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Ughhhh......well I guess I'll just throw my "I'm never paying full day one price for a game" resolution out the damn window. I even thought if I went back and played SC4 for a while it would hold me over until a price drop. After reading your review I can't wait. I need it NOW!
I haven't enjoyed a Soul Calibur game this much since the first one on Dreamcast -- it's a ton of fun. Thanks for the review!
Tight and responsive mechanics in a fighter are always a must, but I was pulled into the series for it's story and characters, the single player content was always the main focus for me.
With that removed, what little there is not even bringing even half the cast into the story, it felt like a major let down to me. Gotta say I probably won't consider picking up another SC title again.
With that removed, what little there is not even bringing even half the cast into the story, it felt like a major let down to me. Gotta say I probably won't consider picking up another SC title again.
I rented it from the Redbox last night. Less content and re-playability on the single player front. Too much talking in the story, I skip all the scenes. The AI is really superb though, once I got past 4 or 5 of the Story fights I started to lose because I was button mashing and had to go do some training before I could win again. I found it hard to pull off some of the Edge moves because of the limitations of a standard controller (what hey no I totally pressed for-dia-down why does it says I pressed forward twice?!?) but I suppose they'll come with practice.
Need to try this, but it pretty much sounds like what I was expecting. The bad points are the things that bug me about some games.
Would have not bothered until I read Chris Carter's comment bringing up the Dreamcast though, now I just have to play it... After MGS HD collection that just came out though.
Would have not bothered until I read Chris Carter's comment bringing up the Dreamcast though, now I just have to play it... After MGS HD collection that just came out though.
@Hasney
The main issue is that the Single Player front is pretty bare-bones (an hour long story if you skip the boring cutscenes; no true Arcade stories for any fighters, etc), but multiplayer is really fun, and the netcode is solid.
The Creation Mode is actually pretty robust and enjoyable as well -- which you can of course take online.
The main issue is that the Single Player front is pretty bare-bones (an hour long story if you skip the boring cutscenes; no true Arcade stories for any fighters, etc), but multiplayer is really fun, and the netcode is solid.
The Creation Mode is actually pretty robust and enjoyable as well -- which you can of course take online.
Honestly, the series hasn't interested me much since the original Soul Calibur. The strange thing is, I'm a huge Tekken fan.
Maybe I'll pick it up after a price drop and see how the series has changed in 12 years...
Maybe I'll pick it up after a price drop and see how the series has changed in 12 years...
I purchased this on the first day it came out, just like I did for IV, and honestly I'm a bit disappointed. The series' single player campaign has gotten weaker and weaker with each entry, and while I'm glad this story mode feels a bit more focused than the previous entry's, the lack of individual stories and an in-depth campaign knocks off a good deal of points from me. Weapon Master mode in SCII was honestly the high point of the series' campaigns to me, and I was hoping to see something like it return.
As far as the gameplay is concerned, it feels more heavy than prior games. It's distinctly more slowed down. Not only that, but specials are now easy-as-pie to pull off, which takes away from the technical aspect of fighting that I've always loved this series for. Furthermore, the roster feels more unbalanced than ever, with some characters feelings completely useless against Nightmare and Astaroth spammers. As somebody who enjoys playing with Nightmare, I feel like an utter bastard for playing as such a cheap character now.
To top it all off, some fan-favorite characters were stripped for narrative purposes, and the game definitely suffers for it. Talim, a character that I spent years playing as and is very popular with tournament players, is absent and not even on the schedule for a DLC character. But you know who is a DLC character? Effing Dampiere, from the PSP entry, who nobody liked. Even this entry's version of Cassandra/Sophitia, Pyhrra, is significantly slower than her predecessors. I'm not sure who decided that this was a good roster of fighters, but they were mistaken.
That's not to say this is a bad game, by any means. In fact, it's quite enjoyable, and the online mode has definitely improved from IV. There are some fun new characters, like Ezio and Z.W.E.I., and the graphics are fantastic. When you're playing against a seasoned opponent, it's definitely more of a worthwhile experience than a lot of fighters nowadays. I'm just saying there's room for improvement. It's still worth the 60 bucks, especially if you've never played an SC game.
As far as the gameplay is concerned, it feels more heavy than prior games. It's distinctly more slowed down. Not only that, but specials are now easy-as-pie to pull off, which takes away from the technical aspect of fighting that I've always loved this series for. Furthermore, the roster feels more unbalanced than ever, with some characters feelings completely useless against Nightmare and Astaroth spammers. As somebody who enjoys playing with Nightmare, I feel like an utter bastard for playing as such a cheap character now.
To top it all off, some fan-favorite characters were stripped for narrative purposes, and the game definitely suffers for it. Talim, a character that I spent years playing as and is very popular with tournament players, is absent and not even on the schedule for a DLC character. But you know who is a DLC character? Effing Dampiere, from the PSP entry, who nobody liked. Even this entry's version of Cassandra/Sophitia, Pyhrra, is significantly slower than her predecessors. I'm not sure who decided that this was a good roster of fighters, but they were mistaken.
