Angry Birds already took the mobile market by force, with its simply enticing premise and addictive nugget gameplay. Players launched a barrage of (you guessed it) angry birds in 195 levels to seek revenge against an enemy hoard of green pigs that stole the birds' eggs. More than 6 million players did just that, according to reported sales figures.

In Rovio's original hit, players calculated the trajectory of the arc different birds would travel when launched, taking into consideration their varying special abilities, launching them to topple unstable fortresses upon the dastardly enemies with some physics-based demolition. It got hard quick, and the star ratings and other extras challenged gamers long after the finale. Like most of the classics, it succeeded because its mechanics were incredibly simply to pick up and play, but very difficult to master.

Just in time for Halloween, Rovio has released Angry Birds Halloween. Rather than updating the current app, or offering the Halloween edition as an add-on, Rovio has released Angry Birds Halloween as a stand-alone title. On iPhone/iTouch, it can be purchased for 99 cents. On the iPad, in high-definition, it runs $1.99. Either way, it provides gamers 45 new levels. That's not nearly as much as we got with the initial 99-cent download, but still far from shabby for a game that costs less than $1.

The premise is exactly the same, except this time when we see the reprehensible green pigs making off with the eggs, the birds are celebrating Halloween. The backdrop turns to colors of black and orange, pumpkins litter the fortresses and...well...that's really about it. Aside for the aesthetics and a new "tale" about a Golden Egg of Terror, Angry Birds is pretty much the same gameplay, albeit gameplay we've come to know and love. It is still using a slingshot to send birds crashing through fortifications.

The major difference is that business picks up much faster, with only 45 levels to ramp things up. Within the first ten levels, players are already introduced to a majority of the birds from the original title, and given one-page tutorials on their special abilities, which must immediately be put to use. To that end, Angry Birds seems to come with the expectation that it will be purchased by fans familiar with the series, looking for more challenges from the sequel. That is to say, it gets hard fast. And only one level at a time can be unlocked, meaning players have to master what's on their plate before moving on, a structural design that will be annoying to some.

Otherwise, it's essentially the same game dressed up for the holiday. But that's all that was expected of it. Angry Birds essentially gets a themed level pack for 99 cents, and most fans should be quite okay with that. In fact, even without the changes, it's so much fun to have more well-designed challenges in the Angry Birds collection that it will likely make gamers long for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Easter and any other themed editions Rovio might want to toss out onto the market. Angry Birds Halloween is a welcome new addition to the series.