Rovio’s Angry Birds Transformers game has updated to add another new character. Joining the roster this time out is the original Fan Built ‘Bot, Windblade! Windblade adds the Angry Birds universe to her portfolio of appearances across the Transformers multiverse with this release, as a prize for completing the latest in-game event. Windblade is based on Angry Bird Silver in this incarnation.
The update also teases that there will be a second event in the Angry Birds Transformers game later in the month – so stay tuned!
Autobot Burnout
Personally, I think Rovio just needs to make the game have a reason for people to actually play after a given point, maybe around level 200.
I mean, capping the money regeneration at 600, or thereabouts and not making it easier to grind coins in normal missions, while the cost of leveling up characters is exponential to the point it's easier to just roll Prof. Pig slots and hope for a large coin payout to make any discernible progress…for ultimately no reward.
Hell, even trying to just buy gems en masse to bypass the stupidity just leads to the same end point – what good does leveling characters up achieve in the endgame besides burning through levels faster for nothing but the same chump change rewards? Even the Spacebridge missions become trivial (and really encourage NOT playing the game sometimes) once you stockpile tens of thousands of pigs and can constantly reduce mission time by 50%.
Essentially, once you unlock all the nodes on the map, you've pretty much beaten all the game content not paywalled off.
alldarker
Same here. This competition is just SO stupid, and I have no intention AT ALL to ever pay for the damn gems. I couldn't care less if I ever win Windblade, and Rovio had better start being more careful, because I am of a mind to just not bother with the game anymore at all if they keep pulling this shit. Just open the rest of the damn island by normal gameplay, Rovio!
Ragnar
It did that for a day or two for me and then it mysteriously just worked. However, this contest is the worst yet. Each level is exactly the same as the last with the same goal. You always get 57~62 pigs just like everyone else and the players' progress tracks very close. Rovio is clearly trying to get players to pay to win, which I will NEVER do.
Squallte
So is anyone having trouble running the mission? I click on the icon and it makes a sound that i'm clicking it, but nothing.
Lord Dcast
Honestly I want more Windblade. I just don't want her only character trait being 'Mary Sue'. Besides, nobody complains when one of the core four show up again.
Autobot Burnout
Except that was sort of the problem, because until somebody actually wrote him as a character with depth and flaws, he was this random character who just showed up out of nowhere and Hasbro was hyping as being the greatest thing since sliced bread – I distinctly recall there being wolverine comparisons to "hype" up Drift – so much that he stole the prestige of the first modern "comic only" character to get a toy from Straxus/Darkmount.
But when he finally showed up with a spotlight, an origin miniseries with the usual "bad guy redemption" arc that hyped up his special sword, and inexplicably a place on the Wreckers team in AHM because he just blew up a ship (and as later discovered failed to kill the one guy his whole mission had been about killing in the first place), he…did nothing special whatsoever.
He was a character pushed so hard for people to find oh so awesome in every way, with one too many tropes (redeemed bad guy, etc.), without doing anything to EARN popularity.
The problem with Windblade, oddly enough, is the opposite of Drift: she's had too much presence in the franchise. We're supposed to like her because she's supposedly "fan-built" (though I disagree with this on the basis her final design's theme was not put up for vote despite being arguably more defining than the majority of what WAS voted on) but it's been taken to the point she's being shoved in everything purely to increase exposure, as if Hasbro thinks because she was the fan-vote character, therefore she's effectively a new Bumblebee in terms of franchise recognition and supposed popularity.
But where Drift largely escaped the long-term bitterness of the fandom more or less because he was ultimately a forgettable peripheral character in the main plots, Windblade is constantly front-and-center in everything whenever she shows up as if her significance as being a relatively "new" addition to the franchise forces media she's in to adapt the role for her, as opposed to media having a role defined in which she actually would fit as a character and not just as more name pushing on Hasbro's part.
Autovolt 127
Drift really wasn't even as bad as most fans made him out to be back then….he was just a generic OC with mary sue ish tendencies since he is a fan character. He just existed, it wasn't till like the Tales of Drift and MTMTE where we started to see him get any focus.
