Here’s one for all those gamers who swear by their iOS devices but still have a special nostalgia for the arcade games of the 80s and 90s:puzzlePunch! Released today for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, puzzlePunch! is a hybrid puzzle / fighting game (think Street Fighter meets BeJeweled) with a “super deformed” anime art style reminiscent of Super Puzzle Fighter and the sprites from classic 8- and 16-bit JRPGs.

As you might expect from App Store freebie, the gameplay is addictively simple: connect matching tiles in order to move, punch, kick, shoot, and mount the super attacks that will pummel your opponent into submission. Compete head-to-head in online play, Bluetooth local play, or against the AI. The more you play, the more new power-ups you’ll unlock. Extra power-ups, characters, etc. are available as in-app purchases, but there’s enough included in the free version to make it an addictive little timewaster all on its own. (Due to App Store limitations, we are unable to provide press free access to the iAPs, but we can give you more info about what the iAPs include to help flesh out your coverage. If you need more details, just holler. 

puzzlePunch! is the work of Spellgun Studios, a new mobile-oriented game studio with offices in San Francisco and Shanghai. The studio is led by James Zhang (an alumnus of LucasArts and Factor 5), and Spellgun team members’ credits include Turok, NBA Jam, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, SimCity 4, The Sims, and Kingdoms of Camelot. And puzzlePunch! is just one of the games Spellgun has been working on… we’ll have another iOS announcement coming soon…

Get puzzlePunch! here.