The Star Wars prequel trilogy is hated by many, but that hasn’t stopped mobile video game developer and publisher Rovio from creating a new Angry Birds title to mirror the films.
The company has teamed up with Lucasfilm once more and will release Angry Birds Star Wars II, a sequel to its original take on the tales of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo and chums, on September 19 in app stores worldwide.
The game will follow the narrative of The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith – well, as close as you can with brightly colored birds and pigs, anyway – and introduce a bunch of new characters and gameplay options. For fans of Bad Piggies, this includes the ability to ‘Join the Pork Side’ and play as one of the birds’ rather villanous rivals.
Rovio is undoubtedly looking for new revenue streams – it’s already offering a bunch of merchandise that includes board games, soft drinks and a television show – but Angry Birds Star Wars II will coincide with a new foray into Skylanders-style collectible toys.
The premise is rather simple; players can collect more than 30 figures and then unlock new content in the game by scanning them with their smartphone or tablet. Doing so will unleash new characters and super powers, giving players an edge as they progress through the main campaign.
A new line of merchandise will also be released alongside these new TELEPODS figures, including a wider range of toys, apparel, accessories, books and plush characters.
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