Tag: Infinity Blade »

Infinity Blade is now free as Apple has selected the popular original title as its "App of the Week." The deal lasts from now until February 21st, and to add a little more love to this deal, once downloaded, you'll be able to equip a special Valentine's Day Holiday Helm.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Apple and to have Infinity Blade selected as 'App of the Week,' ” said Donald Mustard, creative director for ChAIR Entertainment. “Infinity Blade remains one of the most popular games in the App Store and this is a great opportunity to invite new gamers into the Infinity Blade universe.”

Infinity Blade is the albatross hanging around my iPad’s neck. I put a lot of time into that game, slaying (and being slain by) the God King. That’s time I don’t want to lose, but the app’s large file size is crowding out other apps on my iPad! The game doesn’t have iCloud like the sequel does, so if I delete it, the save disappears into the aether. Or for a note-taking app like Penultimate, there should be an easy way to transfer an entire library of notes over to another device, such as the iPad Mini, without needing to export to sharing services or having to restore an entire device from iCloud.

While iTunes does not offer this functionality, there are ways to do this using third-party software, and without jailbreaking. I'm going to tell you how you can get to your app's save files, copy them to your computer, and restore them back later – even to completely different devices.

First, download and install i-FunBox. It’s available for Windows and Mac and is free. Start by plugging in to your computer the device that has the save file of choice on it, and plug only this device in. At least on Mac, i-FunBox can only detect one device at a time.

Now, after it loads and the device is recognized by iFunBox, click on User Applications.

Find the app whose data you want to copy. Clicking on the User Applications text itself will open up a list of all applications, and the "Switch View" buttons in the top bar will change between an icon-based grid and a list view. As well, clicking on the dropdown menu on the left will give a quick list of all apps. Double-click on the app whose save files you want to back up.

Open it up, and a screen with several folders and a few files should be available. Ctrl-click (on Mac, Command-click) on the Documents and Library folders to highlight both of these for copying to your computer. Now click the orange arrow facing right that on Mac says Copy To Mac.

Save these files in their own individual folders. Do not let them mingle with other preferences files, lest the wrong save files get copied to their own devices! I created a Backups folder and then an individual sub-folder in that folder for each app's Documents and Library files.

Now, it’s actually a very simple process to restore an app’s data to a device, hypothetically including to a different one than what you made the backup from. Unplug the original device and plug in the device to be copied to. Follow the same instructions as before to find the exact same app. This means do not copy from an iPad version of an app to an iPhone version or vice versa, as it will most likely not work! Once you're at the screen with the Documents and Library folders, click the orange Copy From Mac or similar button and ctrl-click or Command-click on the app's Documents and Library folders. Dragging the folders to the i-FunBox window should work as well. i-FunBox should instantaneously copy the files to the device. Load up the app, and if all has gone well, then the save file should be transferred!

Now, just a word of warning: as this is somewhat of a backdoor method to do this, there’s no guarantee that it will work properly. Transferring preferences files between universal apps should work, but iPhone and iPad versions will likely not. There’s no guarantee that a transferred save file will work, but Infinity Blade and Tilt to Live are confirmed working for me. And remember, keep the folders isolated. If an app won’t load due to messed up configuration files, then deleting it and reinstalling it should solve the problem. Just be very careful.

Fieldrunners 2 is getting in-app purchases, according to a blog post from the game’s developer, Subatomic Studios. Such a thing should not be notable in 2012, as in-app purchases have become the norm. But there’s two reasons why this is a story: one, Fieldrunners 2 launched without IAP at first at all, a rarity considering that the game had a virtual currency in place for buying in-game upgrades already. Second, the reason why they did it reveals something interesting about people’s expectations of App Store games.

This isn’t necessarily a case of Subatomic Studios not having made a lot of money so far, because according to its own numbers, the game has made over $1 million so far. That’s more than Jetpack Joyride made in its first few months, for comparison, though before it went free-to-play. Considering the long amount of time between entries of the Fieldrunners series and the game’s high production values, it’s likely that there would be a high cost to make the game, though the original Fieldrunners has had the benefit of being on many platforms to help bring in revenue over that time as well.

Fieldrunners 2 also had the benefit of launching at a “premium” app price on iOS: $2.99 for the iPhone version, and $7.99 for the iPad version, neither of which is universal. The iPad version doesn’t have the IAP yet; I reached out to Alec Shobin, marketing and PR manager at Subatomic, who explained that “It will probably come to the iPad version later. We wanted to launch it on one platform at time in order to work out any kinks, since this is pretty new to us.”

Now, there is an interesting reason given by Subatomic as to why the studio would go ahead and reverse course on IAP: people actually wanted it. The general trend among the ‘core’ gamer community is that in-app purchases are bad for consumers and potentially exploitative. If Subatomic is to be believed, however, there were people actually wanting the ability to buy more in-app currency. Shobin reasons that “they appreciate and almost expect that feature, especially in an iOS game.”

