Remember back in June when we made you aware of the existence of a behind-the-back endless runner starring perhaps the most famous fictional runner of all, Forrest Gump? Well, the game was only soft-launched in limited territories back then, but as of today Run Forrest Run (Free) is now officially available. I still can’t believe that it took three years after Temple Run’s release sparked off the 3rd-person runner craze for someone to make a running game about Forrest Gump. But, with the film’s 20th anniversary happening about a month ago (wow I feel old) the time seemed right to finally put the pieces together.
As for the actual game itself, Run Forrest Run is a surprisingly decent runner. I mean hey, it’s not going to win any awards or anything, but as far as movie tie-in games go it’s pretty good. It’s lane-based, and feels much more similar to Subway Surfers than Temple Run. I think the coolest part about Run Forrest Run is how much fan service there is. The initial tutorial has you playing as young Forrest, leg braces and all, running from the bullies who are throwing rocks at him. After that brief introduction, the game has you running through the streets of his hometown in Alabama. You’ll gain an experience of sorts for playing and completing goals, and as you level up you can unlock two additional environments: the famous Route 66 and a football field.
There are also tons of special hats to unlock and equip on Forrest that will give him special bonuses while playing, and again many of these hats are nods to things in the movie. Even the coin doubler, which is available for $4.99, is that classic red Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. cap. On that same topic, Run Forrest Run is a free to play game, and that’s easily the worst part about it. All the typical stuff is here, like two currencies (coins and, of course, chocolates), facebook integration nagging, and consumable power-ups. It’s all very standard free to play stuff, but if you hate that stuff in other games, you aren’t going to like it here either.
That said, for a free download and for fans of Forrest Gump, Run Forrest Run is definitely worth checking out. I haven’t yet determined if I’m going to drop the money for the doubler, but I’m enjoying myself so far and that red cap sure is tempting, so we’ll see. If you want to talk further about Run Forrest Run, check out the thread in our forums.
