Parallelus

by Eric March on March 10, 2009 at 3:43 pm

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	App Name:	Parallelus
	Developer:	Innerplays	Version:	1.0
	Publisher:	Innerplays	Size:	1.9 MB
	Category:	Casual Games	Price:	$1.99/Free

Here’s something a little different.  Parallelus is a relatively simple game featuring three main play modes: Either avoid oncoming objects, catch oncoming objects, or perform a mixture of both.  Each round consists of 15 such objects that you must either avoid, catch, or a mixture of the two by sliding a paddle across the screen with a finger, and you are scored based on how well you managed to do it.

Yes, that does sound terribly simplistic, doesn’t it? How about doing it split-screen with two paddles?  At once?  Now it gets a little more interesting, doesn’t it?  That’s the thing that sets Parallelus apart from other avoidance/Kaboom style games.  Grab your thumbs — both them — and guide two paddles simultaneously as you try and catch hearts and/or avoid bombs to achieve high scores.  Let’s see how good your bilateral dexterity really is.  Although the objects fall at a steady pace and each side is matched with the other in terms of timing, don’t expect the patterns on each side to be mirror images of each other.  Oh sure, they’ll try and lull you into a false sense of security by appear to be mirrored or identical, but then it’ll throw you a curve ball bomb and suddenly you can’t synchronize your thumb movements anymore.

It gets pretty challenging after a while, and it’s a good test of hand-eye coordination when you’re forced to try and pay attention to two things at once.  There is a nice “instant pause” feature that will automatically pause the game whenever you lift one or both fingers.  However, that made it damnably difficult to snap off screenshots, but I played a little finger twister and managed to grab a couple of in-game screenies. The visuals in Parallelus are well-done — smooth and clean with an animated flair.  Sound effects are simple but effective.

It’s an interesting twist that almost seems obvious given the medium; you take a look at it and play it and realize it’s so simple yet ingenious in a similar way that B1nary Game is, so kudos to Innerplay for keeping it simple while taking it to new heights.  For $2 I’d say you get your money’s worth, but if you’re not convinced, grab the lite version.

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Posted in Games: Casual, Paid Apps