"Angry Birds" fans: Be prepared to spend hours mastering the newest edition of the popular game.
" 'Angry Birds' Space" is set for release today by Rovio Entertainment. It's the fourth game in the series.
"Angry Birds" fans use birds with different talents to kill evil green pigs. "Angry Birds Space" is the fourth game in the series.
Aaron Guck of St. Cloud will spend today chucking boomerang birds, dropping egg bombs and hurling cluster bird bombs. He works for the only Rovio Entertainment-approved fan website, www.angrybirdsnest.com.
Guck works as the lead walk-through developer for the website. (Walk-throughs are video demonstrations of game-play strategies.)
Guck will probably complete the game in 10-12 hours, and then complete and post the walk-through on the website.
He took a vacation day from his job as a graphic designer at Thelen Advertising, St. Cloud, to play the game. "The sooner we get it out there, the more revenue the site can generate and the happier our community is," Guck said.
Guck has created walk-throughs for three other "Angry Birds" games -- "Angry Birds," "Angry Birds Seasons" and "Angry Birds Rio."
According to Rovio, as of November, "Angry Birds" games were downloaded 500 million times since its launch in 2009.
During that time, people have played 266 billion game levels and shot 400 billion birds. Every day, the game is played for 300 million minutes.
Guck discovered the game about a month after its initial release.
He said he understands the game's appeal.
"It's a really simple game," he said. "It allows any age to play it. You can be really good at it or really bad at it, and still really enjoy it. You can play for a minute or all day."
Guck became connected to the fan website after noticing a glitch in one of the games.
He posted on fan forums looking for others who discovered the error.
He then started posting videos of the game on YouTube.
The owner of "AngryBirds Nest," Greg Shepherd, connected with him in 2010, and they started to work together.
Guck plans to spend up to a couple of minutes on easier levels, and 15-20 minutes on difficult levels.
On one game level in "Angry Birds Seasons," he found a glitch. He played the level for 38 hours before advancing.
Guck said he's excited about the "Space" game.
It will have a three-dimensional feel to it, Guck said.
Players must navigate planets and gravitational forces.
The game features 60 levels, new superpowers and new birds.
"The new one is a big deal," he said.