Windblade has gotten a lot of focus since she was created with purpose in mind, though I think most of her appearances are much like early Drift average at best characterization. She's too naive and rather dumb and short sighted, and usually is written by a mediocre author on a consistent basis.
RID Windblade is has a lot of the mary-sue ish qualities but for the most part she's the action girl of the cast.
I don't really have a preference. I don't dislike Windblade but I think they should have played up more of the magical girl angle a bit more in RID. That could have been so freaking funny.
Lord Dcast
AB isn't the problem. It's RID mostly. Just brought it up because it was related to the topic.
Autobot Burnout
Just my take on the situation, but really, any representation of Transformers characters in Angry Birds is entirely visual – the only time individual characteristics beyond gameplay specific actions are denoted are in the profile pages and half of those are just detailing vague information about what firepower they have.
Plus, it's not like there's really any story to begin with in the game for there to be any chance of characterization in the first place.
Lord Dcast
Yeah she is Drift 2.0, and I'm not denying that. I just think her comic story's really good. As far as 'distinctive', have you read the Windblade miniseries? It's actually quite interesting.
I also like the Legends comic, even though I know it may be doing more harm for the character than good. Then again, I watch a lot of anime so this stuff is normal to me.
But as for RID, I just find myself sighing in disappointment. It's like what happened with Drift; he had a cool comic appearance and now everyone's making a mockery of him through the TV and movie appearances. He's gone from unique Gundam form to boring samurai chiche.
Ragnar
The coins now only regenerate to 580 instead of 600. That was a weird update. I'm at level 406, which is honestly about 206 too high. What a bunch of repetitive nonsense, LOL! At least I haven't spent any money yet. I will NOT purchase gems. EVER. However, I would consider spending a modest amount of money on:
New Characters – Either give me the opportunity to unlock them outside of contests, and/or give me the option to pay $0.99 for each one.
Advertisements – I'd gladly pay ~$3 to disable the constant advertisements that disrupt the start of nearly ever level. However, I'm totally fine with retaining optional advertisements to boost stats on occasion.
Novaburnhilde
She's far worse than Drift ever was and you know it.
That's your opinion, I don't really find her to be "distinctive" at all. Ironically I actually enjoy her more in the Legends manga. I put up with her RiD appearance because I still enjoy the show even if she's a massive Mary Sue, her comic counterpart already has "special snowflake" written all over her face.
Half of her character traits are just ripped off from Drift.
Golobulus
She is literally Drift 2.0
People think she is cool because she's a samurai and now she's showing up everywhere (sound familiar?)
Mark my words, she's probably going to be in TF5
But what I'm sick of them is making all these new characters "contests". Like you have to compete to be able to unlock the character. Which pretty much guarantees you have to spend money.(and even if you are willing to spend your money there's no guarantee you're getting her, because others might be willing to spend MORE)
How about updating the game and make the characters unlockable the traditional way for a change?
AlexaStar
It warms my heart to see my girl Windblade in various corners of the franchise. <3
Lord Dcast
I'm not sick of her being everywhere. I'm just sick of her lack of correct representation. I'm not a stickler for copying the personality exactly, but she was so distinctive in the comics with the political intrigue that caused inner turmoil.
Between RID and the Legends comics, it's been all but lost.
Novaburnhilde
Yeah, same here.
Ragnar
I did the update, and the competition events no longer show up anywhere on my screen. Are they hidden somewhere? Seems that these limited-time events are the only way to unlock the new characters now, which is a shame. The only character I managed to obtain this way in a prior update was Shockwave, and at this rate, he'll likely be my last.
Lord Dcast
Wait a sec. 'Enter the Silverbird'? As in 'Enter the Nightbird'?
Wow. And I thought G1 puns couldn't get that bad.
l0te
Pretty sick of them stuffing this clown into everything lately.
Novaburnhilde
Silver's a pretty good choice to be Windblade.