RedPlanet: Angry Birds latch onto Curiosity's coattails

NASA helps Rovio explore Mars in upcoming Angry Birds game

Since Rovio launched Angry Birds Space back in March, the Finnish gaming company has continued to break gaming download records as the galactic game quickly tallied millions upon millions of downloads. 

On Friday, Rovio announced and Angry Bird's REd Planet game, inspired by NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover, is on the way. It seems that the world has a renewed excitement about Mar and space exploration since, earlier this month, NASA landed a rover on the surface of the Red Planet, as hundreds of millions of people watched from their computers. And even though the early images transmitted back to Earth didn't include any alien lifeforms to speak of, Rovio seems to think some of those dead pixels could have been hiding some angry farm animals.

“The piggies have hijacked the Curiosity Mars Rover — but instead of searching for ice crystals, they’re looking for eggs! Dodge explosive volcanoes and fire asteroids as you blast through 20 fiery levels! Say hello to the brand new astronaut pig! And find three hidden rovers and landers to open special bonus levels and discover more about the NASA missions!” says Rovio.

Fun and games for sure, but Rovio also worked closely with NASA to include links to NASA web pages about Mars exploration and other NASA mission inside the game. Learning can be fun too kids.

Rovio Mobile took to YouTube Friday to tease its next mobile game for 2012, which is expected to hit app stores later this year.

We know that Rovio had plans to launch four Angry Birds games in 2012 alone. When Red Planet is released, that will make for two of the four and so many expect the remaining two to have a serious holiday theme, since there is not much time left in the year. 

This Martian teaser coms just two days after Rovio added some new levels to its exptrememly popular Angry Birds Space game that was the first teaming up of the gaming company and NASA and just days after the company announced its partnership with Green Day.

In the upcoming Red Planet game, there is a new astronaut pig and three hidden rovers and landers to find, which will open special bonus levels. 

"We're huge NASA fans, and we were all cheering the Mars Curiosity rover as it touched down," Peter Vesterbacka,  Rovio CEO, said in Thursday's announcement." So, working together on the Mars update was a perfect fit."