Tag: Infinity Blade »

It is hard to argue that people are not looking for hardcore gaming experiences on their iOS devices.  In a world where Angry Birds and Cut the Rope sell millions of copies, it was nice to see a niche hardcore game succeed against all odds.  Sure, it didn't hurt that ChAIR's release had the backing of development powerhouse Epic Games, but when Infinity Blade racked up an impressive $1.65 million dollars in sales over the span of a mere five days, skeptics were suddenly silenced.

Ever since then the studio has quietly been churning away on several additional content updates, but nothing that would satiate the yearning of multiplayer junkies that desired to face off head-to-head with human adversaries.  This is why yesterday's announcement of a brand new update to everyone's favorite medieval Mike Tyson Punch-Out clone is so exciting!  The full rundown of Thursday's upcoming update are as follows:

• 

  Enter the Arena:  Assuming the role of Titan or Knight, Infinity Blade fans can now challenge their friends to multiplayer matches online via Game Center!


• Survivor Mode: Players face off against a legion of Titans to see how far they can go!


• New Holiday Helms!  A new helm for every season, ready to be played and mastered!


• More than two dozen new magic rings, swords, shields, and helmets for players to collect and master.


• New Facebook integration allows fans to view their character on their profile and take a screen grab to share with friends.


• Much more! New Achievements, additional Leaderboards, and some new surprises!

Just when you thought Infinity Blade was getting a little old and tired, news like this comes along and kicks the game's fanbase into overdrive.  All of those that have been crying out for Game Center multiplayer should be more than pleased, while the developers still haven't forgotten the hardcore single player supporters that have been patiently grinding away since the last update.

So now the question becomes where can ChAIR go from here?  Let us know what you think is coming next in the comment section.

Fans of Epic's Unreal Engine have been long trumpeting its praises on the iOS.  However, while Infinity Blade has seen widespread acclaim, including a very promising review here on 148Apps, Dungeon Defenders, another game made using the Unreal Engine, hasn't seen near as much success.  One specific issue keyed on in our official review of Dungeon Defenders were the performance lags that occurred when there too many things happening on screen.

Luckily, the iPad 2 has come to our rescue and Dungeon Defenders developer Trendy Entertainment is happy to announce that lag is now a thing of the past.  Apparently a perk of developing using the Unreal Engine is that you are by default writing code that is compatible with dual core PCs.  This technology can now be applied to the dual cores found in the iPad 2, thereby kicking the prior slowdown to the curb, with minimal effort on their end.



Though I was initially skeptical about this news, as you can see in the video above and all remnants of stuttering have gone the way of the Dodo.  I guess this is just one more perk of using the Unreal Engine.  Here is to hoping that other developers are taking notes.

We did a podcast and we are the greatest. #sworcery

On This Episode:

We discuss Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP - trying to discuss the game's experience and gameplay while trying to be as spoiler-free as possible.

We also discuss the iPad 2, and whether iPad 1 users should upgrade.

Who We Are:

Host: Carter Dotson

Co-Host: Dan Morgan, The APPera

Music:

"Beatnes7 (Theme to The Portable Podcast)" by The Eternal - Download on iTunes here:

"Nanocarp" by The Eternal

How to Listen:

Click Here to Subscribe in iTunes:

Click Here to Subscribe via RSS.

Listen on WRGT Radio every Friday at 4pm Central

Listen Here: [powerpress]

Apps Mentioned in this Episode:

Infinity Blade's first major content update has hit, entitled The Deathless Kings. The meat of the update focuses on the new Deathless Kings section of the game. Accessible through a new path at the castle gates, or right before the lift that leads to The God King's lair. Now, to access the dungeon that leads to the Deathless Kings, you have to have bought the Infinity Blade in game, meaning that this section is, by design, only for experienced players who have amassed large quantities of gold either through massive playtime or by buying gold via in-app purchases so that they could buy the Infinity Blade, which costs $750,000 in in-game currency. When you finally unlock it, you get to fight the three Deathless Kings, some of the toughest enemies in the game. If you can manage to beat them, you unlock NewGame+, which starts you over in a new bloodline with all your equipment, items and gold intact, and with the ability to re-master them and level up even further. Of course, all the enemies will be stronger as well, so don't just expect a walk in the park. Of course, if you can beat NewGame+, then you can do it again.

