THE GOOD:-Awesome Graphics
-Online play makes the game alot less dull
-34 playable characters (although one is bought through DLC for $5)
-Balanced characters
-Easy Controls to learn
THE BAD:
-Repetetive without online play
-Boring Story Line
-No Survival mode or Team Battle
SUMMARY:
The Soul Calibur series is probably one of the best series of fighting games ever released. I always liked the fact that you use weapons instead of using bare fists, which in my opinion, makes the game much more exciting. Having played all the games in the series, I must say, Soul Calibur IV is probably the best out of all of them.
Graphics: 10/10
We all know that the graphics for this game are excellent, so there really isn’t a need to talk about them.
Gameplay: 9/10
The controls for this game are quite easy to learn and there are no combos that take insane skills to perform. There are 34 characters to choose from (one being a downloadable character costing $5, and the other 5 being exact clones of other characters), which really is a massive amount. Almost all the characters in the game have their own ‘feel' and the three star wars characters, Darth Vader (PS3 version), Yoda (Xbox 360 version) and the Apprentice (both versions), are great additions. Although they can be quite cheap (especially Yoda), it is still an awesome experience to use them. I was quite disappointed how there was no team battle, or any sort of survival mode. This was something the previous Soul Calibur games had, so it's hard to understand why this one is missing it.
The character Creation is an amazing addition to the series. There are countless amounts of equipment you can use and more are being added through DLC. It isn’t like that of LittleBig Planet, but it’s still quite good. Characters like the Hulk, Princess Peach, Link, Zelda, Star Fox and Falco can be created and look a lot, maybe even exactly, like the genuine characters. Unfortunately you can’t create a new move list for custom created characters, however you can add skills. Custom creations act more like ‘costumes’ for other characters, since they share the same move sets as the character you based them off of. Each equipment in the game provided its own bonuses, however if you only care about looks, then you shouldn’t worry since you can disable them in various modes. However, you can use these bonuses to your advantage, and set up an ultimate, unstoppable character of your dreams. You can also add skills to characters. Skills are basically abilities that the characters can use while they are fighting. A couple examples of skills include the ability to become invisible for a short time during a match or the ability to become prone to getting ringed out.
There are various new modes to play in Soul Calibur IV, such as the Tower of Lost Souls mode, where you descend the tower. There are 60 floors to descend (you can also ascend) and inn each floor there is a ‘mission’ you must accomplish, such as defeating all your enemies with ring outs or never taking damage throughout the match. Completing these missions gets you new equipment for character customization. There is also Arcade Mode, and Story Mode. The two are quite similar, with minor differences. In arcade mode, you progress through eight levels, and in each one you must defeat an enemy. However in Story mode, you progress through 5 levels during which allies join your team (you can swap, just like a tagteam battle), and you defeat a different amount of enemies per level, depending on the character you chose. There is also the obvious VS mode, in which you can play with a computer or an actual person. In addition, my favourite mode has finally been added, which is online play.
Online Play: 9/10
The online play is done quite well, however sometimes it can be quite annoying. There are two types of modes you can play. In the first type, the bonuses and skills are not activated, and in the second type they are. Also, there are ranked and unranked matches, so if you are bad at this game, you can still enjoy online play, without worrying about someone seeing your total wins/losses. You can create sessions which up to 4 people can join. If you create your own session, it takes roughly (for me) about a minute for someone to join. You can also find sessions, but I prefer making one, since it’s usually faster. I am not sure if the PSN server is the same, but the Xbox 360 server is usually lag free. Unfortunately it’s not perfect, and you may find it difficult perform certain combos that you could perform in regular play. All custom created characters can be used in online matches, which is great, since you can show them off. The problem I have with online play is that you can’t set how much HP you have. It’s nothing big but I don’t see why they didn’t include it. From time to time you will meet cheap players who button mash, and you may not be able to guard in time or attack back if you are lagging. Overall however, the online play is a great addition. I don’t have any siblings, so with online play I can always fighting against real people, which makes the game a lot less dull. I found in the other series that, without online play, I get bored of the game within 2 weeks, so the online play really makes the gaming experience a lot better.
Story line:
I am not going to bother rating the storyline, since we all know that it basically sucks. You get to see the character’s endings after you complete story mode with him/her. This is just a short clip that lasts a couple seconds, and nothing is revealed to a great extent about any character. However, the fact that the story line is appalling does not ruin the gaming experience greatly. It is after all a fighting game, and story lines were never their apogee.
Replayability Value (depends): To enjoy this game to the fullest, you either need a lot of friends or siblings who are interested in this game and are willing to play with you, or the ability to play online. Without other players to play against, the gaming experience becomes extremely dull and your copy of Soul Calibur IV will be sitting on the shelf collecting dust. In other words, do not get this game if you don’t have Xbox Live/PSN or anyone to play against. Although the AI in this game is quite sharp with its blocks and attacks, it just isn’t the same as playing with real people. The tower of lost souls becomes extremely repetitive after a while, since many of the missions are the same for each floor. Story mode and Arcade mode are practically the same for every character, and get mind-numbing after beating them a couple times. Character creation is fun to toy around with from time to time, and the achievements can keep you busy, since quite a lot of them are very difficult to unlock. There is a lot of equipment to acquire, however, acquiring them is a dull task, and you will not find it too enjoyable. So like I said, this game is just not the same without online play or others to play with, however if you have these things, then the replayability value is greatly increased. (If you have siblins/online play 10/10, if you don’t have them 6/10)
Buy/Rent/Avoid: If you have Xbox Live or people to play with then you should definitely buy this game. It is only about 25 bucks used and 35 dollars brand new, so it is not too pricey. If you don’t have online play or friends/siblings who may want to play with you, then I suggest renting it (read reasons in replayability value). For the first week you will have a lot of fun with the game, despite having nobody to play it with. You will complete some missions in the Tower of Lost Souls, play around with new characters, and create some cool customs using character creation.
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