Will The Contra-Inspired Gun Runner Give The Other Endless Runners A Run For Their Coins?
April 3, 2012
If the current crop of retro-style games in the App Store is any indication, 8-bit nostalgia is the order of the day. And just added to that ever-growing crop is Gun Runner by Man Up Time Studios.
It's simply impossible not to describe Gun Runner without mentioning Contra. From its graphics to its soundtrack, Gun Runner is heavily influenced by that classic video game. Even its backstory is a variation of the plot of Contra.
In Gun Runner, you're a gun-toting fellow determined to search for your brother Ajax. Ajax was the leader of a team of special forces who in 1986 were designated to investigate a mysterious alien object in the South American jungles. They went missing in action soon after. Failing to secure help from the authorities, you've decided to take the matter into your own hands, or, to be more specific, your trigger-happy fingers.
Gun Runner is an endless runner in which, once you get dropped off into enemy territory, there's no turning back. And unless you fall off a cliff or get defeated by the enemy along your way, there's no stopping your running, jumping, and shooting. Gun Runner is free-to-play, but in-app purchases may be required if you want to upgrade your initial gun, which isn't bad at all, into much bigger and powerful ones. Alternatively, you can keep on playing to collect coins à la Jetpack Joyride to buy your desired alien-busting weapon.
Appropriately featuring a chiptune soundtrack, Gun Runner is available now in the App Store for free. I wonder if there's a cheat code for the game equivalent to the famous Contra code: up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, select, start.
