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Infinity Blade 2 and The Sims FreePlay get previews
It's likely going to be another banner week of releases on the App Store, headlined by the long awaited sequel, Infinity Blade 2. Chair Entertainment has released a developer diary, which you can watch below, and holy swords of power, Batman, this game looks good. As we've heard before, the game is much bigger, offers all-new styles of gameplay (dual wielding can apparently let you duck lower, to replace the absence of your shield), and has more enemies, weapons, and content. It'll be great, and it's out Wednesday. Elsewhere in upcoming iOS releases, EA has announced that it's turning The Sims into a free-to-play title for iOS, with time-based elements similar to games like We Rule and Battle Nations. The Sims FreePlay will use The Sims as a backbone, so you'll still be running a simulation of life in The Sims' world, but there will also be things to do such as baking or gardening that will take time and earn XP, and the game will be monetized with in-app purchases that will likely speed up or add to gameplay. It should be interesting. EA's freemium take on The Sims is due out next month sometime.
Watch Chair pitch Infinity Blade 2 as an 'artistic experience'
Infinity Blade 2 studio Chair Entertainment say the project is much more than just a game, calling it an "artistic experience" in the latest dev diary. As such -- just to be safe -- we'll play the iOS title in a local museum when it arrives next week.
The Verge goes hands-on with Infinity Blade 2
The Verge has been hands-on with Infinity Blade 2 and has provided a first look at Chair's upcoming sequel to its blockbuster iOS game. The site's review can essentially be boiled down to this: Infinity Blade 2 is exactly the same as the original Infinity Blade, but with some added features and improvements. Gameplay in Infinity Blade 2 will be mostly unchanged compared to the original. You still can't freely roam through the environments, combat is still kind of rock-paper-scissors, and if you didn't like grinding for three hours to afford that $2,500,000 sword in the first game, things are apparently worse in Infinity Blade 2: "the sequel is a little stingier with doling out cash," according to The Verge. On the other hand, weapon customization options have been expanded, and you'll now have the opportunity to dual-wield swords, which should help spice up the gameplay a bit. Chair has amped up the graphics in Infinity Blade 2, and it's easier than ever to mistake screenshots of the game as coming from a full-fledged HD console like the PlayStation 3. That extra graphical detail will only be available on the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S, as they're the only iOS devices with the graphical horsepower necessary to push the game to its limits. Infinity Blade 2 will hit the App Store on December 1 and will cost US$6.99. We'll have a review of the game when it comes out; meanwhile, you can check out The Verge's first look at the link above or watch the video embedded below.
Infinity Blade: The Soundtrack now available
Epic Games and Chair Entertainment have released Infinity Blade: The Soundtrack ahead of Infinity Blade 2's December 1 launch. Despite containing a finite number of songs, the soundtrack features orchestral scoring from both Infinity Blades 1 and 2, bringing the track listing to a rather sizable 25 jams. Composed by Josh Aker (Undertow, Shadow Complex) the collection of chronologically recursive music is available on iTunes, Amazon (both regular and On Demand) and Zune for $9.99. You can also purchase each song individually for 99¢ if that's your style, but we can't figure out why anyone would be inclined to do so. It's not like high-fantasy soundtracks usually have singles, after all.
The story of Infinity Blade 2's story
Infinity Blade had a story -- about a nigh-invulnerable God King who serially murders the dumbest family ever. In a video posted to GameSpot, Chair staff and writer Brandon Sanderson introduces the more intricate story of Infinity Blade 2. In Infinity Blade 2, the God King is dead, and Cyrus, the one that killed him, searches for the "Worker of Secrets" that forged the Infinity Blade. It's a quest that, yes, will involve a lot of dueling -- but even in the brief footage accompanying the interview, we see evidence of more story focus. We see what appears to be a cutscene.
Infinity Blade II previewed, has bigger world, more enemies, and new gear features
With the launch of Infinity Blade II just a few short weeks away, Chair has shown the game off to IGN Wireless, and they report that it looks terrific. The game mostly follows in the path of the first title, with the player having to navigate a path over and over while upgrading their equipment and skills while doing so. But this time around, the "loop" is significantly bigger (with an intro section that's apparently as long as the last game), and there's another reason for going around it a few times, which we'll learn as we play through the game. There are also some significant updates to the gear system, including the ability to dual wield one-handed blades, or even use a big two-handed sword (with its own mechanics for blocking). The magic system has been updated, and gear can now be adorned with gems for extra stats or bonuses. There are a few new varieties of enemies, and enemies will now use tactics like magic also. The world itself is upgraded, too -- various trips through the game will unveil new paths and story lines that play out as you go. And the preview hints at even more interesting features, like "clash mobs," where players all around the world can whittle the health of a huge boss down and then all get a reward for killing it. Sounds really interesting -- Infinity Blade II is due out on December 1. Can't wait!
Infinity Blade update with content pack #4 available now
Following the announcement of Infinity Blade II at Apple's media event, Epic Games has released content pack #4 in an update to the the original Infinity Blade game. The new pack comes with "new magic rings, swords, shields, and helmets" as well as a "fierce and deadly RookBane!" On top of that, the update comes with a sneak preview of Infinity Blade II and Infinity Blade: Awakening, a book written by Brandon Sanderson (which coincidentally is now available on the iBook Store and the Kindle Store). The update is free (and waiting for you now in the updates section of the App Store) if you've purchased the game.
Epic Games announces Infinity Blade 2, coming 12/1 on iPhone 4S
Mike Capp from Epic Games has taken the stage at Apple's iPhone event in Cupertino today to show off Infinity Blade 2, the upcoming sequel to one of the most popular games on iOS (a game, incidentally, that Epic says it's made $20 million from already). The new game will reportedly take full advantage of the newly announced iPhone 4S' A5 graphics chip, and even implement "some graphics techniques that aren't even available on home gaming consoles." The demo shown was of course beautiful, featuring lots of reflections and shadows, and even in-world details like koi swimming in a pond and fireflies in the air. The game is essentially the same kind of swordfight gameplay, though in this version, the player will be going after the creator of the Infinity Blade itself. Dual wielding, with one sword in each hand, will be possible as well. No price yet, but Infinity Blade 2 is set to come out on December 1. There's no word whether it will require an iPhone 4S to run (hope not), but Apple did say that it would only run at its best on the new version of the iPhone.
Infinity Blade 2 coming to iOS December 1
After pulling down $20 million in revenue on Infinity Blade (no seriously) it should come as no surprise that Epic just announced Infinity Blade 2 during Apple's iPhone 4S announcement keynote. Better yet: It's coming December 1. While Epic's Mike Capps insisted it's "only going to run like this on the iPhone 4S," it doesn't sound like the game will be exclusive to the new device. Also of note: Need, want, please, now.%Gallery-135728%
