The Angry Birds finally get a BlackBerry, as popular game lands on the PlayBook

By Andy Boxall December 22, 2011

It may seem as if Angry Birds is available on just about every platform known to man, however up until today they hadn’t made it on to Research in Motion’s BlackBerry devices. But before all you Curve, Bold and Torch owners go rushing off to the AppWorld, the Angry Birds have so far confined themselves to the PlayBook.

While this will upset legions of fans, those who do own the BlackBerry PlayBook will be pleased to discover it’s not just the original game that’s available, but all three titles. The first Angry Birds has all 288 levels of catapult fun, while Angry Birds Seasons contains 205 levels including the most recent Halloween update, although there’s no mention of this year’s Christmas-themed levels out now for other platforms. Finally, there’s Angry Birds Rio, Rovio’s film tie-in which takes an ever-so slightly mixes up the standard formula.

All three games are priced at $4.99, which is more expensive than the HD versions for the Apple iPad, and considerably more than the free versions available for Android tablets. The PlayBook editions aren’t blighted by any in-game advertising though. A total of $15 may sound quite a lot for three mobile games, but with more than 600 levels to play through in total, there’s a lot of fun to be had.

The Angry Birds franchise celebrated its second birthday earlier this month, announcing the game had topped 500 million downloads, and a company valuation of more than $1 billion.

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Mobile

Senior Mobile Writer

Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…

Gaming

How to unlock the Hermit’s Cave in Lies of P

Pinocchio in Lies of P.

Despite clearly taking a lot of inspiration from FromSoftware's seminal titles, specifically Bloodborne, Lies of P has a distinct lack of optional areas. In fact, playing through the game naturally to the end may lead you to believe there aren't any extra zones or locations off the main path at all. That isn't quite true, as there is one area called the Hermit's Cave that stands as the only secret area you can go out of your way to visit. This isn't a place you can just waltz into, though, and has a very cryptic set of steps you need to take in order to access. Here's how you can unlock the Hermit's Cave in Lies of P.

Gaming

All costumes in Lies of P and how to get them

Pinocchio in Lies of P.

Not every Soulslike game has a character creator, but even when they do, it tends not to matter much when you will be covered up for the entirety of the game. Lies of P has you play as a set character, but you are free to dress up your puppet boy however you wish. The only hurdle is that you need to find and collect new costumes in order to wear them. Instead of having tons of individual components like pants, shirts, gloves, boots, and more, Lies of P sticks to simple outfits for your body and accessories that are all headwear such as masks, hats, and the like. These costumes are completely cosmetic, meaning they have no impact on your stats whatsoever, so you can feel free to wear your most outlandish outfits with no drawbacks. There are nearly 30 in all to fill your wardrobe with, so let's go on a shopping spree and go over all the costumes in Lies of P and how to get them.
Every costume in Lies of P

We will start with the outfits, of which there are 18 to find, in alphabetical order. Note that there will be two outfits and three accessories that are preorder exclusive. As of the time of this writing, there is no other option to obtain these outfits but we will update this post should that change in the future.

Gaming

Play Xbox Game Pass’ weirdest game before it leaves on September 30

weird west leaving game pass september 2023 art

Earlier this year, Arkane Studios disappointed on Xbox Game Pass with Redfall, a game that dropped much of the studio’s immersive sim expertise for an underbaked multiplayer adventure. But what if I told you that the person who founded Arkane and helped create series like Dishonored had left the studio prior to Redfall and made an excellent immersive sim that is also available on Xbox Game Pass?
Well, that actually happened, and the game in question is Weird West.
In March 2022, former Arkane Studios founder Raphaël Colantonio released Weird West under the newly formed WolfEye Studios. While it swaps out a third-person perspective for an isometric one, Weird West is a joyfully odd supernatural Western game that manages to tap into the immersive sim design philosophy that made many of the games Colantonio worked on excellent.
Unfortunately, Weird West is leaving Xbox Game Pass on September 30, so we recommend you give it a shot before it’s gone.
Embracing the weird
Surprisingly, there aren’t a lot of games set in the Wild West, and even fewer that lean into creepy, supernatural elements like Weird West does. The game’s world is full of supernatural cults, magic, and creatures like pigmen, zombies, and werewolves. Its story is told across five distinct campaigns, starting with one about a retired bounty hunter whose child is killed and husband kidnapped, setting her off on an adventure to get them back.
The individual stories of all five of Weird West’s playable characters are emotionally captivating and quite distinct from each other. That’s very noticeable as soon as you jump over to the second story, which follows a human turned into a Pigman. Still, it’s a living and reactive world, so decisions made and characters killed in an earlier character’s journey do have an impact on subsequent characters’ adventures; you can even find and recruit characters that you previously played as.

It’s here where Weird West’s immersive sim roots start to shine, as a lot of emergent narrative moments with impact feel crafted by the player. This carries over into gameplay, which is done from an isometric perspective. Like Arkane’s best games, there are always multiple solutions to any objective, and going in with guns blazing isn’t always the best option. Instead, players are encouraged to stealth around, sweet-talk characters, and even use some magical abilities if the playable character can learn them as they progress through a character’s journey.
With these more dynamic elements, the isometric perspective, and the narrative focus, Weird West can feel like as much of a CRPG as an immersive sim at times. As such, it might be an enjoyable follow-up to Baldur’s Gate 3 for players finally coming off that lengthy RPG. At the very least, if you enjoy games that emphasize player freedom and also find novel ways to make it influence the game’s broader narrative, then you’ll enjoy Weird West.
The game had some technical issues and rough edges when it was first released, so it has flown under the radar. Most of those have all been smoothed over by now, though. Post-launch updates have fixed most of the major bugs and improved the character progression, aiming, and companion and stealth systems by adding more depth and UI clarity to them. Weird West is in the best state it has ever been in, but still feels as distinct and strange as ever.