That's not to say this is a bad game, by any means. In fact, it's quite enjoyable, and the online mode has definitely improved from IV. There are some fun new characters, like Ezio and Z.W.E.I., and the graphics are fantastic. When you're playing against a seasoned opponent, it's definitely more of a worthwhile experience than a lot of fighters nowadays. I'm just saying there's room for improvement. It's still worth the 60 bucks, especially if you've never played an SC game.
I loved the SC series for their inventive single player modes, I just don't have the competitive drive to want to play with strangers, but I will with friends. Thus, I am very sad to have to skip this one unless they add more SP modes via DLC, surely it couldn't have been that hard to add little intro/outros to arcade and slap something like the challenge tower from 4 in...
@VicYoungblood
You just gave a better review of SCV than this one, and it only took you a few minutes instead of 70 years, also like this one.
You just gave a better review of SCV than this one, and it only took you a few minutes instead of 70 years, also like this one.
Ever since my baby sister broke my SC2 copy I've been missing that game. I think I'm gonna get this one, looks like fun :) great review!
Yeah, still sounds like its not as good as SC or SC2. Gonna wait for a price drop.
My soul still burns for the arcade-proven entries.
My soul still burns for the arcade-proven entries.
Pretty accurate review.
One could harp on the fact that it feels like some things are missing from the game, but in the end, the gameplay is simply fun as hell and I'm having a blast just learning how to incorporate the new Brave Edge/Critical Edge system in my game.
Oh, and the AI is the closest I've ever seen in a fighter to replicating a real player. Many of the characters in Quick Battle are actually ghosts of players from the SC community and you can tell. They punish you when you leave yourself open, and they almost never miss a combo.
One could harp on the fact that it feels like some things are missing from the game, but in the end, the gameplay is simply fun as hell and I'm having a blast just learning how to incorporate the new Brave Edge/Critical Edge system in my game.
Oh, and the AI is the closest I've ever seen in a fighter to replicating a real player. Many of the characters in Quick Battle are actually ghosts of players from the SC community and you can tell. They punish you when you leave yourself open, and they almost never miss a combo.
Agreed 100%. Great review. Love the hell out of the game, but never want to play, look at or even think about the dumb story mode again.
Normally i tend to be rather forgiving, but SCV's story mode tale is the worst animu bullshit (and i love me some anime) i've had to get through in a long time.
Though for a fightan game fan, the system has more than plenty "meat and potatoes" to validate a purchase.
Though for a fightan game fan, the system has more than plenty "meat and potatoes" to validate a purchase.
Liked the series, but I'm more of a singleplayer guy. So, not in a rush to get this one unless hell freezes over and Chronicles of the Sword gets DLCd.
@EggmaniMN: It really depends on who you play as, and how you play the game. The whole thing feels a lot less open to differently play-styles than before. And hey, maybe it's just me, but I really did feel like IV was a lot faster in terms of pacing and average speed per battle. I still play SC on my Dreamcast, and it even feels a lot faster than SCV.
Incidentally, I think calling somebody flat-out wrong is kind of rude when they were just voicing their opinion. Sorry you don't agree, though.
Incidentally, I think calling somebody flat-out wrong is kind of rude when they were just voicing their opinion. Sorry you don't agree, though.
Shame they never made a proper Voldo figure. I always loved his design. Anywho, this looks like fun. Maybe I'll Gamefly it down the road.
My soul & hopes was crushed reading this review, I really liked SCIII & SCIV. I guess I wait for the price drop and spend my hard earned cash somewhere else. :(
Speed? Pssh. You just liked SCII because your cousin, Weslink, was in the Gamecube version.
Good review; I have my own opinion of how story was handled, but otherwise, I think you nailed it.
Good review; I have my own opinion of how story was handled, but otherwise, I think you nailed it.
I felt bad at first at the lack of substantial plot since I always like when developers go out of their way to justify everything they put in, but at least they spent the time balancing the game instead. That is never a bad thing.
Wes is my Favorite.
I also have enjoyed mopping the floor (no pun intended) with people with my MR Clean Create a character.
I also have enjoyed mopping the floor (no pun intended) with people with my MR Clean Create a character.
I actually wonder why they even included a story mode. Patroklos must be the most annoying and unsympathetic character I had to play as in a very long time. Hey Patroklos, your mother is an infected, boohoo!
The AI is extremely smart and makes offline matches really fun, and multiplayer is excellent. The character creator is really cool, unlike the taste of most guys using it, which leads to a crapton of lady characters with immense back problems.
The AI is extremely smart and makes offline matches really fun, and multiplayer is excellent. The character creator is really cool, unlike the taste of most guys using it, which leads to a crapton of lady characters with immense back problems.
Oh, and the game's great. I never really got into the single-player mode of any of the games besides Soul Blade, so I'm actually really glad they focused on rock-solid mechanics.
It sucks Rock, Zasalamel, and Talim isn't in the game. They also have have 3 Edge Master characters. I don't know, it just seems lacking.
