‘Infinity Blade’ Review
Does this game even need an introduction at this point? Regardless, it certainly deserves one. We saw something truly amazing during the Apple Keynote; Unreal Engine running on an iPhone 4. Since then, the world of impossibility has become the realm in which we now game, at least as of tonight. In that demo we saw Epic Citadel, a large castle and city fully explorable by thumb-sticks, swipes and taps. It was jaw-dropping. The graphics were superb by any standards. Then during the demo of GameCenter, “Project Sword” was revealed. It was an awesome demonstration of iron-clad sword fighting warriors going at it toe-to-toe complete with Unreal Engine under the hood. We later found out the two were one, and eventually named Infinity Blade, we knew that this was going to be, to say the least, epic. Headline of the night; Infinity Blade is epic.
Gameplay 10/10
Infinity Blade is a game-play based game. Shouldn’t all games be game-play based, you ask? Well yeah, but they’re not. Despite having the best graphics of any iPhone game to-date, Infinity Blade is not about exploring the beautiful world in which the adventure takes place. Open-world RPG exclusive fans will be disappointed to find out that this is not one to add to that genera. Infinity Blade takes place entirely (at least while out of combat) on a tap and move basis. By tap to move I mean you choose a location and there will be a short cut-scene of you moving there and low-and-behold, you will end up there. Once there, you can look around and pick up money or health potions scattered about. Usually you move about once before encountering an enemy. Once you do you’ll approach in a menacing way and have a stare-down. From here you can initiate a battle or tap the info button to display some minor info. Once a battle has started the real fun begins. All battles take place purely on a swipe and tap basis. Every swipe gesture you make is mimicked by your avatar, you swipe left, and he swings his sword to the left. Your opponent will be throwing similar strikes and you must either parry, dodge or block his attack. Parrying is done by matching his swipe, dodging by tapping either the left or right dodge button and blocking by hitting the block button. Block too many times and your shield could break, meaning you’ll take damage once you block henceforth. Dodging is your best bet but it can be difficult to figure out which direction his attack is coming from and then time the dodge just right. If he swings to the left, you dodge to the left, just under his sword. dodge to the right and you’ll step right into his attack. Later on in the game, precision and timing are completely crucial and every attack must be timed just right. The depth to the battles is amazing and every one is a pulse-pounding battle to the finish. Every encounter plays out like a very long cut-scene, yet you control the action. Most battles come in stages of three parts, after damaging him so much, you’ll knock him back and continue fighting. After the final knock back, you’ll finish off your opponent in some awesome, grotesque way, goring him, knocking him off a bridge or just plain old stabbing him through the head. I’ve been head-butted, kicked and smashed in this game, the battles are simply full of surprises. The whole point is to make it to the end of the game and battle the God-King, through a cut-scene filled with an exotic yet brutal language (Sub-titles provided) you’ll learn that your family has tried to end the God-King’s reign of terror for a while and your just one in a long line. The first time through, you’ll most likely be killed, handing off the role to your son, who is stronger thanks to all the armor, weapons, gold and experience you left him (Generous, that God-king, though a tyrant he may be). Every blood-line is driven by avenging your father. This blood-line is apparently not known for their good grades in probability and statistics (Stay in school kids) yet still they attempt this challenge giving you plenty of reasons to continue playing through the game. Although you restart with your fathers stats and gear, more gear can be bought in the store with the gold you get by defeating enemies, finding chests, or looking around the landscape. You can level up by the experience gained from your items, at the end of a battle, the total experience pool is evenly split between your helmet, armor, shield, weapon and ring. Once you master an item, completed by filling the meter of experience, you sometimes gain a bonus but no experience will earned from that item any longer. Once you level up you can increase your stats, an important thing in Infinity Blade.
Graphics 10/10
The graphics in Infinity Blade are spectacular, the best to be seen in an iPhone game to date. The game runs on Unreal Engine and the graphics are as crisp and clear as they come. Every detail on the armor or even the ground is superbly thought out. The enemies are scary, the sun reflects realistically and even the walls are pleasant to study. If graphics are your selling point, this is the game for you. On my iPhone 4, this game handles beautifully. On anything less, it might get a bit rough. I had minimal slow downs, although some were to be had. Nothing that harmed game-play was seen in my time with the game. Everything ran smooth and beautiful, just as an Unreal Engine game should.
Sound 10/10
There are superb sounds for everything in this game. The grunts your foes make, the slashes and even the armor clinking as you walk are amazing. The language the characters speak is very convincing and extremely well done. Some of the best sound I’ve heard in an iPhone game, it truly throws you deeper in the realm that is, Infinity Blade.
Longevity 10/10
Infinity Blade virtually does not have to end and only gets harder and harder. You can keep replaying through the castle which is no chore at all to do. A list of promised update features (Including Multi-player via Apple Gamecenter) seems to only add to the longevity of an already full featured game. The multi-player, demoed during the Apple keynote, looked amazing and with a combat-system like this, I would get this game just for the multi-player.
Cost – 10/10
At $5.99 USD, Infinity Blade is worth every last cent based on what is included. Higher prices have been paid for less and this game can take on any other title in the app store. Although on the higher end of the price spectrum, this game is incredibly worth it.
Conclusion 50/50 – 10/10
With a perfect score, this game will certainly exceed your expectations. In all my hopes of this game being an open-world RPG, I hardly even noticed it wasn’t once I got into the game. For everything Infinity Blade is not, what it is will blow you away anyways. If you have any interest in awesome gaming in your pocket, Infinity Blade will meet the call with every swing of every massive sword, and every rumble of every humongous foe that falls at your feet. Beyond the words that can be used to describe this game, simply playing it, is the only way to truly understand the beauty of this game and the gargantuan sword fights that await. Chair Entertainment has an Epic title on their hands and I have a feeling every game released from this point on will be examined next to this title. The bar has been raised.
Infinity Blade on the App Store.