David Maisel, the former chairman and 
executive vice president of Marvel Comic’s entertainment arm, is joining the Angry Birds.
Maisel is the latest hire at Rovio, which is looking to expand its hit iPhone game into several new fields, including television and film. And given Maisel’s executive producer credits on “Iron Man” (and its sequel), “Thor,” “Captain America” and “The Incredible Hulk,” it seems to be getting more serious about film.
The Angry Birds are getting ready 
to fling themselves at Hollywood in an even more aggressive fashion.
Rovio Mobile has acquired Finish animation studio Kombo and plans to use the group to expand its push into new areas of the entertainment biz far beyond the company’s gaming roots.
Physics games and iOS devices go 
together, but so far the emphasis in these games has been on cute and funny cartoon characters. Saving Seeds HD : doodle physics takes a different, slightly more mature, approach. It accomplishes this by offering a series of increasingly tough puzzles and rewarding you with a zenlike moment of peace when you succeed, with calming music playing as you watch your seed(s) turn into flowers. It is, in fact, hard to get truly frustrated with the game, as the omnipresent lulling music is so effective at calming the player — and perhaps sharpening their game. With more than 120 levels, there’s a lot to play here. And like the titans of OS gaming, even when you finish, you’ll want to go back and play it all over again.
Maybe this will make those cranky 
canaries happy.
Rovio, developer of the hit “Angry Birds” series, has revealed via Twitter that its latest title – “Angry Birds Rio” – has hit the 10 million download mark in just 10 days.
Forget Xbox vs. PlayStation. In the videogame
industry, the biggest brewing battle these days is the one between traditional developers and the new breed — those who specialize in Facebook and iPhone titles.
While social networking games and mobile gaming apps are still dwarfed financially by franchises like “Halo” and “Call of Duty,” they’re stealing eyeballs — and talent — from the console world. And, according to some high-ranking execs, they’re putting the future of the industry at risk.
New Angry Birds levels are never a bad thing — and 
Angry Birds provides plenty. With 60 initial levels and commitments from developer Rovio for additional updates in May, July, October and November, this will keep fans of the runaway hit franchise happy for a while. Veterans of the game, though, might be disappointed with how easy half of the levels are this time around, although there are other elements, such as hidden fruits and new achievements to keep them busy. The marketing parts of the game are relatively tame, which is refreshing as well. While the visceral thrill of the game is still there, the gameplay is starting to show very early signs of aging. Angry Birds has been around for a while now and there are lots of clones on the market. It’s still a lot of fun, but Angry Birds Rio is noticeably less addicting than Angry Birds.
Not since Angry Birds first hit the App Store 
has a title so captivated the iAudience, and Tiny Wings deserves the praise. It’s a game whose success lies in its simplicity — the controls consist solely of touching the screen at the right time. That might sound a bit thin, but this is the type of game you’ll find yourself playing for long, long periods. It is, in many ways, Zen-like. Beyond the core gameplay, there’s an added bonus: the various islands you’ll explore change every day, giving the title an incredible amount of replayability, as you can’t simply learn a pattern and repeat it time and again. Tiny Wings is one of those rare games that makes you feel good as you play, letting you root for the chubbly little bird on screen and share his joy when he takes to the sky.
It’s not just awards season in Hollywood. The video 
game world is honoring its best with a series of ceremonies in the first quarter as well.
Last night, the 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards took place at the ongoing DICE Summit in Las Vegas, with “Mass Effect 2” walking away with the year’s top honors. The title won “Game of the Year” from the organization – while Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk, founders of the studio behind the game, were inducted into the AIAS Hall of Fame.
Because there are so many app games on the market, 
we don’t write about them too often here at Technotainment, but we’re willing to make an exception for “Angry Birds.”
The sequel to the most popular game on the iPhone, iPad and pretty much any other mobile device it’s on has finally been unveiled. And this time, the birds are turning their wrath on… other birds. The game – called “Angry Birds: Rio” – is due out this spring and will have 45 initial levels. But to get you pumped up, creator Rovio and 20th Century Fox have put together one heck of a trailer.
It would be easy to write off Trucks and Skulls HD 
as a clone of Angry Birds, but that would be doing this app a disservice. While the physics-based puzzles are in the same vein — an enemy hides under wood, stone, and other obstacles that you destroy by flinging objects — there’s just enough of a difference that it remains enjoyable. The game is, quite simply, fun. Beating the puzzles gives players a rush, while losing only makes them want to try again (rather than frustrating them). The addition of a level creator is a nice touch that encourages creativity, but sharing the levels you create is a slightly difficult process. (You have to email them to friends, who then must upload them into the game.) Scores can be shared with friends via the iPad’s Game Center functionality.
Read more at Common Sense Media
Chris Morris: Journalist 