Soul Calibur IV
Released July 29th 2008
Published by Namco Bandai Games
Developed by Project Soul
The Soul Still Burns... I've loved Soul Calibur since it was Soul Edge on the PlayStation. It was a series that's always prided itself on being very pickup & play for newcomers, yet deep enough to keep people coming back for more. The cast from the previous entry return as well as a few new faces and 2 guests from the Star Wars universe. Graphically, the characters look great. Everything flows well, something that's very important for a fighter, the animations are all top notch- SC4 is very flashy, though in my honest opinion the stage environments just didn't wow me like past entries in the series. They're not bad by any means, but they just didn't stick out to me for the most part. The great thing about SC4 is that your created characters look just as good as the established cast! If done right, you'd never know a custom character just by looking at him/her. Sure in the overall scheme of things it's a small detail, but it's a small detail that helps deliver an even more immersive experience. Speaking of created characters, in SC3 there was a RTS mode you could take your created characters through. It may not have been perfect, but it was interesting to play through as it had its own story. If you liked that mode, too bad as it's been scrapped from SC4. SC4 has the Story Mode, Tower of Souls and Arcade Mode. One thing that I always loved about SC, was that there was a quest mode to each game that was really fleshed out and would allow you to level up the characters on their journey to the Soul Edge. In that regard, SC4 disappoints greatly- you see, Story Mode is 5 levels and a play-through with each character can be done under 20 minutes. Sure, you still get money and level-up the characters, but it just feels so half-assed compared to previous games as it doesn't have a build-up and is over way too soon. Tower of Souls is the new mode that joins the series- you choose any number of characters required for each set of stages, and are sent in to beat the odds. You start out by ascending the tower, but eventually you'll unlock the descend option. There's a chance to unlock items for character creation in this mode, plus it ramps up the difficulty and keeps things challenging! Lastly there's the traditional Arcade mode to play through as well as the Online Mode. So how is the Online portion you ask? Well I've logged in a few hours online and for the most part I haven't been too greatly affected by lag- oh it's definately there, but most of my matches have been smooth (the game even shows your opponent's connection strength). You can create a room where up to 3 other people can join in and wait turns to fight the victor of the previous bout. All this sounds great, but how does the game play? Is it user friendly? To that I answer yes. A bit too accessible at times. Don't get me wrong, I'm a veteran fan of the series, but I'm not a pro- I don't mesmerize the combos to any great degree, and for that SC4 makes it great for a beginner to be able to jump in and have a fighting chance. For a pro however, it's just really too button-masher friendly: It rewards button-mashing more than it does skill. It's easy to mash buttons and see success, yet it's harder to skillfully counter your opponents in the midst of their onslaught, especially with the quicker characters. When online, it really feels like whoever gets in the first blow an mashes buttons will win, it's hard to gain the upper-hand once this starts and for fighting game vets, this can be a rightful reason to be turned off from SC4. While I'm sure it can be argued that this could be chalked up as a "easy to learn, difficult to master" approach, I really feel it's a bit unbalanced and doesn't reward a skilled player as much as a button-masher. New to the SC series in gameplay are finishers & armour-breaking. You see, if you block too much in SC4 your equiptment will take damage an degrade in front of you, also if it gets to the point that your opponent hits you enough that they perform a soul crush (where the soul guage blinks red and your orb breaks) if timed right they can perform a devastating finish that will end the match regardless of how much life you have left. The plus side is that only if you really 'turtle' will you need to be careful. The big thing about SC4 since known were the guest characters: The PS3 gets Darth Vader as well as The Apprentice (from the upcoming game Star Wars Force Unleashed). Vader plays like a standard power character- slow but strong. The apprentice however... To unlock him you have to fight him, and I must say that your patience will be tested severly, but once you unlock him and learn his moves it will have been worth it. Character creation has really been improved since SC3, it can get pretty deep the amount of things you can customise. I just wish you could adjust height... Still, very good system with the main downside being that you have to choose an established character's movelist. The Rundown Soul Calibur 4 is a great entry into the series, however it lacks a few key things that would have made it exceptional. The addition of online is a huge plus. Old & new fans alike will enjoy SC4 despite it's few shortcomings. Presentation: 9.0 + Easy to use menu/instructions - Not much storytelling elements/fleshed out modes as previous entries Graphics: 8.5 + Created characters match well with established characters - Backgrounds don't really standout for the most part Gameplay: 8.3 + Easy to jump in an play - A bit too much button-mashing element that may turn off some. Sound: 9.0 + Everything sounds like it should - Some voices may be annoying Replay Value/Fun-Factor: 8.5 + Character creation & Online mode - Weak Story mode
My Final Score is 8.6 Manimal Forever Gamer's Perspective
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