Warping classic Arthurian legend into a more twisted tale of demons and deception proves a silly but sufficient foundation for high-gloss hack-and-slash adventure in Wild Blood. Gameloft's latest Unreal Engine 3 powered beauty pits you as a burly Sir Lancelot, who must carve his way through unholy hordes to stop a crazed King Arthur that has unleashed hell upon his kingdom in a fit of jealous rage. While this slick slaughter fest is heavy on the eye candy, it doesn't measure up quite as well in the slice-and-dice department.
This formulaic spin through a gorgeous looking realm is brimming with pit-stops full of nasty summoned beasties to cut through before you can proceed to the next area. Three distinct weapon types -- a huge sword, twin axes, and a bow -- bolstered by magic attacks and unique combos offer some sound choices for demon-stomping. Wild Blood's straightforward combat often devolves into frantic button mashing, but battles are satisfying when you're violently thrashing through a throng of face-gnawing baddies, leaving a trail of bodies in your wake. A great range of unique foe types and levels capped by grandiose boss encounters help keep the epic scope of the adventure intact. Some distractions along the way -- like clunky turret sequences -- are tedious trip-ups, while puzzle chests deliver more enjoyable breaks in the action.
Wild Blood's biggest stumbling block is its clunky camera and virtual joystick controls. Moving around and delivering brutal attacks isn't that tricky, but the camera doesn't like to cooperate, and manually swiping the screen to adjust your viewing angle means sacrificing either your ability to move or to fight for a few seconds. This leaves you open to getting clobbered.
The bottom line. Despite its inconsistencies, Wild Blood is a bloody, great-looking romp through the tweaked world of King Arthur and his cohorts.
iPad, iPod touch, or iPhone running iOS 4.0 or later
Gorgeous environments and great foe variety. Nice range of weapon options and customization. Epic boss battles.
Control and camera issues. Combat devolves into button mashing.
