Impressions: Speed Bag: Urban Gym

Some of us are far too busy to have the time to actually go and work out. I suppose that’s the message that Speed Bag: Urban Gym was trying to convey. Now you can get a great workout on the go with one finger via your iPhone or iPod Touch! All joking aside, this is actually an interesting little app that I wasn’t quite sure about at first. Featuring nothing but a speed punching bag and a stationary background, all you need to know how to do is hit, or tap, accurately.

The game provides sound advice for you to get started. To accumulate a respectable high score or even to get used to the game’s intriguing gameplay style, it suggests you pay attention to the rat-tat-tat of the speed bag as you hit it. And that’s all you need to do. Simply strike the speed bag with your finger and keep tapping in order to complete the prerequisites of each level.

With every success, your accuracy rate and rate of “good” hits (ones that followed the rules in each level and hit the bag appropriately) will be displayed before the next level opens. As you rise in rank, you’ll be presented with higher challenges to meet and higher accuracy rates to fulfill. Simply tapping willy-nilly will get you nowhere, and I quickly found that out after trying to breeze through the first few levels of the game.

Interestingly enough, you really do need to pay attention to the subtle rhythm the speed bag presents as you keep tapping. If you adjust your speed appropriately and keep within the rhythm, you’ll rack up the points in no time. While the game is an inherently simple game, I found it quite hard to put down. I wanted to keep besting my high score rather than stop with an embarrassing 75% or worse.

And the graphics aren’t impressive, either. A realistic punching bag is placed on a stationary background with clear pixellation. There’s no music. But that’s hardly a reason to look up this hyper-addictive game that really feels as though you’re preparing for some big, grand fight and training hard to “become one” with the speed bag.

Needing some time with a brutally addictive casual app? Dive right into Speed Bag: Urban Gym for a quick fix, and just try to stop after your first few rounds.

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