Developer: Paro Games
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 3GS
Parodise is the first game to hit the App Store from Paro Games. It was originally ‘banned’ from the App Store with the reason, “app concept objectionable.” So as with anything that’s been forbidden, I was instantly twice as tempted to play it now that it’s been approved.
The gameplay, labelled by the developers as ‘action-defense,’ sees players take on the role of a ghost. As far as I can tell from the often funny but rather abstract storyline, he’s living life up in the clouds where he’s been tasked with keeping the “parogate” clean. Another ghost (I assume), is trying to throw all sorts of stuff into it, from both sides of the screen. It’s DUMY-667′s (I think that’s the player character’s name) job to swipe his swords and slice the objects before they get there. As you may tell, the story’s a little odd and not perfectly written, leaving the player to decipher a lot. However, it’s definitely worth reading on the way through, there’s a quite a few comical moments in there.
The items are one of the most fun parts of the game. It’s also where Parodise get’s its name, as each item is a parody from something else — Star Wars is parodied with a character called Yody, and the items being thrown come from a range of sources and many other iOS games including Angry Birds, Doodle Jump and Fruit Ninja – each often poked fun at when introduced, such as the “birds that look like they have head trauma.” There’s even a Legend of Zelda reference in there, which made me smile, as it’s one of my favorite game franchises ever.
The absolute best part about Parodise for me, though, is its difficulty. It’s sure not easy to survive the full day towards the later levels. The extra unlockable game modes, such as Dojo and Survival, require a hefty amount of game time to be put in before they become available, which ultimately means a lot more time can be spent with this app before it feels ‘completed.’ But even when repeatedly failing, the level always feels doable.
The comedic, text-based storyline may not be for everyone. The parodies may not be understood by everyone. But the gameplay is a whole lot of fun, and rewards a player for learning the way in which different items react and for consequently reacting quickly to these items themselves. I will add that the written content may not be suited to the very youngest members of the family, but they probably wouldn’t take the time to read it anyway. Overall, I’m glad that Parodise eventually found it’s way to the App store. It would have been shame if we’d missed out on it.