Appinion: "Angry Birds"

When pigs run afoul of these feathered foes, all you-know-what breaks loose.

So long, solitaire! Farewell, FreeCell! There's a new kind of evil in town, and it's called "Angry Birds." This top-rated application for the iPhone/iPod Touch is a cross between addictive puzzle games like "Snood" or "Tetris" and "Gorillas"—that ancient DOS game where you vanquished your foe with well-aimed exploding bananas.

This time, however, you're flinging furious fowl at green, gloating pig heads. The birds are in a tizzy because porcine villains have taken their eggs, and your job is to go get them some justice. In each cleverly and cartoonishly drawn puzzle level, you are confronted with a number of pig heads winking and smiling among a variety of obstacles. All you have to do is aim your preloaded slingshot, let the birds fly at their foes, then watch the pigs poof into points.

This is easier said than done, of course. But the clever creators have mixed up the difficulty levels so that the puzzles are not always progressively challenging. Sometimes, I'll be stuck on a level for a day or two; the next evening, I can blow through 10 levels in no time. This keeps me from getting loser's fatigue, and I sincerely appreciate it. After all, it's already a losing proposition to spend hours at a time on a silly game—at least, this one gives me the happy victory song I crave more than once every three days!

To keep the game interesting throughout the seemingly infinite number of levels, you aren't just aiming the same bird. Instead, there are a handful of bird types, each with different "talents." One can drop bombs. One is a bomb. One is speedy and strong. One is weak but can shatter glass in triplicate. And one is, well, red. You're armed with different combinations and numbers of birds for each level. The trick is to use each one wisely to clear the course.

The upshot? "Angry Birds" is a stroke of evil genius. The good news is it's hard to imagine a more perfect game for the iPod Touch—it sets the bar high. The bad news is that it is so wildly successful, a barrage of homages can't be far behind. We professional procrastinators will have our work cut out for us to stay one step ahead of the games coming our way!



Angry Birds: *****