Angry Birds: Star Wars

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Exient Entertainment

Back when it initially released, Angry Birds was all the rage. It featured simplistic, yet addicting gameplay that gaming veterans and casual gamers could both enjoy. It was perfect for phones and mobile devices with touch screens. As a result of the game's popularity, it got several spin-offs, including this game, which featured the Star Wars license. Honestly, when I first saw this mix of Angry Birds and Star Wars, my initial thought was that Angry Birds had jumped the shark, as the kids say. However, after putting some time into it, I couldn't have been more wrong. By putting the Angry Birds in space, you've got new kinds of physics to mess with when playing…honestly, aside from being a fan service to folks that like Star Wars and Angry Birds, the Star Wars license wasn't needed at all here. They could have just named this "Angry Birds in Space" and it would be just as enjoyable as it is now…but, obtaining that Star Wars license likely brought a few more eyes to the game than would have played it otherwise. Anyway, in terms of gameplay, aside from the new physics to combat against when slinging the birds around, many of the birds also have new abilities, making this feel like it's an actual sequel, with new experiences, instead of a clone covered in Star Wars paint. I may not be a Star Wars fan, but I can't deny that Star Wars helped breathe new life into the Angry Birds gameplay, and the end result is, quite possibly, the best game in the Angry Birds franchise.

Review added: 09/28/2025

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer

Also known as: Doubutsu no Mori: Happy Home Designer (Japan)

Developer: Nintendo

I have mixed feelings about this Animal Crossing spin-off. On one hand, I absolutely love the fact that I get to interact with beloved characters from Animal Crossing: New Leaf in this game - they're just as lovable and quirky as ever. The downside, though, is that the game revolves around the thing about Animal Crossing that I probably spend the least amount of time with - interior decorating. As an Animal Crossing veteran, I want to dig up fossils, catch bugs, go fishing, and interact with folks around town…and while I get to interact with townsfolk, and that's as enjoyable as ever, I also miss doing all of those other things that I typically do when playing an Animal Crossing game. Still, that complaint aside, I found myself playing this game much, much longer than I had initially planned to. While I was never big on being an interior decorator in any Animal Crossing game, Happy Home Designer actually made me want to keep decorating more and more. And unlike a typical Animal Crossing game, Happy Home Designer is not on the system's time, so you can advance days and continue to play as you see fit. Still, though, while I did enjoy my time playing Happy Home Designer, I couldn't help but feel like I wanted to turn this off and start up New Leaf all over again…I could still do interior decoration in my own home there, but also have access to all of the other aspects of gameplay that made me such a fan of Animal Crossing to begin with. Happy Home Designer is a better game than I thought it would be, but it's still not quite the game that I wanted.

Review added: 09/28/2025

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Also known as: Tobidase Doubutsu no Mori (Japan), Twieonawayo Dongmul-ui Sup (South Korea)

Developer: Nintendo

When you take a glance at the 3DS activity log and notice that you've put over 150 hours into Animal Crossing: New Leaf, and you're still not done playing, it's doing something right. New Leaf isn't a long RPG or Action/Adventure with a great story and multiple side-quests to push you through those hours...It's just a life simulation where you interact with your neighbors, water flowers, dig up fossils, catch bugs, go fishing, and partake in selling and buying items...all while paying off your housing debt. That's about it. But it's done very well, with new things seemingly popping up every time you might start to feel like it's all getting a tad old. New Leaf was the best game in the series at the time it was released…and after a few months of playing New Horizons on a daily basis, I still feel like New Leaf holds the number one spot. I can still go back, plug the 3DS card into my handheld, and experience just about everything that the game has to offer – with the only real exception being the street pass part since you don’t see too many folks walking around with a 3DS these days. New Horizons, however, seems to have much of its content in updates (from seasonal stuff, the art section of the museum, visitors, etc.)…so if I were to revisit it in 5-10 years, there’s no telling if I could still experience everything that the game has to offer. Plus, I have yet to see Kapp’n in New Horizons but I get to see that wonderful kappa sing his beautiful songs pretty much daily in New Leaf…that makes New Leaf superior alone. As they say, the Kapp’n makes it happen. If you got hooked on New Horizons and are new to the Animal Crossing series and want to play other games, I genuinely consider New Leaf to be the best of the bunch.

Review added: 06/18/2020