Some people count down the days until Christmas, but for me, Christmas is coming early this year with the December 1st debut of Chair Entertainment’s Infinity Blade 2, their widely-anticipated sequel to a game I still think is an elegiac action masterpiece.

I’ve only got another three weeks to wait, but in the meantime, Justin Davis over at IGN got a chance to takeInfinity Blade 2 for a hands-on. What to expect? Don’t expect just a couple new areas, a few new helmets and a cool new sword or two. This isn’t just a phoned-in sequel, it’s a generational leap at least four times beefier than the first game… already one of the most sizable titles on the App Store.

Davis says:

It’s impressive what Chair has been able to pull off. The original Infinity Blade launched with about 10 combat locations. The sequel has over 40. It seems virtually every element of Infinity Blade 1 has been blown out. The company has aggressive post-launch plans far beyond just adding more swords and football helmets, as well. Clash Mobs are one teased feature. Players might fight an enemy with “10 million or more” hit points. If Infinity Blade players around the world whittle down the shared health pool, all participants can be awarded with special bonuses.

Oh man, I can’t wait. I’m especially intrigued by what graphical refinements Chair has in store for us now that Apple’s A5 SoC is standard. The first Infinity Blade pushed Apple’s A4 chip to its utmost limits; I’m eager to see the A5 similarly put through its paces rendering giant ogres and mechanical monstrosities.