Infinity Blade II
In need of a quick slash?
iGamer I liked the original Infinity Blade when it arrived just over a year ago, but it seemed to fall short of classic status due to the repetitive nature of the combat, the rigidly linear exploration and threadbare fantasy storyline.
This sequel does try to add a bit more variety to the formula, although I still found the continuous conveyor belt of demonic foes a tad tedious at times.
I was also a little miffed at the price increase: £4.99, compared to £3.99 for the original. And I’m no great fan of games that tempt you with in-app purchases for weapons and other items either – although, to be fair, you can still get by perfectly well without having to cough up extra cash for the Super Sword Of Thumping+3.
Blinded by the light: optical effects abound in IB II
The original Infinity Blade looked wonderful, and Infinity Blade II goes even further thanks to the A5 processor in the latest iPhone and iPad.
Developer Chair has really gone to town with the lighting effects, with endless shafts of light streaming through foliage and epic vistas with castles perched on craggy mountaintops.
The swipe'n'slash combat remains - but with a few new twists
In fact, it got so carried away with the lens-flare effects that there were times when I felt I needed sunglasses to go into combat.
And why is there lens flare anyway? Do games developers only see the real world through a camera's optics? My eyes certainly don't bring their own Photoshop filters with them.
You can now use two-handed hardware
The storyline follows straight on from the original game. You've wrested control of the mighty Infinity Blade sword from the God King and now you're heading off in search of the mysterious Worker of Secrets for some reason that I didn’t entirely understand.
Fortunately, there’s a tie-in paperback advertised within the game to shed some light on the finer details of the plot. And a soundtrack album too.
Ker-ching!
Next page: Fight is right
COMMENTS
In-app cash purchases
I disagree that it was not necessary to buy cash in IB 1. It becomes increasingly necessary, if you actually want to make any progression, the further you get into the game. Your character only increases in XP if he hasn't mastered all the items he's currently using. The more mastered items you carry the less XP you get. I'm currently around level 50 and I spend half my grind-time without a single item to level meaning that I'm getting no XP per kill. The other half of the time I usually have only 1 item to level meaning that I get a fifth of the maximum XP. This is all because the cash drops don't scale up at the same rate the item prices do. Levelling becomes increasingly arduous teh further into the game you get unless you actually pay for some extra gold with your real hard-earned.
They sucker you in with several hours of easy levelling with no cash issues and then hit you with an increasing need to spend real cash in order to progress further.
Gits.
gameplay is everything
This review is completely misses the point of the game which is not in exploration or event fancy visuals. It is the first game since prince of persia 1 with credible and entertaining sword fighting mechanics. While swords appear in many games, it's mainly dull hack'n'slash. Here parrying actually works and you have to master it in order to win.
And by the way, I spent countless hours on Infinity Blade 1 and 2 without ever making an in app purchase. You can regard in-app purchased in this game as a "please donate" button, nothing more.
Well, sort of.
But it still boils down to an endless repetition of one on one combat with enemies that are almost identical to fight against. Not exactly God Of War. Or Street Fighter for that matter. Or Skyrim.
Price
Really, complaining about having to shell out a whole fiver? It's a proper game, not Angry Birds.
I know I'm old...
...but I still don't 'get' paying real money for imaginary stuff.
The one with pockets bulging with real stuff...
