For those of you unfamiliar with Namco's Soul Calibur
series, it's the one with the slew of weird characters vying for two powerful
swords--soul calibur and soul edge--to rule, destroy, or save the world, and
most of the time they look exceptionally good while doing it. Soul Calibur IV
continues that trend with 33 characters seeking to use the swords to accomplish
their own (often selfish) desires, including two bonus "guest"
characters from the Star Wars universe: the legendary Darth Vader and the mysterious
"apprentice" from the upcoming Force Unleashed. Though the game
clearly fails to revolutionize the genre, it accomplishes everything it sets
out to do quite well, and the addition of online play and a very robust
character creation system keep the game addictive.
Click here for an explanation of our review and scoring format.
As with any fighting game, Soul Calibur IV pits you against
an onslaught of characters that you must take down by lowering their health bar
with flashy moves and powerful combos. Namco also included a soul gauge feature
that changes color depending on your performance; block too often or receive
too many strong attacks and the gauge will start flashing red, entering a
"soul crush" state, at which point you're vulnerable to a one-hit KO
attack called a critical finish. To keep things fresh (and because it's mildly
entertaining to witness characters fighting in customizable undergarments),
equipment destruction is a vital component of any fight; equipment condition is
displayed in a three slot vertical bar designating head, upper body, and lower
body gear, and enough attacks to the same area will break the equipment.
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