The Soulcalibur series is now onto its forth installment, but it is no new-comer to the fighting game genre and dates back to the days of the Dreamcast, where it got its start. Catering to new-comers to the series, Soulcalibur IV makes it easy to pick up and play just about any character no matter if you are a button-masher or someone who really takes the time to learn what each button combination does. While veterans of the series won?t find a whole lot of differences between Soulcalibur IV and other game versions, various tweaks, a graphical overhaul, Star Wars characters, and the addition of an online multiplayer mode make the game a worth while purchase.
Especially, after playing through the lengthy story mode in Soulcalibur III, we were disappointed by the severely shortened length of Soulcalibur IV?s single player story mode, which lasts only a handful of fights, but to its credit is slightly different based on the character chosen by the player. The game makes up for this lack in story, though, by adding the Tower of Lost Souls mode. The tower is a game set of 60 levels where the player can either ascend or descend for a different kind of play. Each floor or level must be unlocked by playing the previous floor and the real reason to play this mode is to find new armor that can be equipped onto most characters. Unlocking this armor is challenging, though, because it can only be found by completing certain criteria during each battle. One small complaint is that there is no way to restart a battle from the menu, in Tower of Souls mode, when the fight turns sour. It?s either wait for your character(s) to be finished off or go back to the character selection screen. This is annoying when your character gets thrown out of the ring early in the match and you know you?re not going to end up on top.
Soulcalibur IV includes two additional single-player modes beyond Story and Tower of Souls: a short eight-battle arcade mode and training mode. While training mode allows players to better hone their skills and is not necessary for new players, arcade mode should be completed to unlock additional characters. There are plenty of unlockables to be had so completing each play mode is a must, but the real fun comes with multiplayer.
Not only can two players go at it on a single television screen, but online multiplayer has also been added into Soulcalibur IV for the first time in the series. Only two players can fight at one time, but there are many options for picking the right player to fight and several game modes keep things interesting. Though multiplayer doesn?t offer anything truly unique, what is provided is respectable and will extend the play-life of the game.
A small tweak that has gone a long way in Soulcalibur IV is the Soul Gauge. With this feature, a character may only block a hit so many times before he is left vulnerable to a Soul Crush. The Soul Gauge starts out green, but quickly turns red and begins blinking if a character is blocking too much. Should this continue the character enters into Soul Crush where his opponent could well finish him off with a single well-placed hit if he?s not careful.
Beyond the ability to unlock and customize pre-made characters to a player?s play style, players also have the ability to start creating a human character from scratch that is really theirs. There are countless options available for making a character just right, from weapon and armor to skin color, hair style, and voice and everything in between. We could spend hours just creating characters. Unfortunately, the Star Wars characters included Yoda (Xbox 360 only), Darth Vader (PS3 only), and the Apprentice can?t be tweaked at all, nor do they really fit into the Soulcalibur setting and feel rather forced (no pun intended). Yoda with his bouncy fighting style and his short height is a sizable threat to fight as he is harder to hit and to pick up and throw, and Apprentice feels a bit over-powered due to his constant use of the force when played by a computer. Darth Vader, on the other hand, seems to fit into the game the best out of all of them, though he is only available on the PS3 (this could change with downloadable content).
With regard to graphics, Soulcalibur IV shines. The characters and environments are all well-done and the added effects, such as the floors breaking and splintering when a character slams into them, are nice additions. Unfortunately, the characters still haven?t been given larger brains, so their speech repertoire is, again, lacking.
Soulcalibur IV upped the ante of questionable content through its graphical update. Some of the woman characters are wearing even less than in previous games and can be stripped down to their underwear through customizing them. Each of the women wears a thong, as well. While Soulcalibur IV is full of hard-hitting violent action, no blood or gore is included. Mild language is heard throughout the game, though this is not something that a player hears during each fight. In fact, we played for hours before we heard a curse uttered.
For Soulcalibur fans new and old, Soulcalibur IV pays tribute to a long lasting and respected series and does its part to hold up that name. With the addition of online multiplayer and a rejuvenated experience all around, Soulcalibur IV is a game others should take pointers from.
» By Stephan Mack, Plain Games. Published 9/4/2008 1:15:12 PM.
