Infinity Blade (Pre-Update)

On the 9th of December, ChAIR Entertainment, a small developer with a portfolio of only three games (Undertow, Shadow Complex and now Infinity Blade) released what has been hailed as the the next step in the evolution of mobile gaming. Infinity Blade, a sword fighting RPG stripped down to its bare essentials, is the ideal type of game for the touch screen, and wouldn't be possible on any other platform.

The premise is simple: kill the God King - the same God King that killed your father and your father's father. In order to do this you must defeat a small army of his minions, building up your stats (health, attack, shield and magic) and collecting items to assist your mission. There's no grinding, no quests, no puzzles, and no running around for hours talking to NPCs. If you stop plying you don't have to figure out what the hell you were doing last week either. It's just you and your sword.

To make quick work of your foes, you must anticipate their attacks and respond with appropriate gestures. You can parry, block or dodge attacks. But make no mistake - you can't just swipe your finger across the screen randomly and hope something good happens. Your shield can only take so much damage per battle before it is useless, so you can't hide behind it and hope to win either. Additionally, you have typical magical abilities at your disposal such as poison, heal and fire to bring out in times of need. It is a game of quick decision making that provides an enjoyable level of challenge in small frames of time.

Gameplay is basic. Speaking from the minimalist approach that many iOS apps adopt, Infinity Blade takes this design decision to the world of gaming. You character has a four stats: health, attack, shield and magic. You can assign points to these abilities once you earn enough experience points through battles and using different types of equipment. Each battle you win, you win experience based on enemy statistics, time taken to finish the fight, combos used, damage dealt and special abilities used. The experience points are then divided evenly and applied to each of the five items equipped in your inventory: weapon, shield, helmet, armor, and magic ring. Your character then gains experience in the same amount applied to the items. Items have a specified amount of experience that can be earned from them though, and once "mastered" you will cease to gain any more experience from the item. When your character levels up, you gain two ability points and when you "master" an item you gain one ability point. This prevents you from using the same gear over and over, forcing you to try new things to improve your character. All items are available from the always available store, and item costs vary widely, the most expensive being the Infinity Blade itself, which sells for a whopping $514900 gold, but gives you an enormous attack bonus. You will probably make it to the God King quickly, but he will beat you down even faster, forcing you to start your quest over - but you keep everything you've earned, and as your son, you will repeat your quest for vengeance once again.

Graphically speaking, Infinity Blade has set the bar insanely high. Many will complain that you don't have free exploration in this sword wielding title, but honestly, what would it bring to the table? Between battles you can look around to appreciate the scenery, textures and modeling that ChAIR has put into the game. The cut scenes and moments between battles are also used to pick up hidden treasures just laying around. Infinity Blade pushes the graphical capabilities of iPads and iPhones to the limits; Unreal Engine 3 runs beautifully and at a steady frame-rate on the first generation iPad and my 3GS. I would imagine it looks even more amazing on a Retina Display device.

The sound track of Infinity Blade is full of quality as well. Blade deflections, ambient noise and music are all well executed and add flavor and richness to the experience. Some sound effects effects were ripped straight out of Shadow Complex, and those of you who have played it will instantly recognize the tones. My only complaint about the sound selection is the monotonous depthless grunting of some of the enemies.

Once you finish your quest for vengeance and kill the God King, what's left?

Let's just say it isn't called Infinity Blade for nothing.

Infinity Blade may seem like a short title and it is - if you think that the game's only goal is to kill the God King and you're finished. For $5.99, Infinity Blade is well worth the price. ChAIR promises free updates including more items, more enemies, multiplayer support and even another area to adventure in. 

I'll update this review soon with the new update which just released last week.