This kind of behavior has become standard procedure, and even premium games are conditioning players to expect in-app purchases, which is likely due to the oft-copied Infinity Blade series’ decision to include them. The difference is in that Fieldrunners 2 is doing something more akin to the original Infinity Blade, adding them in post-hoc, rather than integrating them as part of the initial product as with Infinity Blade 2.

But does Subatomic Studios feel like it may come off as feeling greedy due to adding IAP to a game that already came with a ‘premium’ price? "Yes, this is absolutely a concern," said Shobin, "but there isn’t really much we can do about it. People asked for a way to buy coins with money. We’re running a business, so it would be foolish for us to turn them down when we can meet their needs without doing anything else to change a game that our existing community loves so much. If people want us to keep making games - if we want to keep making games that we love - we need to recoup our development costs AND earn enough to begin our next game(s).”

While there’s definitely a steady contingent of people complaining already about the change, the choice for Subatomic Studios seems easy in the context of whether they should listen to the people that want them to not have IAP, versus those that want them to shut up and take their money. It just shows how much consumable IAP has become a part of the iOS gaming market that now even the feature’s exclusion is cause for complaint from users. It’s a problem that developers want to have – the demand from people to give the developers more money to keep playing their game.

Infinity Blade I and Infinity Blade II have dropped in price to $0.99 and $2.99 respectively. Both excellent games and worth picking up.

This week at 148Apps.com, we brought another amazing app into the Editor's Choice fold. This is what Kalle MacDonald had to say about Horn: "As a fan of both the Legend of Zelda series on Nintendo consoles and the Infinity Blade franchise on iOS, I welcomed HORN with open arms. Believe it or not it delivers on both counts.

HORN is hard to explain. In essence it is an action-adventure game, but the details make it so much more than that. When inn the “adventuring” portions of the story, the game is played in a third-person perspective and the titular Horn is controlled by tapping where the player wants him to go. To go along with this, there are action portions of the game. These portions are played similarly to Infinity Blade, with a swipe to attack, and various ways to evade the enemies."

Want to know more? Of course you do. Read the full review at 148Apps.

Over at GiggleApps.com, Amy Solomon gave us an art lesson in her review of PlayArt: "PlayART by Tapook is an interesting art app allowing children and adults to create their own images using the details found within famous works of art. Five artists are covered, specifically Van Gogh, Monet, Klee, Cezanne and Rousseau allowing children to be exposed to different styles of art, also learning about these artists from watching short videos and exploring a museum of these artists’ original paintings."

Read more at GiggleApps.com.

And finally, 148Apps.biz writer Carter Dotson contributed a piece about elblabs: "German studio elblabs is launching a new ad network, GameAdTrading. What elblabs is claiming that their network can do better than other networks is simple: adaptability to many different platforms.

This adaptability is largely because GameAdTrading is currently available as a plugin for Unity, the engine that’s primarily designed for 3D games, but often finds use simply as a cross-platform engine. For example, Cthulhu Saves the World, a 16-bit-inspired RPG that has pretty much nothing three-dimensional about it at all, was ported from XNA to Unity for the mobile versions. The ability to publish to iOS, Android, and PC/Mac makes it an attractive option for even simulation games that aren’t as graphically-demanding. elblabs is also taking requests via email for other engines, including Flash."

Read more about this move to cross-platform advertising on 148Apps.biz.

And.....we're done for this week. But that's the great thing - one week ends, and another's just right around the corner. Join us on Facebook and Twitter to get the news, reviews and contests you want, right when you want them, from app experts. Until next weekend, go plunge the depths of Horn.

This week at 148Apps.com, we checked out stunning cool new multiplayer features in two fan-favorite games: Infinity Blade 2 and SpellTower. Carter Dotson had this to say about IB2's new features: "Infinity Blade 2‘s first major content update has finally dropped on the App Store, bringing its new ClashMob feature to the game. The ClashMob challenges are asynchronous multiplayer events where everyone who participates contributes toward some collective goal."

And Jennifer Allen writes that, "SpellTower has just got even better with a major new update coming to the app. The big update is the addition of Debate Mode, multiplayer support via bluetooth providing a Rush-style battle of word skills amongst players."

Read more about Infinity Blade 2 here and about SpellTower here.

The fun continued at GiggleApps.com with Amy Solomon's review of the odd Dynastid Beetle. She writes, "Dynastid Beetle is a fun and educational interactive app for children. To those living in the United States, an application dedicated to learning about a beetle may seem like an odd choice, so it is worth noting that dynastid Beetles are commonly kept as pets within Asian households. Versions of this app are available for both iPad as well as iPhone. This interactive app contains five sections – each dedicated to teaching a specific aspect about the lives of dynastic beetles."

Want to know more about one of the more original apps for kids on the App Store? Read Solomon's full review on GiggleApps.

Finally, on AndroidRundown.com, Carter Dotson introduced MMO Dark Legends for Chrome and Android, and had this to say about the game for iOS: "The game is available now on Google Play for Android, and from the Chrome Web Store. The iOS version is expected to release after a two-week exclusivity period with Google, but player accounts will transfer between platforms by logging into the same account; it currently works between the Chrome and Android versions, just as it worked with Pocket Legends and Star Legends."

