Infinity Blade

Title: Infinity Blade
Platform Played On: iPad
Release Date: December 9, 2010
Date Played: January 2012
Time Played: 5 hours
Completed (Y/N): Yes
Score: 4/5

Opinion:
Infinity Blade is one of the coolest things I've seen on an iPad. Published by Epic Games it is no surprise that Infinity Blade utilizes the iOS version of their world famous and in recent years developer's number one engine, the Unreal Engine.

I never had a chance to check out Infinity Blade, it seemed like a big time investment, and I just never got around to it.  Today though, recovering from 102.7 degree fever that lasted almost 3 days (and still going) I did not have strength to get up, or do much of anything other than grab my iPad and check a few things on it. Thats when I noticed the lonely icon if Infinity Blade that's been neglected for almost a year (ever since I got the iPad). What the heck I thought, and launched the game.

The minute the game started. my jaw dropped to the ground, I could not believe how great it looked. More importantly how fluid all of the animations and camera pans were. It was like playing a 360 or a PC game on an iPad.  I've seen some impressive iPad games, but Infinity Blade is simply stunning.

It is not just the visuals that make Infinity Blade so great. All of the characters speak in a fictional latin sounding language, which adds a great layer of epicness to the experience. And of course the system that made Diablo such a successful franchise, random loot.  Throughout the game you collect items to fill 5 gear slots (weapon/shield/ring/helm/armor). Each can either be purchased for in game currency (not real life money) or simply looted. They each have stats, some do nothing but add armor, others add stats, even others increase drop rate of healing items or gold. This loot system keeps the experience interesting on subsequent playthroughs, even though you go through the same areas the same areas you never know what kind of drop you are going to get from a chest or a monster.

Speaking of interesting, perhaps the most innovative and cool thing that Infinity Blade does it the way it treats death. Any time your character dies your son comes back to avenge your death, keeping your experience and items. It is nice that the developer took an extra step to make death make sense. 99% of games do not address that at all.

My only complaint with Infinity Blade is the fact that its a fairly short game. You can make it from start to the final boss in under 15 minutes; however it is designed in such a way that you will have to spend a few hours playing through the game over and over again to finally be powerful enough to defeat him. There are a few forks in the road, so each playthrough can be a bit unique; the monsters also gain abilities and vary a bit as you replay the game. All that being said however with the enjoyability of Infinity Blade, its repetitivness barelly stands in the way of its greatness. I defeated the final boss after 4 ancestors, and at level 15 (the final boss is level 50). And i had a blast every second of the 5 hours I played to get to that point even with its repetitivness.

Infinity Blade is definitely in the top 5 games to have for iOS. Get it, you will not regret it.

Defeat of the Final Boss (Level 15, Generation 4)