Soulcalibur IV

"This Soul burns with the Force!"

Just for a disclaimer: this review is coming from a gamer that isn't much into fighting games, but enjoyed the Soul Calibur experience in the past. With that being said, I have played Soul Calibur II on the Xbox, skipped Soul Calibur III and went right to Soul Calibur IV on the PlayStation 3. I do not consider myself a diehard loyalist of the series. However, I enjoyed Soul Calibur II a lot, and when I heard the hype about Soul Calibur IV I decided to pick this one up.

Story
The story is exactly the same as I remember it from Soul Calibur II. You choose your warrior and battle through various enemies in order to fight the final boss. However, the final boss and enemies fought do vary based upon the character you've selected. Each character has a different 'goal'. Some want to capture the Soul Edge and the Soul Calibur for supreme power, others want it to bring about some kind of peace or change in their lives, while others simply want to destroy the swords. While the game offers text-synopsis of each character, the actual individual story you get to witness in game is fairly short. You get to experience about a one minute cutscene with enhanced graphics for each character once you win.

The Story Mode can be completed in about 10 minutes for each character, less if you can dominate with certain characters, which makes it quite disappointing overall. However, the story isn't what makes this game as good as it is fortunately. Eventually you will come to appreciate the quick story modes as you can get some quick gold for them later on.

Within the game is also a Star Wars 'hook'. This is what separates the 360 and the PS3 version, the 360 featuring Yoda, and the PS3 featuring Darth Vader. Both versions also get The Apprentice. I've heard of Yoda being ungrabble completely, which in my opinion makes Darth Vader a better well-rounded character. If you want my unbiased opinion on what version to get with that being said, I recommend the PS3 version.

Graphics
I would say Soul Calibur IV possesses the best graphics for a fighting game to the date this review was written. All characters are extremely well detailed, and you'll come to appreciate the details when you go to create your own character. Many people have created near replicas to characters from other games, such as the Final Fantasy series. The environments are also breathtaking and I really enjoy the outdoor stages with the blue skies, very pretty looking. Of course, I recommend and HDTV with HDMI input to really get the most out of the graphics.

Sounds/Music
Everything sounds as it should. The sounds of a sword hitting armor, or sword hitting sword are all realistic sounding. Characters will make grunts, death screams and taunts like usual. Also the cheesy announcer guy with his witty introductions to each stage is also back. I enjoyed the music but some sort of custom soundtrack feature would have been really awesome to have here as well.

Controls
The controls are mostly what you'd expect from a fighting game. Expect to push numerous buttons at the same time, and also work the analog stick/d-pad into that if you want to do any special moves. Characters have so many moves via button combination that you'll find it impossible to memorize everyone's. I found using the D-Pad most effective to move and perform moves as the movement isn't 3D and is more traditional striving and dashing when trying to move. Fortunately you can map button combination to various buttons; however you will have to sacrifice some other button combination for that. You cannot map anything to Select or R3 or L3 which is disappointing because it would have helped A LOT if you could.

Create a Soul/Character
The CaS from the previous Soul Calibur games are back, and is more detailed than ever. With the right looking equipment and color, you can create pretty much any kind of character you may desire. Equipment is unlocked by ascending and descending the Tower of Souls. However you automatically unlock equipment by obtaining Honors. Honors are certain feats you perform in battle or other areas. Once you obtain 30 you are granted all equipment. However, much equipment and weapons must be purchased, in which all those story modes you did come in handy.

I only have a few complaints about this mode. There are not a whole lot of unique faces, and they cannot be adjusted in any way. If you are creating a character for certain looks you may find yourself limited simply because of this. Also, equipment and weapons provide benefits to your character. While that sounds good on paper, this means that having nothing equipped for a certain slot will hurt your combat performance. If you are like me, then you may not want a bulky helmet on your character, and you may not want to play mix and match clothes just so you can have a decent looking character AND one actually suitable for battle. If you want to go online with an ass-kicking girl in a bikini, then you will be disappointed! A feature to 'hide' equipment while still gaining the benefits would have been the best solution to this.

Tower of Souls
The Tower of Souls is SCIV's new version of Weapon Master from the previous games. While less RPG-like that Weapon Master was, Tower of Souls will provide you with the bulk of your single player time. You can either ascend or descend the tower, descending is unlocked once you ascend 20 out of the 60 floors. In ascending you complete about 1-3 floors at a time, before you save progress. Descending is like a survival mode in which you attempt to survive all 40 floors without stopping. Fortunately you gain equipment every 5 floors if you happen to die on the 20th floor, your efforts will not be in vain. Some floors are extremely difficult to win with some having outrageous handicaps placed on you or advantages made to the enemy to make it very challenging. It will take many retries and patience to beat many of the floors.

Tag/Partner System
This is a sub-category of Tower of Souls as this is usually where you will find this. This feature is exactly what it sounds like, in some floors of the tower, you will be able to take 2-3 characters total. By pressing R1, you will switch warriors, making it useful to switch out fighters who are about to be KO'd. They also get a slight health regen while they are out of battle. This adds a strategic element on later floors to preserve your fighters and switch wisely. If a character gets KO'd then he/she is knocked out for the rest of the floors, until a break point. Enemies will also take advantage of this system making it more challenging as well.

Online Play
Eventually, you will find yourself going online to challenge the world once you master characters and their moves. Soul Calibur features ranked and unranked play, along with special weapons and effects or traditional fighting with no weapon effects. A maximum of 4 players can be in a custom room which basically is like survival play. The player that wins will remain in the next battle, and fight the next player in line. The other two players will then spectate the fight. If the same player wins again, they will fight the next person in line, basically cycling the 3 other players until someone beats him and they become the top player. I found lag in this game to be an issue more so than other games I've played such as Metal Gear Online. Friend's that I've played with from MGO I've played with in SCIV and experienced some lag. Lag is determined by 1-5 bars. 1 being a terrible connection (Massive slowdown, not worth it at all) to 5 connection (Pretty much unnoticeable lag). I've found 4-5 bars most playable, but anything below 4 makes the battles very frustrating and not worth it.

Despite the lag issues, the game is still fun to play with friends you know. The game also provides many combat features that carry well into online. Such as people that constantly block will have their Soul Gauge depleted, until it eventually breaks. The offensive player can then execute a Critical Finish, which instantly ends the battle. With a lag-free game, the online play is a blast and really tests your skill as a player.

Buy or Rent?
Depends on what you are looking for here. If you love fighting games, and better yet, love the Soul Calibur series, buy the game. This is coming from a casual fan of SC2; I bought the game immediately and did not regret it. If you are looking for a fighting game mainly to play online, you may want to rent the game. I have heard SC4 is the best online fighter on the market today so you may want to consider buying it as well. If you have never been into fighting games much in the past, I recommend a rent first.

Final Words
Soul Calibur IV in my opinion is the best Soul Calibur out to date. While the game does suffer a few setbacks and steps backwards from the previous installments, the online play, better create-a-soul system and overall revamps to the system propel the game to new heights. If you have local friends that you used to play the previous Soul Calibur games with, then you will come to appreciate the online play offered in SC4 without ever leaving the house. If you are looking for a well-rounded fighting game experience, then Soul Calibur IV is definitely your game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/07/08

Game Release: Soulcalibur IV (US, 07/29/08)