Following the exhibition of the latest trailer at the Ubiday conference, we got a chance the next day to take the game for a spin. We didn’t really get much insight into aspects such as the modes and options within the game, though we’re guessing that most will be similar to those of previous titles. We were confined to playing VS matches with four characters, though when you’re playing a game of the quality of Soul Calibur, you can deal with it. We’re guessing that we played the demo that will be released online in the near future.
Both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions were on hand. Each allowed you to select from one of four characters. They were Mitsurugi, Sigfried, a lady named Hilde and of course, Yoda on the Xbox 360 and Darth Vader on the PS3. As you’d imagine, the latter two were quite popular choices among the attendees. So we guess that the question on most people’s minds is: how do the pop-culture icon additions mix into the world of Soul Calibur?
If you want the agility of Yoda, you need a 360.
Players and Star Wars fans will probably be glad to know that neither Yoda nor Darth Vader are token add-ons, and are as robust an addition to the game as Link was in Soul Calibur II for the GameCube. Not only that but we also played a level based on Star Wars as well. It will be interesting to see just how much of the famous mythos has been actually included in the game.
We didn’t actually use any force powers for either characters, though we were told that they are there. Yoda is very quick and agile, but his attacks don’t do a lot of damage and because he’s so short, he relies on jumping attacks, which is fine unless you’re versing someone else who is playing as Yoda. Darth Vader on the other hand is much more powerful and reliant on powerful hits. While these additions to the game are great, it would have been truly awesome if you could face Yoda and Darth Vader against one another.
As you’d expect from a Soul Calibur title, the controls were sublime and even though we haven’t played the title in a while, they were quite easy to pick up. However, actually mastering them will take time. While experience has taught us to stay away from the Xbox 360 d-pad, we did well just with the analog stick. Personal preference aside, neither control scheme seems to have an advantage over another. After all, the crazy critical finishes were hard to pull off either way.
If you want the power of Darth Vader, you need a PS3.
One aspect that has us concerned about Soul Calibur IV though, is that it plays it way too safe. There seems to be very little ambition in pushing the title or the genre for that matter. Of course, you don’t fix what isn’t broken but there is a fine line between keeping a good thing and becoming stale, as even majestic franchises such as Zelda have shown in recent years. If players are looking for a gameplay leap, they’ll probably have to wait until Tekken 6.
Soul Calibur IV is ridiculously pretty and very highly detailed. We can’t really say if either version has it over the other as the quality of displays was rather inconsistent. Still, Darth Vader did look pretty sweet. Not only that but the sights and sounds associated with lightsaber clashes were beyond awesome. The game sticks to the traditions of no blood and all sparks.
There is absolutely no doubt in our minds that Soul Calibur IV will be a good game and that Yoda and Darth Vader are great little additions to the game. However, the game looks like it will dangerously tread the line between keeping a good thing and becoming stale, as it looks like it is playing it too safe. You probably will enjoy Soul Calibur IV, but for how long just may depend on how much you’ve played it in the past.
Why couldn't they have all the secert characters in both?
Boycott this piece of **** game, there was no cape. I'm sure there was a reason for it seeing as the character is properly licenced, maybe they couldn't put the cape in without having to muck around with the cloth physics and clipping too much or maybe it just wasn't viable to the gameplay so they left it out, there's probably heaps of reasons but i'm not such a massive nerd that it effects me in the slightest.
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