Say what you will about the Angry Birds franchise of games and its relative merits, it looks like it’s here to stay. How do we know?

Well, the company that produces the series of games, Rovio, announced on Monday that the company’s latest Angry Birds installment, Angry Birds Space, has been downloaded 50 Million times in just 35 days, making it the fastest growing mobile game of all time. In the same announcement the company also hinted that “something even bigger is on its way.” What that is, we can’t imagine. The Pigs strike back perhaps? We’ll see.

If you haven’t had a chance to play Angry Birds Space yet, you should. It was released on March 22 for iOS, Android, Mac OS X and Windows so you should have no trouble finding a platform to enjoy it on. Besides, it’s quite fun to play.

In fact, we would go so far to say it’s probably the most fun of the Angry Birds franchise since the original. For more on the game, check out the video after the break.

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You may not be aware of it but a series of games from Rovio about a bunch of birds angry enough at some pigs to fly over them and drop bombs shaped like eggs is doing pretty well. So well, in fact, that the original Angry Birds and its subsequent versions have sold millions of copies. In fact, there’s even making a movie about the birds.

This week the company updated its latest incarnation, Angry Birds Space, for the Android OS. With this update comes a new ice planet containing ten brand new levels. What more could you want for a Wednesday morning?

I don’t know about you but I find this game a great way to kill some time waiting in line at the post office or at the DMV. Even though some may think its over-hyped, if it provides fun and a bit of distraction, it’s a success in my book.

To get the update, or to get the game in the first place, head on over to the Google Play store and pick it up.

Talk to almost anyone you meet and they will probably admit to playing a game at some point in their life. Interestingly enough, many would never consider themselves gamers. Some would even scoff at the idea.

For the purposes of this article, let’s consider our definition of gamer as someone who spends a majority of their free time playing games, regardless of what format, board, video or whatever, said game is in. Being considered a gamer also requires active participation, so watching and betting on sports is not a part of the definition. Although, someone who is participating in games of chance like cards and casino gambling may fall into this category as well.

The world stepped into modern gaming as far back as 1947 with the first video game, Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device. It wasn’t until Pong was released in 1972, and later the home version in 1975, that playing a video game began to work its way into everyday life. Because of the high cost of entry, the first to play Pong on their home tv were fairly well off and gaming took some time before making its way to the masses.

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If you’re not a fan of launching birds into the air so they can land on and destroy pigs who’ve built castles and more, then you haven’t really lived. Angry Birds pretty much came out of nowhere and now dominates the mobile gaming space.

So, when Rovio, the makers of the game, decide to release a new version and, more to the point, make it really affordable, we take notice and bring the details to you. That’s right, today the company released Angry Birds Space for iOS and Android devices, as well as OS X and Windows PCs.

In this, the fourth major Birds release, users will get to fling birds on zero-gravity planets while utilizing new gameplay features such as slow-motion and lightspeed destruction. Sounds awesome.

“This is Rovio at its finest, and we are more than excited to bring Angry Birds Space to all our fans worldwide,” said Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio. “This launch marks a huge step for us as a company, and our whole team and partners have really pulled together to bring out a fantastic array of exciting products and experiences.”

Angry Birds Space is available for $0.99 for the iPhone and iPod touch, with the HD version available for $2.99 on the iPad. The Mac version is available for $4.99 in the Mac App Store. The Android version is free with advertisements in the Google Play marketplace, with an ad-free versions available for $0.99 and an HD version for Android tablets available for $2.99 in the Amazon Appstore.

Click through fior the full Rovio press release and a bonus video highlighting aspects of the game.

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Angry Birds can rightfully be classified as a phenomenon. Between the countless downloads and the merchandise that sells like gangbusters the game has reached the top pop culture status.

Rovio likes to keep the game fresh, with constant seasonal updates and other new level packs to keep the fans coming back for more. While these updates do present some minor new additions to the Angry Birds experience, there hasn’t been any major advance in the game play since day one.

That is all changing with the impending release of Angry Birds Space, the next installment in the series, and the first to revolutionize it’s game play. Space will showcase gravity free physics, and force players adjust while sending their mad avian buddies through small gravity fields set up around the environment.

Up until now the game play was a bit of a mystery, it was hard to imagine what that meant compared to the standard Angry Birds action. With the help of an astronaut, actually in space no less, Rovio has revealed exactly how this new physics will work in your pig hunting adventures.

Beyond the massive cool factor of having an actual space inhabiting astronaut play with Angry Birds plushes to demonstrate gravity free physics, the game play on display in this new video is awesome. We can’t wait to get our hands on Angry Birds Space when it is launched March 22nd.

Check out the physics showcase video after the jump.

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Angry Birds may be a simple game, but with over 12 million downloads on the App Store alone, it’s the biggest name in mobile gaming. Which is why I’m really excited to learn that the newest version of the high-flying poultry puzzle game will be in space.

That’s right, Angry Birds Space. SPACE. I LOVE space.

The game’s developer, Rovio, has posted a website for the game, with an image of a slingshot on the moon and the words “One small fling for a bird, one quantum leap for birdkind” underneath.

