Epic Citadel, Epic Games' Infinity Blade-themed tech demo app, is now available for Android. Epic sends word that 'Citadel has launched on Google Play and the Amazon Appstore, where it can be downloaded for free. The app serves as a technology showcase for Epic's Unreal Engine 3 on mobile.
Epic Citadel allows players to explore a medieval-themed village, complete with cobbled streets, rolling terrain and a towering citadel. Players can choose between high performance and high quality modes to attain the best balance between visuals and speed. There's also a resolution scaling option, which may be useful for high-res devices that lack the horsepower to push Epic Citadel at full resolution. Touch controls allow players to navigate around town, but there's also a guided tour mode if you just want to admire the scenery, and a benchmark mode if you want to test your device's mettle.
The title first launched on iOS back in 2010, ahead of the original Infinity Blade's release. And while there's no suggestion of that game coming to Android, it's great to see a big-name developer like Epic getting behind Android in a more official capacity. (Readers with long memories might remember seeing a version of Epic Citadel running on an Optimus 2X almost two years ago.)
Epic Citadel is available from Google Play at the link above, and supports a wide range of Android phones and tablets. We've got more screenshots after the break, along with today's press release.
Epic Games Releases "Epic Citadel" for Android
Android users can download the free app now, plus 'Epic Citadel' gets iOS update
CARY, N.C. (January 29, 2013) – Epic Games, Inc. today released "Epic Citadel" for Android devices. The free app, which is used to demonstrate the studio's award-winning Unreal Engine 3 (UE3) technology on multiple platforms, is available now on Google Play and Amazon Appstore for Android. A new benchmarking mode and updated visuals bring added depth to the popular app.
In "Epic Citadel," players navigate the dynamic fantasy setting of the award-winning Infinity Blade. From the circus bazaar to the sweeping cathedral in the center of town, "Epic Citadel" dazzles with a visual parade of special effects.
"While we've licensed our engine to help developers build and ship many fantastic games for Android, 'Epic Citadel' is our first internally developed product to be released to Android users," said Jay Wilbur, vice president of Epic Games. "It's a free, easy way to check out the high-quality experience Unreal Engine technology delivers on mobile devices."
High-End Graphics for Android
"Epic Citadel" was created with the same UE3 tools and technologies used to develop best-selling PC, console and mobile games. Features include:
· Amazing visuals. "Epic Citadel" pushes the envelope for modern visuals on Android devices. Through the latest advances in Unreal Engine 3 technology, the application delivers unrivaled graphics and special effects that immerse players in the kingdom's grounds.
· Benchmarking mode. "Epic Citadel" enables users to gather performance data for Android devices through its benchmarking mode, which displays frames per second stats, quality settings and resolution details.
· Realistic reflections and animations. Environment mapping and other high-end rendering techniques produce lifelike reflections, and vertex deformation and skeletal animation bring trees and banners to life with dynamic movements.
· Global illumination. Unreal Engine 3's built-in global illumination system, Unreal Lightmass, provides realistic lighting and shadows with minimal development resources.
· Dynamic specular lighting with texture masks. Sophisticated graphics features impart a tangible quality to cobblestone roads and vivid reflective marble surfaces, while lens flares and light coronas add dramatic emphasis when panning across light sources.
Outstanding Cross-Platform Performance
Epic has worked closely with hardware leaders to ensure that "Epic Citadel" delivers a superior experience on the latest mobile platforms.
"'Epic Citadel' features beautiful, high-performance graphics that are characteristic of mobile Unreal Engine games. Throughout the app's development for Android, we worked closely with Epic Games to ensure that the visuals can be experienced on NVIDIA Tegra-based devices in all of their glory," remarked Tony Tamasi, SVP Content and Technology, NVIDIA.
"Intel is very pleased to see Epic's award-winning Unreal Engine 3 technology shipping on Android with full native support for x86," said Mukesh Goel, Director of Ecosystem Enabling, Mobile Communications Group, Intel. "We're especially excited by the tremendous performance being realized in 'Epic Citadel' on the Atom Z2460 platform."
"As the leading supplier of mobile and embedded GPUs for both iOS and Android, Imagination has worked extremely closely with Epic for many years as it has continuously pushed the boundaries of mobile graphics with Unreal Engine technology," Tony King-Smith, VP of Marketing, Imagination Technologies. "We are delighted that our collaboration is extending into the Android space and that Epic is making such excellent use of our PowerVR GPUs and tools as it brings the best of gaming capability to the rapidly growing Android market."
New iOS Update
Today Epic also released an update for "Epic Citadel" on the App Store that improves the industry-leading visuals of the iOS app. Available for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, "Epic Citadel" now supports high-resolution devices and offers aesthetics even more striking than previously seen.