I understand they had very short time frame with releasing this game. Maybe next time.
I understand they had very short time frame with releasing this game. Maybe next time.
The lack of so much as individual stories for the characters means that players might as well ignore every character who isn't one of Sophitia's children outside of using them as templates for their own original character's fighting styles.
Even if their stories were absurd,continuity clashing muddles, the Star Wars characters were given flimsy reasons to exist in the world of Soul Calibur as well as goals to give some context to their conflicts(besides collecting more clothing and jewelry). Ezio is just another skin on a a fighter in versus mode.
It looks as if Soul Calibur is eventually going to become a weapons-based Virtua Fighter.
Even if their stories were absurd,continuity clashing muddles, the Star Wars characters were given flimsy reasons to exist in the world of Soul Calibur as well as goals to give some context to their conflicts(besides collecting more clothing and jewelry). Ezio is just another skin on a a fighter in versus mode.
It looks as if Soul Calibur is eventually going to become a weapons-based Virtua Fighter.
I feel like I'm in the minority here, but I'm glad SCV added some new blood. Also, in a fighting game I only need a few modes:
-Arcade
-Practice/Tutorial
-Versus
Thanks the advent of online gaming, it's easy to focus on the most exciting aspect of the game: fighting other humans. I feel that the copious amounts of single player content was nice back in the day when all we could was host a match locally via having friends over or a large party, but now that I can challenge people internationally I'm all set.
I realize that everyone does not play online, but I have always found it weird to play a fighting game alone. While it was nice to play through arcade mode and unlock the hidden characters and arbitrary/convoluted endings before the days on online, it has a certain tedium to it now. I never felt the same sense of accomplishment smacking down the AI as opposed to beating down my very experienced friend/foe.
The WORST is when you buy a game and you want to have access to the entire roster from to get-go, only to find out that you HAVE to play through Arcade mode with every character in order to unlock half the roster. It gave me a sense of accomplishment back then, but now I just want my friends to have their character playable when we're ready for a match-up. Nothing worst than finding a character, practicing with it, going over to your friend's house and then "OOPS. I HAVEN'T UNLOCKED THEM YET. TEE-HEE".
Unless I hear about terrible imbalance in the roster, I'm all set to buy this. Of course the omitted modes and characters may be due to laziness and/or time constraints, but the former don't really mean that much to me. While I'm dreading the thought of DLC characters, this is just one of the sworded affairs of being a fighting game fan. For more info, please refer to the amount of releases for Street Fighter, Guitly Gear and King of Fighters.
-Arcade
-Practice/Tutorial
-Versus
Thanks the advent of online gaming, it's easy to focus on the most exciting aspect of the game: fighting other humans. I feel that the copious amounts of single player content was nice back in the day when all we could was host a match locally via having friends over or a large party, but now that I can challenge people internationally I'm all set.
I realize that everyone does not play online, but I have always found it weird to play a fighting game alone. While it was nice to play through arcade mode and unlock the hidden characters and arbitrary/convoluted endings before the days on online, it has a certain tedium to it now. I never felt the same sense of accomplishment smacking down the AI as opposed to beating down my very experienced friend/foe.
The WORST is when you buy a game and you want to have access to the entire roster from to get-go, only to find out that you HAVE to play through Arcade mode with every character in order to unlock half the roster. It gave me a sense of accomplishment back then, but now I just want my friends to have their character playable when we're ready for a match-up. Nothing worst than finding a character, practicing with it, going over to your friend's house and then "OOPS. I HAVEN'T UNLOCKED THEM YET. TEE-HEE".
Unless I hear about terrible imbalance in the roster, I'm all set to buy this. Of course the omitted modes and characters may be due to laziness and/or time constraints, but the former don't really mean that much to me. While I'm dreading the thought of DLC characters, this is just one of the sworded affairs of being a fighting game fan. For more info, please refer to the amount of releases for Street Fighter, Guitly Gear and King of Fighters.
So good to hear it's more like SC2 again. 3 was imbalanced as fuck and 4 was slow and sloppy. I will definitely be picking this up. Some of those costume designs are ass though. What the fuck was that gold tinfoil getup Ivy had on? She looks like the lunar lander. Hope thats not her default costume.
This review is not very helpful. You spent most of the article talking about tacked-on bonus features, and didn't really discuss the gameplay in depth (2/13 paragraphs). You said it's the first must-have, but it's February, so that's a foregone conclusion. How does the game stack up to others in the series; Is it worth investing time & money into with Skullgirls/SFxTekken/Persona4 coming pretty soon. If you're going to review a game, review it, don't just stand around telling me it doesn't have enough cutscenes.
I'm enjoying the game - but you really thought the story mode was good? I thought the whole thing (writing, scenario, line reads, glacial pace) was terrible and was glad when I was finally fighting the cheap-shit end boss and had the story mode behind me.
The character creator rocks, and quick battle mode is a lot of fun.
The character creator rocks, and quick battle mode is a lot of fun.
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