Long known as an MMO (massively multiplayer online game) on phones that got players to explore the world around them, Parallel Kingdom has launched on Facebook. And frankly, that allure of exploring the world around you through the lens of a video game is now gone (and has been since the game hit the web), leaving nothing but icons to click depicting trolls and dragons over Google's map of New York City and your own, real-life locations. So, why trivialize what made Parallel Kingdom, well, interesting?

"People want to play games in the environment they are most comfortable with, be that mobile, the Web, Kongregate, or Facebook," Justin Beck, co-founder and CEO of Parallel Kingdom developer PerBlue, told All Facebook. "We don't want to make people jump over fences to enjoy Parallel Kingdom, and that means meeting our players where they are. Thousands of users have already joined during beta, and since launching on these new platforms, the community is growing quickly."

Parallel Kingdom uses Google Maps to allow players to turn their local hang outs all over the world into battlefields to wage war on and territories to conquer. Based on our brief experience, there's not much to get pumped about with this release now that the charm of actually taking over your own stomping grounds, while really stomping on them (on the go), is still absent. However, this version of Parallel Kingdom does bring some interesting changes.
First, Parallel Kingdom has been integrated with the Facebook Games Ticker, so players can see when they're friends are in the game. Second, the game can be easily bookmarked and, finally, new sound effects accompany much of players' actions in Parallel Kingdom. Alright, so that's not really a ton of jaw-dropping features. (To be clearBut for those who simply can't get enough Parallel Kingdom, here's another place to play.

(Ed. Note: This post has been edited to clarify that the location-based features available in Parallel Kingdom for mobile are all present in its Facebook iteration.)

Click here to play Parallel Kingdom on Facebook Now >

Have you ever tried Parallel Kingdom elsewhere before? Are you excited about the idea of playing a location-based social game at home on your laptop or desktop? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.