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SINGAPORE: The eternal fight between the holy sword Soul Calibur and its cursed nemesis Soul Edge continues with the latest Soulcalibur IV (SC4).
Many familiar characters from previous versions of this successful weapon-based fighting franchise have returned, along with some new additions and some guests from the galaxies far far away.
Star Wars fanatics are probably drooling at the prospect of playing the venerable Yoda (Xbox 360 version) or Darth Vader (PS3 version) in SC4.
The apprentice “Starkiller” from the upcoming Star Wars action game Force Unleashed is also an unlockable character you can play.
Already, there are rumours that Yoda and Darth Vader will one day battle in SC4 via downloadable content.
While the Star Wars characters seem a bit misplaced in a storyline set in the 16th century, the prospect of using the lightsaber to duel with the Soul Calibur is just too mouth-watering to resist.
Equally tantalising are the in-game graphics, splendidly-rendered characters, gorgeous environments and superb cutscenes. But the soundtrack and the audio aspects do not give due respect to a game of such high quality.
Gameplay is simple, with few buttons to remember and execute, although there are some advanced moves that you will learn later.
While the gameplay is intuitive, the fighting sequence depends on your timing. If you block too much, you find yourself vulnerable to fatality. Your armour can also be destroyed, making you even more prone to damages.
Still, even for beginners, you can start playing in the several modes available right out of the box, which are Single Player, offline Versus and online Xbox Live.
The Single Player mode has a Story mode, where you can discover the tales behind the character you choose.
But there are only five stages and you will finish the story mode with each character pretty quickly. Luckily, you can choose from more than 25 characters.
The toughest challenge in Single Player mode is the Tower of Lost Souls, where you can choose to ascend or descend the sets of floors and capture the tower.
You get to choose two or three characters in each floor as you will not regain health after each fight, unlike in the Arcade mode. But there are more rewards and unlockables to be gained.
If you find the Tower of Lost Souls too daunting, you canalways battle it out in Arcade mode, where you fight through eight stages of various enemies to earn points and gold that can be used to unlock characters or buy weapons.
I have to admit, upon loading the game, the first character I use is Yoda.
Controlling Yoda and his glowing green lightsaber as you conquer the 16th century barbarians is pure ecstasy. It’s something even official Star Wars games cannot provide.
While playing Yoda is enjoyable, the greatest feature of SC4 has to be Character Creation, where you can create your own character.
The caveat is that your character has to be based on an existing character. You can customise your appearance, voice, armour and weapons to your heart’s delight. You can even use this customised character on Xbox Live.
Auto match pairing is fast on Xbox Live and I have yet to experience any lag online.
But there are times when I get connected to fights in progress and I just have to wait in queue for the fight to end before I get my turn. My solution is to create your own session and wait for players to join. - TODAY/sh
VERDICT
Soulcalibur IV retains the franchise’s status as one of the best console fighting games in the market.
With its simple gameplay, multiple game modes, smooth online experience and custom character creation, this game’s longevity is guaranteed. But please, give me Darth Vader!
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