NetEnt Releases Split-screen Planet of the Apes

Sometimes words fail us because we’re confronted with a sheer demonstration of mastery and ridiculous skills. One of those instances, we’re glad to report, is NetEnt’s latest brainchild, the revolutionary Planet of the Apes slot game! Or should we say – games.

You’ll see what we mean by that in a minute. Firstly, it needs to be said that this title is a direct homage to one of the biggest sci-fi franchises in the last fifty years or so – the title that spun several sequels and TV series. This year, another iteration of the movie was released, called War for the Planet of the Apes, and NetEnt found it suitable to pay tribute to the movie by releasing a spectacular five-reel, 20-payline slot game that is actually comprised of two, that’s right, two separate sets of reels that players will play simultaneously! If you can picture a multiplayer split-screen game that most of us used to play on old gaming consoles, you will get a pretty decent picture of what it’s like – and if you’re not the visualizing type, simply scroll down for the five-minute gameplay video.

On the left-hand side is the slot machine based on the Rise of the Planet of the Apes: its visual appeal is derived directly from the film, with symbols, color scheme and animations sourced from this title. On the right, is the broodier and darker, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, with thematical elements also hailing from the appropriate movie. Put together, these two make for an incredibly intense, rapid and action-packed experience, accompanied by suitably dramatic symphonic score. Actors from both films (human and apes alike, and we don’t necessarily mean this in the Darwinian sense) are serving as symbols on both reel machines, and when select win combinations are hit by landing matching symbols to adjacent reels…well, that’s when the excitement really happens. Big wins are announced by dramatic animations of apes invading and seemingly vandalizing the reels or cutscenes from the movies.

But enough about the eye-candy talk, there’s the video for that. You can opt to play this game on mobile devices and you won’t suffer for it, due to the flawless optimization. Besides the play for free option that is normally used to “test the waters,” a player can, of course, control the number of coins per spin so it matches his/her gambling style. Two games in one mean that, despite the reels being spun simultaneously, each set awards its prizes independently. The two sets can combine in this way to produce some mind-blowingly big wins. Special features also run amok here: wilds substituting regular symbols can be stacked on one entire reel on one slot, and will automatically be copied to the corresponding reel on the machine belonging to the other movie. You can imagine what wonders this does for your funds. Landing three or more scatter symbols will launch a game of free spins – and to make things interesting, each of the two sides have a different number of spins and slightly different outcomes. Rise Bonus and Dawn Bonus symbols all have their respective powers: the former grants a bonus prize for ape and human symbols appearing on the reels, while the latter will morph apes and humans into one singular symbol that will end well for whoever lands this combination.

Enjoy the preview!