For those less obsessed with the game, but are returning to check out the game with the update, there's fresh content for you as well. 30 new items have been added to the game, along with 10 new enemies, like the Warden, and the Wood Jester. As well, there are new Game Center leaderboards and achievements, the ability to have multiple character slots, and new settings. Of course, the most exciting new feature may just be the ability to reset the game to Bloodline 1, in case you want to go back to the halcyon days when The God King was just level 50, and you can smack him around, just like you did the first time. Ahhh, memories. The Deathless Kings is a free update to the same universal Infinity Blade app, and more features are promised in the future, including online Game Center multiplayer to fight your friends.

Infinity Blade has made quite a splash in the iOS community, and it appears Epic is ready to keep the hype going with a couple updates set to make the action RPG even harder to put down. The company has announced details on two different updates for the game, one of which will be available next week.

First up is a new booster pack which will feature five new shields and helmets, as well as a brand new armor set. Also, the game will be raising the level cap to 45, making your fights against the God King and his minions at least a little bit easier. On top of all that, the game will add a brand new foe, the Marrow Fiend, who would love nothing more than to cut off your head and display it in his trophy room of horrors.

The more substantive update is planned to arrive early next year, and it sounds quite impressive indeed. The title update will feature more story and some nasty high-level foes. As Chair boss Donald Mustard puts it, "There will be new areas to go to, the story will be evolving a little more as you see what the God King is really up to, and we're going to let people go down into the dungeons. For high-level players especially, you'll start to find some enemies that make the [current] enemies look like nothing."

Next year's update will also add the much-discussed multiplayer mode, which we're very excited about. Unfortunately, Chair isn't providing any details on what they have planned quite yet, so we're going to be in the dark about specifics for at least a little while longer.

All this news of awesome free updates makes our hearts sing. Infinity Blade is already a very entertaining game, and the addition of all this new content is only going to make a good thing even better. This is a game whose popularity grows by the day, and with updates like these it doesn't seem like we're going to stop talking about it anytime soon. That, of course, is a good thing.

[via Joystiq]

Long live the Turret Alamo!

On This Episode:

Carter discusses recent iOS releases Super Stick Golf and Infinity Blade with AppAddict.net's Brett Nolan.

Carter interviews Alex Okafor and Adam Stewart of One Man Left about the upcoming Tilt to Live update, ¡Viva la Turret!

Who We Are:

Host: Carter Dotson

Co-Host: Brett Nolan - AppAddict.net

Guests: Alex Okafor & Adam Stewart - One Man Left

Music:

"Beatnes7 (Theme to The Portable Podcast)" by The Eternal - Download on iTunes here:

"Nanocarp" by The Eternal

How to Listen:

Click Here to Subscribe in iTunes:

Click Here to Subscribe via RSS.

Listen on WRGT Radio every Friday at 4pm Central

Listen Here: [powerpress]

Apps Mentioned On This Episode:

Epic's Infinity Blade, the action RPG boasting some of the most impressive visuals to date on iOS machines, has shattered sales records and become the fastest-grossing app ever. The game has earned $1.65 million in only five days of availability, handily beating Cut the Rope as the fastest game to a million dollars in sales. when you break down the numbers it all comes out that Infinity Blade managed to shift 271,424 copies in less than a week. Pretty impressive by any stretch.

Of course there are some caveats to this record-setting achievement, not the least of which is the matter of price. Since Infinity Blade retails at $6.99 it only had to sell one-sixth the number of copies Cut the Rope did in order to claim the fastest to a million crown. So while the title has still done very well, its sales haven't been quite as brisk as those of Om Nom the candy-munching monster. Also, we'll have to wait and see what sort of longevity the game sees, as only time (and sales) will tell if it's a true juggernaut of the app store or simply a novelty act that people check out to see if it lives up to the hype and then move on. Word of mouth and long-term sales will be the true barometer of lasting success.

Still, $1.65 million is nothing to sneeze at any way you slice it. Epic and Chair have to be very excited with the early success their game has enjoyed. Reviews have also been mostly positive, so there's no reason to suspect Infinity Blade won't continue to be a big deal for a very long time. Could this become the highest-grossing, best-known app of all time? It's still too early to know for sure, but it's seeming more and more like a distinct possibility.

[via GI.biz]

Dungeon Hunter was a true critical and commercial success when it launched last year, and now Gameloft is primed to give fans more of what they're begging for. The company has announced that Dungeon Hunter 2, the next entry in the highly-anticipated franchise, is now available in the App Store.

