Unreal Engine

Epic Games announced today that it’s partnering with Y Combinator-backed startup Kamcord to offer its in-game recording platform to iOS and Android devs using Unreal Engine 3. We spoke to Kamcord CEO Matt Zitzmann who told us why it’s a big deal that Epic Games and the Unreal Engine team are backing Kamcord— and not its competitor— as the go-to platform for implementing in-game recording features in mobile apps. 
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As always, we’ll update this list throughout the day with notable app news…

Wild Blood: Gameloft has officially released the first full length gameplay trailer for its upcoming ‘Wild Blood’ title. The third person action game, Gameloft’s first powered by Unreal Engine, will feature a single-player campaign, as well as co-op and arena modes. VentureBeat has first impressions from an iPad demo:

Though you’ll start out with just one giant sword, your arsenal increases as you earn experience points; in the demo (shown on an iPad 3), a leveled up Lancelot dual-wields a pair of magical axes and shoots enemies from afar with his bow… Combat leans toward a simple combo system that feels very responsive and smooth as Lancelot dodges and rolles his way through a large group (around a dozen or so) of demons. In a matter of seconds, these creatures became nothing more than a fine bloody mist.

AutoCad WS version 1.5.2: A nice update for Autodesk’s free AutoCAD WS iPad app brings support for the new iPad’s Retina display in addition to a number of bug fixes.

Adobe Photoshop Express version 2.5.1: Adobe’s free Photoshop Express iOS app gets updated today with a new variant of the Film Emulsion border and a fix for a white colour issue with Film Emulsion. Adobe also noted it “emphasized the free Effects and Borders with separate free categories.”

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EKlKaJnbFek]

Gameloft has done a pretty good job of promoting the latest title in its Halo-inspired sci-fi FPS franchise known as “N.O.V.A- Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance.” Yesterday, it launched a new trailer for the iOS game (above), and today the follow-up to the first two critically acclaimed games, N.O.V.A 3, is finally going live on the App Store.

With vastly improved visuals thanks to real-time dynamic lighting and shadows, “movie-like” depth of field effects, and improved ragdoll physics, the new game is even closer to console-quality graphics and one of best looking iOS titles we have seen since Unreal Engine-powered Infinity Blade. New features include 12-player multiplayer on six maps, enhanced vehicle gameplay, and a ton of new weapons and enemies.

The universal app is already live on the New Zealand App Store for $9.99 and should hit the U.S. store any minute now. We will keep you updated.

A full list of new features below:

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Infinity Blade is to the iPad what the Halo series is to the Xbox 360 (or the Gran Turismo franchise to the PlayStation 3). That is, a killer game – a title so compelling that not only does it showcases what’s possible on a platform, but is also so impressive that folks go out and buy the hardware just to be able to play that particular game. A killer title for iPad gamers has to be Chair Entertainment’s Infinity Blade.

Classed as the first iOS game to run on the Unreal Engine, Infinity Blade went on to become the fastest-grossing app in the history of iOS, selling $1.6 million in four days. Three major updates later, Chair Entertainment launches Infinity Blade 2, a sequel to the elegiac action masterpiece. Here’s the blurb:

Journey into the world of the Deathless tyrants and their legion of Titans. Build skills and upgrade characters… all while delving deeper into this mysterious, timeless adventure.

Expect forty new locations (up from ten in the original title), many new hit points, weapons and spells, plus a bunch of other nuances and nice-to-haves. Chair is already thinking post-launch, teasing an update with the Clash Mobs feature where a bunch of other players attack a monster with millions of hit points. In case you were wondering, IGN gave Infinity Blade 2 a 10. A cornerstone of the sequel is, of course, graphics.

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The game features console-quality lighting effects.

The game runs fine on the original iPad, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and third- and fourth-generation iPod touch. However, you’ll want to enjoy it on your iPad 2 or iPhone 4S due to optimizations that really push the envelope of what’s possible on Apple’s A5 chip, especially in the lighting and shading department. Make no mistake, this is one game that you’ll want to show off to your Android-toting friends.

More information is available at the official site. The game hit the New Zealand App Store this morning. You should expect it in the U.S. store around 11pm Eastern time tonight at this URL, priced at $9.99 (a 941MB universal binary download). To celebrate the launch of Infinity Blade 2, Chair slashed the original Infinity Blade to just six bucks for a limited time. Release notes and more clips after the break, including Donald Mustard (creative director), Adam Ford (artistic director) and Geremy Mustard (technical director) talking the visuals.

More videos below:

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDvPIhCd8N4&w=640&h=385]

Epic Games has finally launched their anticipated Infinity Blade game for iOS. The fighting game relies heavily on multitouch gestures and works off of Epic’s “unreal engine” technology original showcased in Epic Citadel. Above is the game’s trailer and here is where you can get it as a universal binary for $6.

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