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Equip an Infinity Blade for free this week
We may be up to Infinity Blade 3 now, but you can explore the first game in Chair's smash hit series for absolutely nothing. The official Infinity Blade account tweeted this morning the swipey iOS brawler is going for free on the App Store all this week. Infinity Blade is famous for being the first to bring Unreal Engine 3 to iOS, as well as doing Infinity sales, but it's also a great game. As our five-star review put it back in 2010: "You might find games that are a more perfect fit for the platform, but in terms of recreating a console-level experience on the iPhone, you simply will not do better than Infinity Blade."
Infinity Blade 3: Soul Hunter adds a Deathless Bloodmage, out Oct. 31
Infinity Blade 3's first DLC pack, Soul Hunter, hits iOS devices for free tomorrow, October 31, compatible with both iOS6 and iOS7. Soul Hunter adds a campaign quest with a new enemy whose name alone is fitting for the Halloween launch, Oslim the Deathless Bloodmage. It also packs in a new weapon – dual Infinity Blades – after beating Oslim the Creepy, and two new sets of armor. The update makes it possible for players to return to past quests and re-introduces Holiday Helms, beginning with the Pumpkin Helm. Soul Hunter also fixes a few UI and balance issues.
'Infinity Blade III' hits the App Store ahead of iOS 7 release
After almost a two-year wait, a new Infinity Blade game has hit the App Store. Chair Entertainment's Infinity Blade III ($6.99/£4.99), the third and final chapter in the Apple-exclusive trilogy, has been designed to get the most from the iPhone 5s' new 64-bit architecture. Available as a universal app (supported by devices running iOS 6.0 and up), the game features new rendering effects, including depth of field, blur and full-screen vignettes, utilizing the same tap-to-move controls from the previous two instalments. If the cancelation of Infinity Blade Dungeons left a dragon-shaped hole in your life, today's release might just fill it until the next season of Game of Thrones.
Infinity Blade 2 downloaded 5.7 million times during free promo
During the App Store's weeklong free-game promo, 5.7 million people downloaded Infinity Blade 2. Five point seven million people. Sit on that number for a moment. In its first day alone, Infinity Blade 2 racked up 1.7 million downloads, and sales of its predecessor, Infinity Blade, rose 2.5 percent from the previous week, All Things D reports. Sales of Infinity Blade: Awakening, the series e-book, rose 70 percent. Neither supplemental app was on sale during the week, with Infinity Blade priced at $6, and Awakening at $3. Infinity Blade 2 has now sold close to 50 million copies since launching on December 1, 2011, for $7. It was free as part of the App Store's fifth anniversary celebration last week, which also set free Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery: EP, Where's My Water and Badland. The next game in the Infinity Blade series, Infinity Blade: Dungeons, was canceled this year when developer Impossible Studios shut down.
Infinity Blade 2 on sale for $0.99
Infinity Blade 2 is kicking off the summer by slashing, and cutting, and chopping its price down to $1... sorry, it's cut another penny off to make it $0.99. The sequel in the infinitely successful iOS franchise is regularly priced at $6.99, and has gone on sale for $2.99, but this is the first time it's dropped to that App Store sweet spot of a buck.%Gallery-161653%
Infinity Blade creators parody themselves with VOTE!!
Here's a surprise on the App Store this week -- Infinity Blade creators Chair Entertainment have suddenly released a politically-themed parody of their own game, called VOTE!!!. The app should be out on the North American App Store later on this evening -- it's essentially a battle from Infinity Blade, with the usual hacking, slashing, parrying, and dodging, but with two cartoony versions of the US Presidential candidates battling it out with "debates" instead of attacks. It looks goofy as all get-out, but it's also free, so who knows? Chair probably thought it was a funny idea, and someone on staff had enough drive to go ahead and make it real, so there you go. Presumably, it does use the same engine, so yes, you are seeing Obama wield a lightsaber above in full Unreal 3 graphics. If you want to Infinity Blade fight against Romney or Obama, Vote!!! is arriving later on this evening.