The new title features a host of upgrades and new features, among them highly-tuned visuals, Game Center support and four player co-op. Players who want to join up with friends (or strangers) can set up multiplayer matches via either local Wi-Fi or over Bluetooth connections. On the gameplay front, Dungeon Hunter 2 boasts a world five times bigger than the original, three difficulty levels, multiple character classes and skills and hundreds of unique items and weapons. No half-hearted expansions here, this is a true blue sequel.

The game looks extremely entertaining and should be quite a treat for action RPG fans. The ability to play solo or with friends is a nice enticement, and the visuals have an impressive, World of Warcraft look to them. Now the only question is with the recent launch of Infinity Blade, might Dungeon Hunter 2 be overlooked? Normally we would happily report that there's plenty of RPG love to go around, but both titles are a bit pricey and are essentially gunning for the same audience, so there's a very real chance many consumers might be forced to choose one or the other. In this situation do you choose the sexy newcomer who's good for a fling and may be something more, or opt for the steady friend who has proven they're worthwhile but maybe isn't quite as exciting? It's definitely a tough call, and one which will likely weigh heavily on a few gamers' minds. The good news is you really can't go wrong either way, and if you can have both then so much the better.

[via TiPb]

Last month we told you that Epic's impressive looking Infinity Blade would make its way to iOS devices in time for the holidays. Now we have even more specifics, as Epic has officially announced that the game will be available on all iOS machines on December 9. In case that sounds far off to you for some reason, remember that it's actually next week.

The action RPG is poised to be one of the most graphically impressive games to come to iOS, considering it's being powered by Unreal Engine 3. As the studio which created UE 3, Epic is well-versed at getting the most out of the engine, and if early screenshots are any indication, this title is going to be absolutely gorgeous.

It seems we may also have to pay a premium for those tantalizing visuals, as Epic has also announced that Infinity Blade will retail for $5.99. For many iPhone owners there may be a bit of sticker shock associated with such a price, especially considering a lot of perfectly nice looking games sell on the App Store for $0.99. Is this game really going to be worth the money?

While we can't say for sure if Infinity Blade is worth your money, signs are pointing in a positive direction. The game appears to be polished to an incredible degree, and Epic as a studio is known for their high-quality work in creating compelling gameplay experiences. Past performance may not be an indication of future results, but Infinity Blade really holds a lot of promise. For iPad owners this game is a near no-brainer, as the $5.99 price tag easily falls in line with what they're used to paying for apps, and may even be considered a bargain in some respects. UPDATE: Our source does indeed say "Universal App" so the screen resolution shouldn't be an issue. Thanks to Twitter fan @enygmadraco for catching that! The trade-off is that there is no iPad-specific version of Infinity Blade planned, so the pretty visuals may be stretched and lose some resolution if you expand them out to fill the whole iPad screen. But we'll stop trying to sway you one way or the other, in a week you can decide for yourself.

[via Joystiq]

Epic has officially announced that Infinity Blade, which up until now has been known as Project Sword, will be coming to iOS devices this holiday season. The game is powered by the Unreal Engine, and has been a hot topic of conversation ever since it was teased at Apple's keynote back in September. Some are expecting this to be the most visually impressive game yet for iOS machines.

Epic also dropped some new gameplay details, giving us our first taste of how the game will play. The company is promising that Infinity Blade will showcase "adrenaline-fueled sword battles and epic boss fights set in the realm of a fully 3D castle." There will be at least some RPG element to the proceedings, as players will gain experience, build stats and buy new items as they progress through the story. We also know that the final boss is called the God-King, which is either pure awesome or a shining example of how lazy some people have become.

One down note is that the game won't have multiplayer at launch, but the good news is that it will eventually come as a free update down the road. Since we don't yet have a firm release date for the game proper we also don't know when the multiplayer will show up, but we'd guess it will arrive in early 2011. There's also been no price announced yet for Infinity Blade, but given the production values and development costs it's likely going to retail for more than $0.99.

You may also want to invest in a convenient charging solution for your iPhone or iPad, as Infinity Blade will most surely be a battery hog. Enjoy playing the game in five minute spurts; that's likely about all you're going to manage to get out of something so resource taxing. Let's just hope your device doesn't die in the middle of the final fight with the God-King, because that would just be tragic.

[via TouchArcade]