Infinity Blade

Released by: Epic Games and Chair Entertainment
Price: 99 cents

Do you want to cut a dude?

If that's what you want then Infinity Blade  is your game. You will cut dudes. You will cut virtually every dude you see. In fact I am yet to find a dude in the game I have not at least attempted to cut.

Infinity Blade is a third person slasher with RPG elements, although it might be more accurate to say that it's a fighting game with RPG elements and nothin' but boss fights. While I don't mean that literally; there is plenty of mook progression on the way to the God King's throne. And then again on your way to the God King's throne.

And again.

And again.

Dammit.

Whether or not you love Infinity Blade is going to depend on your tolerance for repetition. That sounds like criticism but I really mean it. if you love grinding ala World of Warcraft then Infinity Blade  has a lot to offer the obsessive player. New swords, armor, combos and magic await players willing just to play like hell and on't mind fundamentally rehashing the same fights over and over at varying degrees of difficulty.

The whole game looks superb, especially on a retina display, and even on an old 3Gs it's still smooth and I have never once had the game crash on me. The world building is excellent and the story is compelling even if slightly puzzling. In fact Brandon Sanderson wrote a novella called Infinity Blade: Awakening that ties in with the game. By all reports it's pretty good. Although Brandon Sanderson wrote it so I'd be surprised if it wasn't.

Epic and Chair Entertainment are good about doing serious updates, and with each update the game world has expanded. The challenge modes (arena, survivor) are fun especially arena mode against another player which can get downright frenetic. A more recent update expanded heavily on the story and it's (somewhat) less puzzling, although still intriguing.

Combating the monstrous creatures in the game is simple, although that doesn't make it easy. By the time you've thrown the God King out on his ass a couple of times (did I mention he's immortal and just keeps on coming back) you'll find yourself strategising fights ahead of time rather than relying on frantic swipes with your fingers. The fights themselves are smooth and a decent mix of power and speed opponents with the Wood Jester's being my personal nemesis.

You tricksy little bastard (little is a relative measure). 

All in all a very good game let down by its repetitive nature. In the end I gave up on it because I was bored, but I did enjoy the hell out of it before that moment. Still, it's only 99 cents and that's still an amazing deal for several hours at least worth of entertainment.

There is a sequel out which expands on the storyline introduced. I'll have a review out on Infinity Blade 2 once I've spent some more time with it.