make it faster and more powerful, power-ups to give you an advantage, and different birds to unlock throughout your journey.

The problem is, that in order to advance you better be ready to spend all sorts of cash or have loads of patience. The game is constantly asking you to spend money, whether that be on a $50 kart (seriously, that exists) or on gems to give your “tired” bird more energy to race. That’s right, after 5 races, your bird is too tired to race, so you either wait the 20 minutes for him to rest or you spend cash to make that happen quicker.

I’ve been playing the game for a solid hour this morning and overall, don’t find it to be all that bad of a game. It is actually pretty fun once you get to racing and unlocking new birds. It’s just that I’d much rather spend $5 up front to unlock the game fully than deal with greedy in-app purchase tactics and ads. I get that this is the model for gaming these days, but man, it takes a lot of fun out of it.

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Cheers Heath!