Not only will the randomised levels mess you up, but each time you start a level, the birds you are allocated in order to win are also randomised. Two separate, completely uncontrollable aspects have been deliberately concocted so as to make the game that little bit more unfair challenging. Levels are now also separated into multiple sections, so managing to knock down all the pigs in one section only to find yourself pigless for the next will result in a failure of the entire level.
As an example of the randomised levels, below you can find four separate images demonstrating the beginning of a certain level with different towers each time.
I know it doesn’t look like much, but this level is just one example of many. Tower layouts are randomly generated with different components, pigs of different sizes and sometimes there’ll even be a pig who can blow up a balloon and just float around which usually forces you to fire an extra bird from your arsenal leaving you unprepared for the next section of a level. You can also see that the birds given are different. Sometimes that can benefit you, but other times it’ll completely mess up any strategy you may have been able to pull off.
However if you manage to destroy enough of the level, your ‘destruction meter’ will fill up and award you with a random bird or spell to add to your hand.
The tricks implemented to try and force a player to succumb to failure after failure are completely uncalled for in my opinion. Gamers like a challenge, but when that challenge involves relying on luck and having to wait until their lives have replenished to try again, things start to get a bit ridiculous.
For a sequel, it certainly feels like Rovio Entertainment have taken away from the game rather than added to it.
The Fun Bits
Putting aside dumb luck, regenerating lives and currencies, Angry Birds 2 does have the capacity to keep you glued to your screen. If you managed to get a good streak of luck and are given successive level layouts that can be fairly beaten with a decent amount of birds, you get a nice feeling of satisfaction of your efforts and skill.
Boss levels bring a bit more of an actual challenge which is really quite welcomed by this gamer. You will go through the usual couple of randomised sections before coming across a boss section. These aren’t randomised so you can actually put your mind to the challenge without having to rely on blind luck. The boss pig comes complete with health bar and can take quite a beating. It’s up to you to manifest this beating. Smash him with as much of the level as possible or knock him off the screen and victory is yours!
Player vs. player leaderboards feature in the arena which unlocks after you’ve beaten level twenty-five. This is an entertaining addition to the game for people who have a competitive streak in them. Thankfully the arena can be played even if you’ve run out of lives but unfortunately you’re not going to get away with playing the game that easily. The pink gems that act as the currency for Angry Birds 2 are needed in order to compete in the arena. Alternatively, every three hours or so you are given a free entry to the arena and you can also enter again for free by watching a video; but after the free entries have depleted you will need to tap into your stash of pink gems to attempt climbing the leaderboard.