Start Your Engines! Angry Birds Go is Out Now | Gameplay Guide

After soft-launching in a few countries south of the equator, Rovio’s newest kart racer, Angry Birds Go! is now available worldwide. The app is completely free to download and will be available for iOS, Android, Windows 8 Phone, and Blackberry 10. As of yet, we have no heard any official statement from Rovio whether it will be released for PC or Mac.

Note, Angry Birds Go is over 90 MBs and requires a healthy amount of RAM. On iOS, it’s a universal app requiring iOS 6.0 or later, and compatible with iPhone 4+, iPod Touch 5g+, and all iPads. Also, the app comes equipped with Rovio Accounts, allowing you to sync your data to the Cloud and continue playing on another device!

Oh, and there’s more Angry Birds news from today alone. Stay tuned…

Table of Contents:

• Gameplay Basics
• Shop: Coins, Gems, and Cash
• Race Modes
• Characters and Abilities
• Tips and Tricks

Gameplay Basics

You start the game with Red as the only available racer and Seedway as the only track. You must purchase (or TELEPOD-in) a Seedway-permissible cart to start racing.

Carts have four categories: Top Speed, Acceleration, Handling, and Strength. Use Bird Coins to improve these aspects of your cart, which will likewise increase the “CC” of your engine. (CC stands for Cubic Centimeters, which is commonly used to measure the size of an engine.)

Important Note: Once you increase all four cart attributes to their max, your cart automatically upgrades to allow for even more power! The third time you fully upgrade, the cart will be maxed to the limit.

To control your cart, you can either use “touch” controls (pressing the left or right side of the screen will turn) or “tilt” controls (physically tilting the device laterally). There is no gas or break control, though drifting too hard or taking damage will slow you down.

Your drivers can only race five times before needing a rest. To recharge fully takes a few hours, which can be a bit annoying when you only have one or two drivers. As your team fills up, playing time increases.

Coins, Gems, and Cash

Coins are the most common in-game currency. Coins are earned by completing (preferably winning) most races and collecting them in-game. You’ll spend coins to buy new carts, upgrade your cart’s attributes, etc.

Gems are a bit more rare, but by no means impossible to find. Gems are earned by completing challenges (mentioned below), beating Champions, or occasionally collected in-game. You’ll spend gems to buy some carts or skip challenges, or you can buy coins using gems if you’re feeling desperate for an upgrade.

Cash is king. You can’t earn cash besides in your real (non-Angry Birds) life. But you can spend cash to buy gems or carts. Yes, the app has IAPs. (Nervous parent worried about Junior running up your bill? Restrict IAPs!)

Get Ready to Race!

There are five types of play in each Champion’s bracket.

Versus: A simple one-on-one sprint. These are good ways to earn coins when needing to upgrade your cart to attempt other races. There is no “minimum CC” to compete, but rather three separate levels of difficulty.

Race Mode: A Grand Prix event in which you compete against 7 other drivers. You must place in the Top 3 to pass. There is a “minimum CC” requirement for each race, and a total of 5 races per bracket. (Once you pass all 5, “Race Challenges” become available, which can help earn both coins and gems fast.)

Time Boom: You alone race the clock, but the track is littered with ice, wood, and stone. Ice will provide the least resistance, wood will hurt your cart a little, and stone is very harmful. Avoid them all if you can to beat the fuse! Again, there is a “minimum CC” requirement, a total of 5 time booms per bracket, and then “Time Challenges” become available.

Fruit Splat: You compete against one or two piggies. The goal is to break enough fruit to clear away the bar at the top of the screen. It’s easiest to do this when you’re in first place, but clearing the bar is all that’s necessary to pass. Once the bar is filled, the remaining fruit will turn to coins! Again, there is a “minimum CC” requirement, a total of 5 fruit splats per bracket, and then “Splat Challenges” become available.

Champion Chase: As you progress, you must beat each additional character three times to unlock access to them. They won’t go down without a fight, so be prepared to retry a few times! There are high “minimum CC” requirements for these races.

Characters and Abilities

There are 12 total characters to play as or compete against, each with its own special ability. We list the ability that you can use when playing as that characters, but note that each has an additional defensive attack during Champion Chase mode.

• Red: Unlocked by default, Red features a 1-time moderate speed boost.
• Stella: A defensive gal, Stella can encase herself in a bubble. This will protect from most attacks and on-track debris, and also allows a wider range to collect coins, gems, and fruit.
• Bomb: True to his being, Bomb can explode to spin-out and severely damage nearby carts. Bomb’s cart will be unaffected by the blast, but make sure you don’t crash into your competitors.
• The Blues: The energetic trio features three mini speed boosts. These can be activated as completely separate points during the race, or in quick succession. The three boosts combined are approximately equal to Red’s single.
• King Pig: Lazy to the end, King Pig’s cart features an interesting speed boost. While not super fast, it will raise King Pig off the track for a short while. It’s useful if you’re falling too low in the Air circuit or coming up on a lot of blocks in Race Mode.
• Terence: Big, bold, and bothered, grumpy Terence can strike nearby competitors with lightning. The effect is similar, but perhaps slightly less damaging than Bomb’s blast.
• Bubbles: Super excited to be included, Bubbles inflates to a massive size and rolls forward. This is useful for pushing race leaders off the track, or for collecting items in a wider range.
• Matilda: Whether you love her or hate her, she’s pretty talented here. Matilda can throw her egg bomb ahead to damage carts in front of you! Very useful when playing from behind.
• Foreman Pig: Angry and mustached, the Foreman Pig carries three bundles of TMT (I’m not sure what it stands for… maybe Tri-mustache-toluene?). He can throw these forward at separate times, or in quick succession. Definitely an upgrade from Matilda.
• Hal: Tired of getting mocked for his beak, Hal fights back with a whirlwind of power! He can summon a tornado, which goes forward and spins out any racer caught in its path.
• Corporal Pig: Summons a helmet to revolve around the cart. The helmet protects Corporal Pig and damages anything that would otherwise damage his cart. Can be used up to three times, either simultaneously or sporadically. Lasts for two hits or approximately 15 seconds.
• Chuck: Perhaps the most difficult character to beat, Chuck features a 1-time extremely big speed boost. To beat him head-to-head, you must attack early or be left in the dust.

Tricks and Tips

• Don’t be afraid to play dirty. When competing against a small field, push sideways on their rear tires to spin them out.
• Damaged carts have lower top speeds. If you need to “repair” your vehicle, totaling it completely will respawn a brand new cart.
• Don’t get landed on! If a cart lands on your character’s noggin, you might be knocked out of the cart!
• Defense is good offense. Bomb and Terence are among the best characters to use in Champion Chase. Get a good launch off the slingshot, avoid the first attack, then blast the Champ! Hopefully their cart will be damaged enough that you can escape to the finish line.
• Drift and draft when you can. Drifting occurs when taking corners and your tires slide a bit sideways. Over short distances, you can maintain high speeds while turning! Drafting occurs when you drive immediately behind another cart. The low pressure behind the opponent’s vehicle means less air resistance on your cart, allowing you an attempt to pass.
• Don’t restart mid-race! You usually earn coins even when you lose, and coins help make your cart faster.
• Beware the Air! The Air circuit is extremely difficult. Your cart may be faster on the ground, but you’ll often find the computer is faster in the air. Try to avoid getting too much height off of jumps, but make sure you reach the other side first!
• Versus and Race Mode are great coin earners. Pick a difficulty level that you can win pretty consistently. Not only will you get the indicated payout, but you’ll also earn any coins you collect in-race!