A (not very) long time ago in a galaxy (not at all) far away, two of the most popular names in entertainment joined forces for one of the craziest crossovers ever! Angry Birds Stars Wars combines the simple yet addicting gameplay of Angry Birds with the familiar characters and settings of the Star Wars movies. And now it’s blasting to a game console near you. Originally on tablets and smartphones, now Angry Birds Star Wars is available for nearly every new and current game console out there, but reviewed on Wii here.

Angry Birds Star Wars is like a combination of the original game and Angry Birds Space. On planet levels like Tatooine and Hoth, it plays like the original. Choose your trajectory and strength to fire a limited number of birds from a slingshot to knock over structures and destroy all the Pig Troopers in the level. In space levels, gravitational pull from planetoids will affect how your birds fly, so you’ll have to develop new strategies to beat those piggies.

Each bird in the game is represented by a different Star Wars character and has a special skill you can use to help beat the pigs. Just press the A button while your bird is in the air to use that skill. The Luke Skywalker bird swings his lightsaber to help break down blocks, while the Obi Wan bird uses the Force to push objects away. The Han Solo bird can fire blaster shots, and the R2-D2 egg can zap out bolts of electricity. Play control is mostly simple (Obi Wan’s Force move was a little hard to aim). Even though it’s an older console, playing on the Wii may be one of the best ways to enjoy Angry Birds Star Wars because pointing the Wii remote at the TV to launch your bird and use attacks is very intuitive.

The game includes over 200 regular levels with settings from the original Star Wars Trilogy. There are even exclusive levels for the home consoles. If you find special hidden golden eggs in a level, you can even try bonus stages! By earning stars, you can unlock goodies like funny videos, stickers, concept art, and more! There are multiplayer modes, too. Only problem with the Wii version (aside from Obi Wan’s Force move being hard to use) is that the game does not have an instruction booklet, and the in-game manual icon tells you to go online to read it. Most of the time, you don’t need it for this kind of game, but I did have to fumble around to find some things anyway. But otherwise, this is still a fun and humorous romp for Angry Birds and Star Wars fans alike.

Kid Factor:

Angry Birds Star Wars is rated E for Everyone with ESRB descriptors of Comic Mischief and Mild Cartoon Violence. While you can slam into piggies, knock blocks onto them, and zap them with your lightsaber and lasers, defeated characters just disappear in a puff of smoke when defeated. Reading skill is helpful for some of the menus and instructions, and some younger gamers may need help with harder levels. But kids love Angry Birds and Star Wars, so I think they’ll enjoy this game regardless, especially since it has tons of levels.

Tags: Game Reviews, Movies with Children