Today we take a look at this week’s release from NamcoBandai, Soul Calibur IV. While our in-house staff has not gotten the game yet, we will be analyzing other major outlets for their take on this latest iteration of the SC series, the push to make women more objectifying in the fighting video game genre, and trivialize the story by the addition of Star Wars characters.
My that's a big lightsaber.
1UP – [A]
Only time will tell whether people will accept SC4 into the pantheon of timeless, classic fighting games, but it looks great, plays extremely well, and has countermeasures for nearly any perceived exploit you may stumble across (like unlockable final boss Algol’s slow-moving ranged attacks). The create-a-character mode is amazingly deep, allowing you to assemble your own bionic man, while the new manga-designed fighters add plenty of fun new looks and personalities to play. The Tower of Lost Souls mode is a much better attraction than Soul Calibur 3’s Chronicles of the Sword, as it ditches that game’s real-time-strategy-lite load-a-thon with more straightforward combat challenges (and rewards).
IGN – [87/100]
Despite the aforementioned concerns, Soulcalibur IV is a lot of fun and I highly recommend it, especially — as I said before — to fans of the series. The game runs well, looks beautiful, sports great music and obviously has enjoyable combat. The PS3 and 360 versions are just about identical (barring the differing guest characters), though I felt that the optional install on the PS3 made things feel even quicker and more polished. In the end, both are worthy members of a long- standing series and you won’t be disappointed with the purchase.
Eurogamer – [80/100]
To get the bad news out of the way first, Namco has done little to refresh or redefine a genre enduring a terminal decline in popularity. Undoubtedly, Soulcalibur IV is very good and has at least one genuinely brilliant new feature. But in terms of the basic fighting gameplay barely anything has changed since the series’ last- gen console outings. The formula that has stood Namco in such good stead has been tweaked yet again, but there has been only gradual evolution since the arcade debut of Soul Edge more than 12 years ago.
A Tease of the Ladies in Soul Calibur IV
Some Guys of Soul Calibur IV
MegaClank
July 31, 2008 at 12:56 pm
G4 gave it a 4/5 stars. :p