Gameloft is known for making some solid iOS action games that are pretty close to console quality. Marry that experience and success with the power of Unreal Engine 3 and we get Wild Blood. I was excited to learn about this game since I’m a fan of all things Gameloft. After getting my hands on it, I’m happy to report that it does not fall short of my expectations.

The tales of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table are widely known. But I’m willing to bet that few would be familiar with the version told in Wild Blood. Players take control of Lancelot, who was found to be having an affair with King Arthur’s wife, Queen Guinevere. In his rage, Arthur teams up with the evil sorceress Morgana to find and punish Lancelot. Unbeknownst to Arthur, Morgana has other plans and blankets the entire kingdom in her black magic. Lancelot returns to the kingdom to find it overrun with demons and now must begin his search to find and rescue Guinevere. As the game advances, players help increase Lancelot’s skills and weapons to better equip him to defeat progressively stronger foes. Wild Blood offers two game modes: single player campaign and multiplayer battles where players can battle friends locally or online.

Wild Blood comes packed with action and slashing of demonic creatures. With all this action, the controls of the game need to be intuitive and comfortable. Gameloft’s control layout for its action games has become fairly standardized and those familiar with this layout won’t have any trouble navigating Lancelot around. I found the controls to be a little cramped on the iPhone but this is to be expected from a game of this magnitude being played on such a small screen. Despite fat-fingering some buttons occasionally, I think the control layout provides all the essential action keys in the right amount of space to get the job done.

I am really impressed with the graphics in this game. Gameloft is getting better and better at the artwork for their games to make them smoother and more realistic. In other games I would occasionally see some lag and stutters when playing, but the power of Unreal’s engine in Wild Blood shines through to minimize these things. The music and sound effects enhance the overall experience and help bring the world possessed by Morgana’s magic to life.

With everything said, I have to say that Gameloft’s attempt at their first Unreal-powered game is a success. The storyline is new and interesting and the gameplay kept me wanting more. The game is priced on the higher end of the spectrum but the quality will not disappoint.