'Vote: The Game' is a political fighter from the Infinity Blade folks
Yup, that's about as exciting as it sounds – a United States politics-based fighter from Infinity Blade developer Chair Entertainment. Call it "Ignominy Blade," if you will (we will). Or call it Vote: The Game, which is its actual name.Epic and Chair announced the iOS entry this afternoon as a "cartoon-style political slugfest." The game was produced alongside the Rock the Vote folks in an effort to appeal to unregistered gamer voters – you can register to vote from right within the game.Cartoon versions of both President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney appear in the title, where they battle Infinity Blade-style to win debates. It may trick a few potential voters into thinking that's how the debate process works, but that doesn't sound like too bad of a byproduct to us.The game isn't available in the US iTunes App Store just yet, but it's already popping up in other territories. It should arrive on the North American store shortly.Update: It's live now in the US, grab it here!%Gallery-163152%
Infinity Blade 2 adds free 'Skycages' update, limited-time price cut
Infinity Blade 2 received its final free content update today in the form of "Skycages." The expansion adds new areas, enemies and the "Solar Transport Energy Blades"... which look awfully similar to another franchise's elegant weapons.To celebrate the latest update, the regularly priced $6.99 universal app is temporarily cut down to $2.99. Now, go slice up some new fools, who more than likely deserve it.%Gallery-161653%
Unleash 'The Power of Liking' in Infinity Blade 2's 'Vault of Tears' this Thursday (tissues not included)
It's not a new box set from The Cure, nor from Joy Division, nor from Him. It's not a Tears for Fears reference, nor is it access to Prince's 1980s clothing selections! Nope, Infinity Blade 2's "Vault of Tears" is actually a massive (free) content update headed to Epic's latest iOS entry this Thursday.Several new enemies are being added, as well as "more than 50 new items" and rewards. Most bizarrely, the ability to "earn extra turns and invite their friends, family, and other non-Infinity Blade players to do in-game damage with the power of liking and re-tweeting battle calls." You read that right, folks: "the power of liking and re-tweeting battle calls." In the biz, we call that a "paradigm shift." Also, awful.%Gallery-155820%
Infinity Blade 2 update drops next week, introduces ClashMobs
Having received an iPad 3 update recently, Infinity Blade 2 has a new, more substantial upgrade coming on Thursday. It will tweak the gem interface and let you meld together three gems, creating a single, more powerful jewel. There's also a new game mode, called ClashMob.ClashMob is a global social game mode where hundreds or thousands of players can come together to take on enemies with massive health pools for the chance to unlock in-game goodies. By recruiting friends into your "Mob," you'll increase your odds at getting some sweet gear, cash, or whatever that particular challenge awards you. You'll be able to enlist folks in your Mob by importing your friends from Facebook and Game Center.
Infinity Blade 2 updated for iPad 3, new content teased for next month
Playing Infinity Blade 2 on that boring old iPad 2 like some kind of commoner? Get with the times, friend -- it's all about that new iPad now. Epic and Chair have updated the app to take advantage of the "increased memory and processing power, yielding even higher performance and more sophisticated rendering features." In other words, Infinity Blade 2 looks purtier.Next month brings another Infinity Blade 2 update, adding new enemies, weapons and items, plus a new feature called ClashMob, in which players "work together to complete objectives and earn rewards." Chair promises to reveal more information in the coming month.
Infinity Blade: Dungeons, Namco's Sky Gamblers shown off on new iPad [Update: Infinity Blade trailer and details]
Epic Games president Mike Capps took the stage at Apple's iPad event today to reveal Infinity Blade: Dungeons. Capps noted that the game has players trying to craft the "ultimate weapon." Our friends at Engadget confirm that the game is "definitely a step up" graphically from its predecessors. Dungeons will feature new crafting system and, obviously, will look the best when played on the latest iPad (though presumably it will be compatible with other iOS devices as well). Infinity Blade: Dungeons is "coming soon."Namco also showed off a new Sky Gamblers game, which bore a very strong resemblance to the company's Ace Combat series. Namco's Jim Sheldon noted that "the extra graphics performance lets us increase the level of detail of everything in the game." Sky Gamblers will arrive exclusively on iOS later this month. See a shot of the game in action after the break.Update: Epic has dropped a few more details on Infinity Blade: Dungeons. The game will see players "assume the role of an apprentice weaponsmith who serves the Master of the Forge," ultimately seeking to forge the Infinity Blade itself. It also features "a dynamic camera system that takes you in and out of battle, weapon crafting and exploration." You can view a trailer for Infinity Blade: Dungeons above.Update 2: An Epic Games spokesperson tells Joystiq that Chair Entertainment is not behind the development of Infinity Blade: Dungeons, saying, "Infinity Blade: Dungeons is being developed by a team at the Epic Games headquarters in North Carolina, with some creative direction from Chair."
Infinity Blade franchise surpasses $30 million in revenue
Epic Games announced today that its Infinity Blade franchise has earned over $30 million since the original game launched in December 2010. Infinity Blade 2, available for $7 on the iOS App Store, has generated over $5 million for the developer since its December 1, 2011, launch. "The success of the Infinity Blade franchise is testament to our talented team who is devoted to making games we want to play, all while using Unreal Engine technology to redefine what is expected from games on iOS devices," Epic Games President Dr. Michael Capps said in the company's announcement. "We have so much more in store for players, and will continue to make great content for Apple's evolving platforms." The original Infinity Blade took three months to reach the $5 million mark in sales, reaching the $10 million milestone this past June, having grossed over $23 million to date. Assisting Epic's franchise math beyond the core iOS titles are digital novella Infinity Blade: Awakening, Infinity Blade: Original Soundtrack and Infinity Blade FX. Update: Financial details tweaked after further clarification.
