Soul Calibur IV Preview
By: Eric M. Martin |
Monday July 14, 2008 |
 |
The final chapter in the fight for the Soul Blades is coming, and in Force! |
| Probably one of the most successful fighting franchises in existence, Soul Calibur IV marks the end of a button-mashing era. Siegfried takes center stage in an effort to atone for his sins as a former wielder of the Soul Edge. Now guided by Soul Calibur, he has sensed the presence of a resurrected Nightmare and shall fulfill his vow to vanquish him. However, about a score of other fighters, including two coming from a galaxy far, far away, also seek possession of either the Soul Edge, Soul Calibur, or even both. With this marking the final chapter between the Soul Blades, the PS3 and Xbox 360 promise to deliver it all in stunning 720p HD goodness. Whereas weapon customization has been a hallmark of later games in the series, Soul Calibur IV will actually give that piece of history a little more meaning with online versus mode. Forever cherished by players of games such as Call of Duty, we see the first online mode present in the Soul Calibur universe, and I don’t see the lines getting any shorter. Chances are, especially with the Xbox 360 version, there will be a scramble for self-imposed dominance on leaderboards and ladder groups Internet-wide. As far as the rest of the package is concerned, Soul Calibur has never been lacking in the areas of full-motion battle animation, musical scores, and arena presentation. I doubt that you’ll see anything different here.  When you boil it down, there are two highlighted attractions for Soul Calibur IV, and both of them are proven to be effective nerd bait. Perhaps the most noticeable “addition” is the hyped-up breast factor shown in both the released screenshots and gameplay footage. At this point, I’m not sure whether to thank DOA for their thoughtful addition of a jiggle factor or punch them in the face for ruining an already successful title with the addition of pointless sex appeal. If I want breasts, I’ll buy a film that caters to breasts. It’s truly been overdone and it serves no purpose with Soul Calibur. “Reasons” aside, I don’t see why this was done. The second draw is the addition of Star Wars characters. People waited over twenty years to watch Yoda cut flips, and now they can re-live the experience. I was impressed with the Yoda fight for seven seconds before realizing that it was not unlike random button hitting during a video game. Cue appropriate music. Soul Calibur IV will be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on July 29, 2008! |
