Overpriced and underproduced, this is about as big a letdown as Phantom Menace.
Finally, Angry Birds Star Wars suffers from a major flaw that affected the first game – pricing. Rather than releasing this as a cheapo trilogy for $15 on XBLA – it barely takes 500 MB of space, so that's novel for that service – it sells for $39.99 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PS Vita. What's worse, the Wii U version is $49.99, mainly because it uses the touch-screen similar to the iPad. But if users want touch-screen controls, why not get the mobile version?
It's also short-handed on content. The 200 levels take time to get through and the bonus levels are okay, but multiplayer feels like a tacked-on novelty that players will get tired of within just a few turns. Also, how much of a missed opportunity is it that the game includes nothing from Angry Birds: Star Wars II? You'd think that Rovio would've considered the opportunity, especially with how many more figurines it would've sold. Alas, we'll probably see it next year…for $40. Again.
Angry Birds: Star Wars still has timeless, addictive gameplay that never gets old, but this console port feels like a rush job, one with that lack in quality and content to really justify its ridiculously high price. A single day rental at Redbox should be all you need to get everything out of the game. Sure, not buying it may be a great disturbance in someone's retail force, but your wallet will be thanking the maker.
(Review copy provided by Activision.)
Score: 5 / 10
