E3 '08: Hands On With Soul Calibur IV
I have been fortunate enough to play Soul Calibur IV through several different builds over the last few months and I'm happy to say it gets better every time. The last time I had a look was at Namco's Gamer's Day and at that time there were only four characters available to play. The E3 build however was complete and I was able to try both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. Graphically I would say they were comparable. Backgrounds and character models looked amazing and I remarked how every iteration of Soul Calibur really ups the ante on the graphics.
Checking out both versions also gave me the chance to play as both Darth Vader and Yoda and I even did a small stint as the Secret Apprentice who is appearing in Soul Calibur before his star turn in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. All three characters have a different fighting style but they do share one thing, Force attacks. Each character has his own signature Force moves (like Darth's Force strangle and "Emporer Throw") and played correctly they can fight exactly like their movie counterparts.
But, the Star Wars characters aren't the only new additions to the SC. There are four unlockable characters based on famous Japanese Anime characters and a more robust custom character creation section. Each of the SC characters can also have their costumes customized with whatever colors you like. The character customization area has changed slightly, allowing you to base your character's fighting style on the those of the pre-existing SC characters. Other new features include an Equipment Destruction mechanic and Critical Finishing Moves. Once a character's Soul Gauge is weakened, you can start to break down their armor and equipment which will allow you to cause more damage to your opponent. Press the right combo of buttons to then pull off a devastating finishing move that will take your enemy out in one blow.
For the first time in Souls Calibur IV, you will be able to play online against other SC players in two different modes, Standard and Special. In Standard mode you can fight using the standard SC characters while Special mode will allow you to fight using your custom created characters.
Soul Calibur IV launches in just over a week and for my money will be not only one of the best entries into the series, but one of the top next gen fighting games available. Now your only decision will have to be... Darth or Yoda?
Fruit Brute
Posted to E3, Hot Stuff, Video Games on 20 July 2008
· Comments (7)
Other stuff like this: darth vader, e3, e3 08, ps3, soul calibur iv, xbox 360, yoda
Name: Dave
I still consider it epic fail that they've set things up so Darth Vader and Yoda can't fight each other. What the hell. :(
Actually, there are FIVE anime characters, but they're not famous themselves, they are created by famous anime artists for this game only.
my decision isn't that hard...I'm getting Both...I Absolutely Love this series, it's really the only fighting game I'm good kind of good at..
So can't wait..
Ivy's tits scare the shit out of me.
Lol well im not buying it for darth or Yoda, just love my PS3 :D and i reckon the PS contriller feels moar natural for me :o especially in Fighting Games~
Once a character's Soul Gauge is weakened, you can start to break down their armor and equipment which will allow you to cause more damage to your opponent.
That sounds stupid. In reality, what this new feature amounts to is the ability to slice the clothing off characters like Maxi and Yun-seong. Yes, that's right, every male character in the game will appear shirtless.
I read a pre-view on IGN from May saying that the PS3 version had significant slow-down vs. the 360 version in the builds at that time...can you say anything about the difference between builds quality wise at E3?