Tiny Wings: Flying iPhone Fowl Fun

Some people (apparently a great majority) get some wild enjoyment out of firing furious fowls into rudely constructed structures that protect a pile of prig-looking pigs. It’s not just iOS devices, but Android, Palm and other charts are topped with the best-selling physics-based destruction game “Angry Birds”. But we already knew that, so I’m always interested in seeing which new app will surface to the number 2 spot on the mobile gaming charts; and I’ve found a winner: “Tiny Wings”.

Tiny Wings features a bird with a problem: his wings aren’t big enough to fly. Your mission is simple, keep your bird in motion with high-and-long glides over the colorful hills of rolling digital islands. Start slow, sliding down a grassy slope, then let gravity and aerodynamic velocity take it from there.

Good-Looking Birds

The first thing that caught my attention about Tiny Wings was the artwork. The pastel-watercolor look really works, drawing in the gamer at first glance. From icon to island, this game radiates with attractiveness. And with more than 20 islands and procedural graphics, you’ll get plenty of new and stunning environments to keep you and your flying bird blissfully engaged for quite some time.

Getting Acquainted

Your first introduction to your bird is a menu where he/she sits proudly atop a modest nest. My recommendation: Give the bird a name. It’s infinitely more exciting to call out to your bird in encouragement as it goes gliding along. On second thought, if you’re worried about your peers and/or neighbors retaliating in frustration to the frequent shouts of “Fly Renzo, Fly!”, you might want to leave the bird anonymous… you’re choice.

Wake Up, It’s Time To Slide

In principle, the game is simple- slide and glide far and wide. Your only control is a sort of “dive-bomb” move that is activated by touching anywhere on the screen. On your first run, you’ll be guided through the process of hitting the hills at their optimal downward slope to be propelled the furthest as you depart from the opposite incline.

Lightspeed Ahead, Tiny Wings!

Once you’ve got the basics down, you’ll soon notice that the daylight is going fast. In the lower, left-hand corner you’ll see a small daylight clock and your points. Your immediate goal is to collect as many points as possible before the sun goes down, at which point you will fall instantly into a deep sleep (Even if you’re in the middle of an airborne glide).

Points seem to be accrued by the combination of distance traveled, coins collected, longest fever (a sort of super slide), cloud touches (high jumps), and great slides.

Nests, Objectives and Reaching For The Clouds

If you think that sliding, falling and gliding would get repetitive after awhile, then you probably haven’t spent enough time flapping your Tiny Wings. But as fun as it is help Renzo (or whatever your bird responds to) beat the day light and discover new islands, there’s more to Tiny Wings that immediately meets the eye.

You start out with a nest. It’s a small, modest nest, but it keeps your bird warm at night when it’s not shooting through hill and sky. But what does every flightless bird really crave and wish for? A bigger, better nest.

Build up your nest by achieving a number of objectives which you can see by tapping the “Objectives” button on the main menu screen. At the time of this writing there are 30 achievements that you can work through, building up your nest as you go.

As your nest grows, a point modifier grows as well. With a higher point modifier, every jump, “fever” and cloud touch gets you more points towards your ultimate high score.

Conclusion

With such simple gameplay, stunning visuals, and challenging objectives, Tiny Wings is sure to keep you pressing madly at your iOS device for hours. I love it!

For information, tips and tricks, and more, check out the Tiny Wings online forum at: http://tiny-wings-game.com/.