Thinking about it, Angry Birds is a game about physics and gravity. Knocking down different pieces of the environment is key to finishing levels and obtaining high scores. So introducing zero-gravity into a game based around gravity is going to put an entirely new spin on it, and I think it’s a great way to take this already fantastic game to new heights (literally).

Angry Birds Space launches March 22nd. While you wait, you can check out Rovio’s website where you can download a new wallpaper and watch the teaser trailer after the jump.

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JC and WallE are back with the 7th epic edition of the Bitcast. In the News of the Week, the two discuss the announcement of the PlayStation 3 Smash Brothers inspired brawler Title Fight and the characters that may be coming to it. They also talk about a recent study that links violent video games to slower brain activity. Finally, they look at how Angry Birds developer Rovio passed on a $2.25 billion dollar offer from social media games developer Zynga who incidentally lost almost a million players in their game Mafia Wars 2 in just one month.

In the second edition of The Long Grind featuring The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, JC discusses the story (spoiler free) and the open world adventuring aspects of the game.

In this week’s Topic of the Week, social media in gaming such as Facebook integration and community sites like Raptr are brought up. Finally, in Now Playing, JC gives some more insight into his longer than expected play sessions on Saints Row: The Third and WallE discusses his review of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

Make sure to subscribe to The Flickcast iTunes feed to get each weekly episode of the Bitcast downloaded right to your iOS device.

It was only a matter of time I guess as Google has followed in the footsteps of Facebook and announced that it will be adding games to its Google+ social network. According to the search (and social) giant’s company blog:

“We want to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to the web. “That means giving you control over when you see games, how you play them and with whom you share your experiences.”

Don’t worry, though, the addition of games to Google+ won’t mean constant invitations from your friends to play FarmVille or join their family in Mob Wars. “Games in Google+ are there when you want them and gone when you don’t,” the company said at the blog post. Wel, thank the gods for that.

In the near future you’ll see a new ‘Games’ button added to the top of your Google+ stream. This will allow you to go to the gaming page and add some fun games that you can play. Or, if you’re not interested in games, you never, ever have to click the button. It’s that simple. Seems like a much betteer way to go than the way Facebook is doing it.

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I don’t know about you but I’m pretty much obsessed with the game Angry Birds. Before I started playing it people would tell me how addictive it is and I would laugh, certain they were just exaggerating.

Well, it turns out they weren’t and the game has become something to do just about anytime I have a spare few minutes. It’s just that fun.

Now, just in time for Easter, Rovio has released the latest episodic update to the insanely popular Angry Birds franchise. After taking a break in Angry Birds Rio, it seems the green pigs are back — and some are sporting Easter bunny hats. Which means, of course, they must die.

In Angry Birds Seasons: Easter Eggs you still launch birds in an effort to destroy the pigs. In this Easter-themed version, you also pick up extra points by collecting Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies.

The update, which features 15 new levels, is available for iOS devices for $0.99 in the iTunes App Store and is free for Android smartphones from the Android Market.

Click through for a video highlighting all the fun with this new update.

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It’s fun when we can laugh about a totally unreal scenario where a popular iPhone or Android video game gets adapted into a big budget film. Unfortunately, the window between us laughing at a satirical fan trailer and the film getting actually produced is quite small.

While we’ve got the time, we can still laugh at what the guys at Rooster Teeth (the folks who made Red Vs. Blue one of the most popular things amongst boys 18-35) put together in honor of the popular strategy game featuring birds and green pigs.

Some great cinematic spoofs in here as well, as Michael Bay and just about any disaster movie of the 90′s is a target in this short but sweet fan film.

Check it out after the jump, and let’s all pray that we’re years away from this trailer becoming a reality.

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Sometimes a game come out and fans just take to it in droves. Case in point: Rage HD from id Software. After only one day in release, the game shot to the number one spot on the top-grossing chart in Apple’s iTunes Store.

The highly-anticipated, and very coo,l first-person shooter only costs $1.99 and can be played on the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad or current-generation iPod touch. It’s a pretty amazing looking game and really shows how well iOS devices can be used as a gaming platform. A lot of potential there for sure.

Rage HD replaced Angry Birds as the App Store’s top-grossing app in less than a day, and it is already number 2 on the top paid app charts. This success will hopefully spur developers to make more games like this for iOS devices. If so, that’s good for iOS and, of course, good for gamers. After all, you can’t really carry around an XBox 360 console with you everywhere, now can you?

Rage HD is available in Apple’s App Store for $1.99. A standard definition version called RAGE is also available for $0.99.

Just in time for Halloween, Rovio has released a special edition of its popular Angry Birds game in the iTunes store.  The new game is available for 99 cents for the iPhone and iPod touch, and $1.99 for the iPad.

According to the Rovio website, the new release will include 45 levels of pumpkins, ghosts and monsters. It will also have Halloween music and graphics.

Angry Birds has become wildly popular, and since it was released for Android phones last week it has already been downloaded over three million times. The publisher of Angry Birds (Chillingo) was acquired by EA (Entertainment Arts) on Wednesday for $20 Million.  They also publish the new hit Cut the Rope game.

The Angry Birds developers have announced that they will not use Chillingo  from now on. The Angry Birds game remains the property of Rovio, and was not part of the acquisition.  You can watch a short demo Angry Birds Halloween after the jump

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