Infinity Blade 2 tips from Chair Entertainment
There are a ton of great games to buy and play from the App Store today if you happen to have found an iOS device under your tree this past weekend. Infinity Blade 2 is one of the best you'll find, with high-end graphics, tight gameplay, and a whole bunch of fun features that really build on the last popular game in the series. Whether you're a Blade newbie or a veteran, Chair Entertainment has released some tips for the game that will really help you roll through the generations. Some of them are very straightforward (no kidding -- you need to parry in the same direction for it to work?) but some of the tips are things you might not have picked up otherwise. I didn't know that parrying with Heavy weapons gives a block charge back, or that a parry in general will open up more combo moves than just a standard dodge or block against an attack. It's also worth looking through the rest of the official Infinity Blade blog. There are some cool developer interviews, some other solid gameplay tips, and more Infinity Blade news to read. This is definitely one of the best games on the platform, and having tips like this will really help you explore all that it has to offer. [via App Advice]
Cliff B talks Fortnite: 'There's no dudebros in it'
We cornered Epic lead Cliff Bleszinski on the VGAs red carpet yesterday to talk about the newly announced Fortnite, and he says that it'll be very different fare from the popular Gears of War series. "There's no dudebros in it," he told us outright. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, right? But creatively for the team, Gears has been amazing for us. But it's fun to kind of stretch our wings and do something that's a little different from the usual." Epic's Lee Perry is the project lead on this one, but Bleszinski says that he definitely is involved in playing the game and giving feedback on development. "It was a project that was pitched internally. I was a staunch supporter of the idea, because the game is just like a no-brainer -- I was like yes." So Epic is hard at work on Fortnite, Chair Entertainment is doing Infinity Blade on iOS, and we're curious as to what Bleszinski is up to lately. "I just hang out at the beach these days," he joked. "No, trust me, I have plenty to work on, it's just a lot of unannounced stuff. Trying to figure out where a lot of things are going in the next five years." Given the success of Chair's iOS offerings, is that platform something that Epic's main branch would consider making games for? Bleszinski says no. "If we were to do that, which we're not, we'd probably make like six or seven iOS games. Our bread and butter is still with triple A and it's still largely with console, but it remains to be seen what happens."
Mustard: Infinity Blade success didn't stall Shadow Complex 2
Chair creative director Donald Mustard was nice enough to sit for a few moments with us to talk Infinity Blade 2 so, naturally, we took advantage of his generosity to grill him about the long-discussed (and apparently "largely designed") Shadow Complex 2. We asked if the runaway success of Infinity Blade is what's kept the follow-up to the side-scrolling action-adventure off of Chair's radar. "No, I think that's a complete misnomer," Mustard said. "When we sat down to figure out what we wanted to do after Infinity Blade, and we started to wonder 'Do we want to do Infinity Blade 2?', it wasn't about 'Do we want to make more money?' it was about 'Do we have more to say in this genre?' 'Can we push this gameplay somewhere meaningful?' Those are the questions we ask ourselves. "Now that we've made the first Shadow Complex we kind of know what we're doing and we feel like we can really bring a lot to the Metroidvania genre and Shadow Complex franchise. We want it to be amazing, we want it to be perfect, and we want it to be delivered on the right platforms. It's really about finding the right opportunity for Shadow Complex, not that we've been diverted in any way. "Everyone on our team at Chair will be dead long before we run out of games we want to make. So we try to be very careful about where we spend our time." That's right, that's the answer: Mustard is choosy about projects because he's worried about his own mortality. We may not know when Shadow Complex 2 will arrive, but at least we know the source of the shadows: Donald Mustard's gloomy bummer clouds.
Daily iPhone App: Infinity Blade 2
Yes, it's out. Go get it right now. Oh, you're still here? Well then I guess I'll tell you that Infinity Blade is even bigger and better than before. There are now multiple classes and play styles, including dual wield and two-handed in addition to the standard sword-and-board hack and slash gameplay. You can now forge your own weapons and upgrade them with gems, explore a much bigger and more exciting world, and see a little bit of story along the way. Combat itself has been tweaked and fixed up, so parries are much smoother to pull off, which is good, because there are new enemies and attacks, too. In other words, Infinity Blade demonstrated how to make a brilliant iOS game, and Infinity Blade 2 is the idea expanded and writ large. There's even more to come, as Chair has promised more updates. Since first title eventually got free content, level cap raises and a multiplayer update, it's a good bet this game will get the same post-release attention. In short, Infinity Blade 2 is as triple-A as iOS games get. Consider that top-shelf console games sell around US$59.99, and it's quite nice that iOS gamers can get ours at just $6.99. Chair and Epic are still setting the bar for major studio gaming on the iPhone, and this time they knocked it up there pretty darn high.
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.