Read the full story on AndroidRundown.

And we're out...Keep up to date with everything related to news, reviews and contests by following us on Twitter and Liking us on Facebook. See you next weekend.

Even with all the praise the Infinity Blade series has gotten since its introduction, there's usually one major complaint people have: there's no freedom of movement. A rather silly gripe seeing as open-world style exploration isn't the point (plus it would be ridiculously taxing on the hardware with those graphics), but it's still probably the most common one seen in user reviews and the like. Infinity Blade: Dungeons has no such movement restrictions. It's also a fairly major departure from the gameplay series fans are used to.

Infinity Blade: Dungeons takes place thousands of years before the events in the first game, with players taking control of a weaponsmith on a quest to forge the legendary sword that's at the center of it all. At its core, it's a dungeon crawler. No more tapping from point-to-point and watching cutscenes and no more one-on-one bouts. Enemies can and will swarm and the player character can and will destroy them mightily with plenty of fast-paced combat and AOE (area of effect) strikes. And of course, being a weaponsmith means there will also be crafting. No word yet on what that would entail, specifically, but it's going to be in there.

Infinity Blade: Dungeons is due out later this year (no specific date or price, naturally). It's looking like it'll be available across most iOS platforms, but will look its best on the iPad 2 as expected.

This week at 148Apps.com, writer Carter Dotson reviewed one of the most anticipated iOS games in recent memory - Infinity Blade II. Dotson writes, "Most of what is new here is a modified and extended progression structure. Instead of one path leading to a final boss, where failure means starting over, there are now several of them, with more branching paths to explore. There are 3 different weapon types now: the traditional swords, slow and heavy axes that deal more damage, and speedy dual swords that deal less base damage, but can do double damage once combos are started. The story is more fleshed out, with actual speaking dialogue from characters besides the God King."

Read the full review at 148Apps.com.

Meanwhile, our attention was turned to more artistic matters at GiggleApps, as Amy Solomon reviewed Auryn – Van Gogh and the Sunflowers. Solomon says, "The look of this app is terrific, with illustrations evoking the style that Van Gogh is known for, complete with bold color choices and noticeable use of brush strokes, but maintains a childlike quality that fits well within this storybook. The jazzy music used is also wonderful, relaxing as well as engaging and very enjoyable to listen to even for long periods of time. The narration used here is also quite good. Parents will also like that each spoken word is highlighted red to aid the young children new to the world of reading."

Read more about our take on Auryn – Van Gogh and the Sunflowers at GiggleApps.

Finally, 148Apps.biz site editor Rob Lefebvre reported on tablet users and their media consumption. LeFebvre writes, "In a study put out by comScore and reported by Fierce Mobile Content and the appside, interested parties can see that the number one use of tablet devices is games, with 67% of surveyed tablet users saying they’ve played a game at least once in the past month, as compared to 49% of smartphone users surveyed. 23% of those surveyed said they’d played a game on their tablet EVERY DAY. That’s a good number."

Dig deeper into this study and read the full report on 148Apps.biz.

That's our wrap-up for this week. While you're out getting all of your holiday shopping done, don't forget to check us out on our Facebook and Twitter feeds to find out the latest and greatest news, reviews and contests. Feliz Navidad!

A whole lot of people love Infinity Blade. Many of us here at 148apps are no exception. Even so, there's always been one thing that bugged me about it: I could never get the hang of playing it while simultaneously doing other tasks such as crossing busy streets or operating heavy machinery. Now, thanks to ChAIR, I can do the next best thing.

Infinity Blade's soundtrack has just been released on iTunes, allowing fans to relive those epic one-on-one battles with gods, monsters and god-kings whenever they please. Without the threat of bodily harm brought about by aimlessly wandering into traffic, no less (folks, please don't stare at that screen while walking on the street as it's legitimately dangerous). The album, by veteran ChAIR composer Josh Aker, includes 25 tracks from both the original and the upcoming sequel, adding up to just under an hour's worth of playtime.

It's the perfect way to get psyched up for Infinity Blade 2's release, which is just around the corner. The individual tracks are available at the standard $0.99 a pop, but all 25 can be purchased together for a much more reasonable $9.99. Either way, it's an essential addition to any fan's music library.

It's safe to say that Infinity Blade was awesome in every sense of the word. It set a benchmark for many other games thanks to its truly impressive use of Unreal Engine 3 to give iOS gamers graphics like they've never seen before. A plethora of updates adding the likes of new armor, an increased level cap, new areas to explore and even multiplayer has kept Infinity Blade feeling fresh over the past year.

Now, it's been announced that Infinity Blade 2 is set for release on December 1st, less than two months away! Few details have been released as of yet but the news is that the game world will be filled with new types of rewards and treasures, plus plenty of new powerful enemies and bosses. New fighting styles and weapon classes will also be provided along with deep role-playing elements to spice things up. Extra online functionality will also be included such as Clash Mob, enabling players to participate in 'massively social' challenges to unlock new items and weapons.

Pretty cool, huh?

We'll be sure to keep up to date on Infinity Blade 2's development but for now, check out the teaser trailer.