Then dubbed Project Sword, Epic Games’ Infinity Blade had as grand an unveiling as any iOS game could ever hope for – an introduction from Steve Jobs himself. It’s finally available, and, in short, it was definitely worth the hype.
Perhaps unlike Rage HD, the former holder of the looks-so-good-I-can’t-believe-it’s-on-my-iPhone title, Infinity Blade has truly amazing 3D graphics and a compelling game behind them. While it’s not necessary the full RPG experience that it might’ve seemed like back at the Apple event, Infinity Blade, basically a gesture-based fantasy combat game, is without a doubt one of the most impressive games in the App Store.
After some stock fantasy epic setup, you jump right into the action. Tapping your way along a predetermined path up to an ancient castle – you can look around at each stop (very pretty!) but can’t move on your own – you encounter all sorts of sword-wielding beasts which you learn to slice, dodge, stun and parry. Different opponents require different timings of the various maneuvers, and while slashing away at your opponent can get a little button-mashy, avoiding their attacks takes precise control. There isn’t a huge deal of variation from fight to fight, but the combat dynamic is fresh, difficult and engaging. The more you fight throughout your quest, the more experience you gain, allowing you to buy new weapons and new armour along the way.
But all that is in some ways secondary to what’s really so remarkable about Infinity Blade: its graphics. It’s the first game built on Epic’s Unreal engine (available soon to all iOS devs) and, like the Epic Citadel demo before it, it’s stunning. Shading, lighting, shadow – all of these things look as nuanced as they ever have on iOS, creeping ever closer to console quality. It also shows in the movement of the characters, and in turn in how closely the protagonist responds to your gestures. Blocking attackers’ blows requires swiping your finger in the same direction they’re swinging, and to actually keep them from hitting you you have to really be swiping in the same direction. It’s tough, but it’s enjoyably responsive.
If you want to see an iOS game dazzle you like it probably never has before, Infinity Blade’s in the App Store as a universal app for $8. [iTunes]
Video music: Kevin MacLeod
Steve
Friday, December 10, 2010 at 4:25 PMIt’s good… for an iPhone game. If you boil away the fluff, it’s essentially a linear point and click adventure. You move from one screen to the next, where each would have a single monster in a room. Beat it to move to the next one.
While it does indeed look awesome, they could have used pre-rendered graphics and it wouldn’t have changed the game at all, plus they could have shaved the bulk of that 300MB size and not nuke my battery life.
The actual combat is rather simplistic Fruit Ninja swipe fare.
Simon Reidy
Saturday, December 11, 2010 at 8:00 PMI get what you’re saying about the point and click adventure style. That’s exactly what it made me think of too. However it’s cool the way there’s at least some choice with direction in the game and this lends a more interactive feel than cut-scenes alone.
The stuff about using pre-rendered graphics is nonsense though. The game requires precise timing to dodge, block and parry and your opponent’s moves who also respond to your moves in real-time in a very detailed way. Plus you build up various weapons and magic skills which all look unique and require a specific combo to use.
I think people are forgetting this is on a MOBILE PHONE. The fact that Epic have produced something so stunning for a mobile device is a big leap forward for iOS as a serious mobile gaming platform. Show me a PSP game that looks this good (remembering that this is being rendered at a much higher resolution than any PSP game too).
The control system is also very well thought out for a touchscreen device. Rather than trying to replicate a PC/console FPS (which just doesn’t work that well on a device without physical controls) Epic obviously put a lot of time into their unique touch-screen system which is among the best I’ve seen yet. Certainly a lot more accurate and playable than the tilt style game play of RageHD by comparison.
Of course the usual Apple haters here will hate this simply because its on iOS and then find any reason they can to gripe about (not saying that’s you Steve, but Pftt below is a classic example). If it was on Android everyone would be going gaga over what a quantum leap forward it was.
Steve
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 3:18 PMWhen I said pre-rendered graphics, I meant it for the exploration elements. They could have just gone like the first Myst game and used flat environments and it wouldn’t have changed that part of the game one bit.
The actual combat can be easily replicated if you check any Flash browser game. I think it’s a good showcase for the power of the iPhone, but that’s all it is. I think Rage HD offers the deeper experience.
Pfft
Saturday, December 11, 2010 at 3:06 AMThat’s it? Looks like a pile of shite
Simon Reidy
Saturday, December 11, 2010 at 7:46 PMYou’re right. The anti-aliased 960×640 3D graphics rendered in real-time look absolutely rubbish on the retina display. The silky smooth frame-rate isn’t impressive at all. The game doesn’t represent a huge leap forward in mobile gaming whatsoever. Epic can’t make games for crap. It sucks because its on iOS. Stupid iSheep and their crappy looking 3D games. Symbian FTW right?!!
chinosts
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 4:01 PMIt’s got nothing on Angry Birds… ;)