One of my favorite developers for iOS is the team at Rocketcat Games. Since appearing on my radar with Super QuickHook, the amazing, SNES styled grappling hook racing game, I’ve devoured their games. Their last outing on iOS was the fantastic top-down RPG, Mage Gauntlet, but before returning to the world of Mage for their next game, Rocketcat has teamed up with Madgarden to create an homage to classic arcade fighters - the brilliant and sublime Punch Quest.

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If you were a fan of games like Final Fight and Double Dragon, Punch Quest is probably the game for you. An endless runner, similar to Jetpack Joyride or Canabalt, you play a warrior who punches his way through a never-ending series of environments or opponents. A tap to the left is a leaping uppercut (which doubles as a jump) and a tap to the right works as a rushing forward punch. You continue forward, punching ogres, skull warriors, bats, ghosts and all kinds of baddies, until unfortunately, you die. Sometimes, you even find yourself riding a dinosaur or turned into a gnome! (Of COURSE there would be gnomes.) And then you get to do it all again.

As with all endless runners, there is a weird sense of constant, impending failure, as the idea is to keep going yet eventually fail so that you have a new record to outdo. I’ve always found that these sorts of iOS games are the best. You’re provided an easy to understand goal, easier to understand controls, and then you later, rinse and repeat to your heart’s content. It’s the right type of gameplay while waiting in line or with a few minutes to kill in a doctor’s office. What makes this game really smart, however, how they’ve adapted Jetpack Joyride style goals. Not only are you fighting to make it farther than before, but now you’re also aiming to hit 5 uppercuts, a consecutive series of combination hits, or other goals, using some of the advanced techniques you use along the way.

What’s that? The magic word of all iOS games, unlockables? Yes, like prior games from Rocketcat, there are tons of customizable elements for your warrior. You can edit your characters colors, edit the gender, and if that wasn’t enough each run (and accomplished goal), earns you the in-game currency called “Punchos”. These can then be used to purchase new attacks and customizable elements, like facial hair, scars, helmets and the Rocketcat trademark - hats. You earn Punchos on every run, but they can be bought by the thousands through in-app purchases (varying from 20,000 for $1.99 to 450,000 for $19.99). However, don’t think of this as a blind money-grab. Punch Quest is being offered for free, and at no point did I feel like I was being forced into an in-app purchase. The game offers the chance to earn every upgrade through trial and error, but if you’re looking to unlock content early, I think it’s only fair that they give you the ability to pay for it.

I feel like I’m overlooking the graphic and audio elements of the game, but as you can see in the screenshots below (from the iPad version), Punch Quest retains a retro feel without being cloying. Graphics are clean and crisp, and the animations remain smooth throughout. The equally as retro soundtrack is decent, if not unmemorable, but considering it’s covered by the sound effects of your hero punching through skulls, bats and other baddies, it’s probably best that it isn’t too distinct.

The app itself is universal, working on both your iPhone and iPad, and supports the retina and extended resolutions found on the iPhone 4, iPhone 5 and 3rd generation iPad.

All and all, Punch Quest is a great burst of energy and is full of enough unlockables to keep you interested for months (if not years) to come. While it clearly follows in the footsteps of Halfbrick’s success with Jetpack Joyride, don’t think of it only as another pretender - this game definitely deserves a space on your iOS device. Now, if you don’t mind, I have more hats to unlock. Time to get punching!

Punch Quest for iOS is available now in the Apple App Store. This app was provided by the developer to Blast-O-Rama for the purposes of review. The game was played on both a 3rd Gen iPad and an iPhone 4s.

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