Soul Calibur IV

—Review Score: 8/10—

Bandai Namco’s new installation of Soul Calibur is a great 3D fighting game. With the addition of Darth Vader in the roster, Soul Calibur IV is a success for combining one of the best 3D fighting gameplay and one of the most sought character.

The basic gameplay of Soul Calibur is enhanced in SC IV with the addition of soul gauge and breakable equipments. Soul gauge introduces a new way to win a round using the critical finish that can be executed once the soul gauge depleted. And breakable equipments creates a new strategy side to the fights. There are three equipment classes on each character: upper, middle, and lower equipment. Each equipment responsible for defense on that particular area, and destroyed equipments are carried over throughout the rounds, reducing defense respectably on each area.

However, there is a slight change on the game pace. The movements in SC IV are a bit sluggish compared to previous iteration. This results on some adjustment needed on playing the game and left the slow characters undesired. The character customization is also limited, with only story characters’ fighting styles selectable. There is no original style like in Soul Calibur III, and the lightsaber style is also can’t be selected on custom character creation.

The visual presentation is gorgeous, with higher resolution and better texture. There are still some clipping issues, but they’re easily forgivable, considering all the fancy weapons and equipments available. Audio quality is also great. There are variety of nostalgic background music and new ones alike. Voice acting is pretty good, with English/Japanese language selection. The sound effects are also good, especially for the lightsabers.

All in all, Soul Calibur IV still puts Soul Calibur franchise on the top tier of the 3D fighting game genre. It has a solid formula of good gameplay and roster of characters, even though the story is a bit lacking as other fighting games do. Soul Calibur IV is a highly enjoyable game, especially for the multiplayer actions.

(Picture Credit: Soul Calibur IV Official Site)