In Rio, the Angry Birds have been kidnapped and taken to Rio. Just as in the original Angry Birds, players use a slingshot to launch birds at nearby structures, with the intent of hitting targets located on or within them. Instead of the pigs that have stolen eggs, players must now rescue caged exotic birds or defeat Nigel's marmosets, depending on the level being played. Because of the game's setting, several characters from Rio make appearances. Blu and Jewel both feature as types of bird exclusive to this game, along with all the existing birds from the series. The game also includes the first boss fights to appear in the series, when the player uses the birds to defeat Nigel, the main antagonist from the film, as well as Mauro, the leader of the marmosets. In other levels, Luiz helps defeat the marmosets and destroys materials and blocks to get the player extra points. as well as hidden items to collect as the player progresses through the game.
Release
Angry Birds Rio initially included two chapters, "Smugglers' Den" and "Jungle Escape", each with 30 levels. Since then, the game has been expanded with three additional 30-level chapters called "Beach Volley", "Carnival Upheaval", and "Airfield Chase" along with a 15-level chapter, "Golden Beachball", which is unlocked by finding a hidden item in "Beach Volley" or by entering a redeem code from Rio DVD. A final chapter named "Smugglers' Plane" was released with initially with 15 levels, with the final 15 levels released later. Each chapter has a special fruit that may be rarely found as gold. "Smugglers' Den" has pineapples, "Jungle Escape" has bananas, "Beach Volley" has watermelons, "Carnival Upheaval" has papayas, "Airfield Chase" has apples, "Smugglers' Plane" has mangoes, "Market Mayhem" has strawberries, and "Rocket Rumble" has golden rockets. In July 2013, the "Golden Beachball" episode received 15 more levels, golden cherries, a new background, and this episode is now available from the start of the game. In March 2012, the Trophy Room update was released, with 12 new levels that are each unlocked when a player finishes a chapter or collects all 15 of a certain golden fruit. This update was first released in the Android version before making its way to iOS. On December 18, 2012, a new update landed for iOS and Android adding 24 new levels. This levels are earned by getting from 30 to 70 stars on each episode or by earning 10 Mighty Eagles' Feathers on each episode. This episode also added Power-Ups. The Power-Ups were Super Seeds and Sling Scope from the Angry Birds original app and 2 new power-ups. On March 11, 2013, another update was released, adding a "Market Mayhem" episode with 34 levels. On July 25, 2013, AB Rio's app icon was updated and Golden Beachball added a golden fruit and 15 new levels. In addition, The trophy room levels were combined into the episode they were earned from. Four Angry Birds Rio episodes — all visually tied to Rio 2 was released from December 2013 to July 2014 and these episodes featured refreshed graphics. The Timber Tumble episode adds a hint feature that tells where to sling the bird. In the July 2015, a game update added bird coins that allow players to unlock levels that were previously locked.
Ports
At the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California, Rovio and distribution partner Activision announced plans to bring Angry Birds Rio and two other games, the original Angry Birds and Angry Birds Seasons, to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo 3DS systems. Bundled together as Angry Birds Trilogy, the games will be built specifically for their respectively angry bird consoles, taking advantage of their unique features, such as support for PlayStation Move, Kinect, high-definition displays, and glasses-free 3D visuals. It is also available for Wii and Wii U as part of Angry Birds Trilogy.
Reception
The game has received generally favorable reviews, with a Metacritic score of 87/100 based on 18 reviews. Ryan Rigney of GamePro saying the iOS version "boasts some notable improvements on its predecessors" and Levi Buchanan of IGN, in his review of the Android version, calling the game "a smart, snappy new chapter for the series". Jim Squires of Gamezebo complimented the game's attempts to add new material and mechanics, saying "some evolution needs to happen if it wants to have the long term staying power of a Mario or a Pac-Man." However, Squires did take issue with the new boss battles, calling them "a little anti-climactic". Tracy Erickson of Pocket Gamer noted that "what Angry Birds Rio lacks in new ideas and freshness, it makes up in quality gameplay and good value". Since release, Angry Birds Rio has been downloaded more than 10 million times, and it has been one of the top downloaded games at both the Apple App Store and Google Play.
