Reviews
Soul Calibur was first released on home consoles on the Dreamcast back in 1999. This game rewrote the book on how to port an arcade game (Soul Edge) to a home console and was at the time the best 3D fighting game bar none. In fact it still holds up well a decade later. Its sequel further enhanced the great combat mechanics and graphical flair of the series before running a little stale by the third game, even though it included a new custom character creator. So what does Soul Calibur IV have up its sleeve to entice gamers to reacquaint themselves with Mitsurugi and the gang? Two words, Star Wars. You can play as Yoda or the Secret Apprentice from the new Star Wars: The Force Unleashed game (Darth Vader replaces Yoda on the PS3 version) and is the most publicised new feature of Soul Calibur IV.
If you aren’t familiar with the Soul Calibur universe and its plotline then you should know that it centres around mythical twin swords called Soul Edge / Soul Blade, and all those who wield it succumb to its power. You should also know that this is a 3D fighter and any plotline trying to explain why a spandex wearing freak with finger knives is fighting a Korean pirate is going to be a struggle to comprehend. What differentiates this from other 3D fighters like Tekken, Virtua Fighter or the DOA series is that you wield melee weapons ranging from nunchukas, katanas to other really big hurty things. The fighting engine still remains as one of the most accessible out there where a novice can come in and play against a veteran and still have fun. However it is refined enough where a veteran will almost always win against a novice so it isn’t a button mashing mess. The combat mechanics are fundamentally simple where 4 buttons are assigned to a vertical attack, horizontal attack, kick and guard. The analogue stick allows you to move freely around the arena so positioning as well as timing are equally important. As you get better, the plethora of combos, counters, throws, guard impacts, parries and other technical moves give it plenty of depth. However you don’t need to memorise 99 hit combos nor count how many frames are in each attack to get the best from this game, unlike some other 3D fighters out there. The hit areas are high, middle and low like most other fighting games but this is where the Star Wars inclusion starts to irk me. Besides being totally out of place in the Soul Calibur fantasy-medieval setting, Yoda is impossible to throw and being 2 foot nothing, most high attacks go over his head. The Apprentice is of normal height though and shouldn’t upset the balance of the roster too much. Being a Star Wars fan however, I’m happy to overlook all of this since it comes with the inclusion of The Coolest Weapon Ever Created - the Lightsabre. The problem is that it doesn’t decapitate or dismember, even though it should, but then again so should every other sharp weapon in the game but that’s the one thing which has always been a bugbear of mine in the Soul Calibur series. Nevertheless it still serves to be a great game so we’ll move on.
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