Angry Birds for Dudes: Trucks and Skulls

When hell is full, death trucks will rumble the Earth.
Trucks and Skulls is Angry Birds for dudes. Appy takes no shame in aping the biggest hit in the App Store, but brilliantly runs in the opposite direction. Instead of cartoon animals, this physics puzzler is stocked with Viagra-powered monster trucks, boiling lava, and skulls pulled from eighties heavy metal album jackets. There is so much ridiculous testosterone packed in here, I wish Appy called it Skull Trucked.

However, Trucks and Skulls succeeds not because it's a parody of Angry Birds, but because beneath that goofball macho veneer is a hugely playable game. If you know the Angry Birds drill, you can immediately pick up Trucks and Skulls. You launch monster trucks into the air (the guttural "yeah" that punctuates your volley kills me), slamming into skull-populated structures. The fewer trucks you use to eliminate all of the skulls, the more points you earn. There are several different trucks, from the Bombzilla which drops a heavy payload when tapped to the Doomstone semi that eats concrete walls for breakfast. Though you cannot select which trucks you get to use for each puzzle, deploying their powers at just the right time is the difference between hot victory and flaccid defeat.One thing to note, though, is that despite its swagger, Trucks and Skulls is much easier than Angry Birds. You can rip through Trucks and Skulls in an afternoon – a smile-filled afternoon. This is a mixed blessing. At least Trucks and Skulls won't frustrate you, like the recent Angry Birds Halloween. But unless you just want to keep banging on Trucks and Skulls for better scores, the game does run out of gas… on the iPhone, at least.

If you happen to have an iPad, definitely score the HD version of Trucks and Skulls because it includes a level editor. The toolbox is very easy to use. You don't have to unlock pieces through playing the main game; everything is open from the get-go, including all of the monster trucks. You just drag pieces to the play field, tweak placement, and then test out your creation. If you want to make changes, it's very simple to jump back into the editor and move things around. Once you're pleased with your creation, play it or share it with friends. This gives Trucks and Skulls unlimited replay if you really get involved with level creation.

Closing Comments
Trucks and Skulls is ridiculous – and I mean that as a compliment. It looks like Appy gave the Angry Birds design docs to the WWE’s Undertaker and said, “Do your dirtiest.” But Trucks and Skulls doesn’t rely on its machismo to win the day. This is a very fun physics puzzler. It’s a bit too easy, but at least it won’t frustrate you. And if you have an iPad, grab the HD version so you get the sweet level editor. Either way, Trucks and Skulls comes highly recommended.