Your Soul and The Force

Published August 4, 2008

When the original SoulCalibur®—now available on Xbox LIVE® Arcade—debuted on Dreamcast it catapulted into popularity thanks to a rare blend of dazzling graphics, considered by many to be the best of its day, and exquisitely balanced gameplay.

Welcome Hilde to the fold.

SoulCalibur® IV retains the spirit of its predecessors while adding new game modes, characters, a vast suite of customization features, and at long last, online play via Xbox LIVE. Add to that the Star Wars guest stars Yoda and "the Apprentice," and your soul will burn to get hold of this Xbox 360 offering.

Not only can you tweak the look and abilities
of every existing character but you can create
your own fighter from scratch as well.

A Word on Combat

In contrast to so many fighters, the SoulCalibur series has always focused on weapon-based combat. From Nightmare's enormous, undead-eye-bearing two-handed sword to Mitsurugi's katana, Maxi's nunchaku and a host of other equally deadly implements, SoulCalibur's combat is more akin to dueling than anything else.

This is perhaps best highlighted not by the weapons themselves, but rather the game's "rock, paper, scissors" approach to combat. Every style of attack possesses a decided strength and weakness. For example, a horizontal strike can be interrupted with a vertical strike while a vertical attack can be easily side-stepped. Likewise, the horizontal strike can catch any sidestepping opponents.

Send your opponent flying.

It's because of this simple but elegant format that every subtle strategy, devastating combination, and special attack all stem from a solid, logical foundation.

Critical Finishers

For long-time SoulCalibur players, the advent of the Soul Gauge and the resulting Critical Finish attacks mark the most noticeable new feature during play. Essentially, every time you successfully block an attack, your Soul Gauge suffers damage. Block too much and it will begin to glow red, at which time you're vulnerable to instant defeat courtesy of the spectacular new Critical Finish attacks.

This new mechanic helps force constant action by eliminating the ability to endlessly block your opponent. Fear not, though. It takes a while to wear down your Soul Gauge so strategic blocking is still very much an important part of combat.

Create Your Own

While the Soul Gauge/Critical Finish mechanic breathes new life into the combat, the new Character Creation feature opens up a world of customization options. Not only can you tweak the look and abilities of every existing character but you can create your own fighter from scratch as well. And you earn an achievement for doing both.

Mixing and matching different costumes and gear is very much its own reward, but tactically, the newfound ability to tweak a current or custom character's skills is particularly important. Each character can have up to four active skills, which, among much else, can shave health from an opponent even when they're blocking, help you counter attacks, upgrade how quickly your Soul Gauge replenishes, and drain health from your enemy with every successful slice, dice, kick, and throw.

Soul Edge and Soul Blade battle it out.

Tower of Souls

While the Story and Arcade modes pay homage to classic fighting games with their preset number of stages that help serve to unlock various characters, it's the Tower of Souls where most players will spend their offline time.

In Tower of Souls, your first choice is to ascend through the tower, tackling one, two, sometimes three floors at a time, often with multiple characters. Each floor offers a set number of enemies with unique skill sets, but it's the chance to earn treasure chests and unlock gear that gives the ascending path its intrigue.

You'll be greeted with a vague message at the beginning of each "floor," challenging you to decipher its meaning and execute its intent. Do so and you'll unlock that floor's treasure. For example, "lure them into the abyss," requires you to defeat your enemy with a Ring Out (forcing them off the stage).

Once you've successfully defeated the twentieth floor ascending the tower, you can choose to descend as well. Here, you'll take control of two characters to see how many floors you can defeat with just one life per character, and no health regeneration between rounds.

Beware his reach.

The Force and the Soul

Through some opportune rift in the space-time continuum, or, perhaps more appropriately, a trick of The Force, two Star Wars characters have invaded the SoulCalibur IV universe. With Master Yoda the life-giving Light Side is given due attention, while the anonymous "Apprentice" (from the upcoming Star Wars™: The Force Unleashed) offers an outlet for the Dark Side's unbridled wrath.

These are no mere SoulCalibur clones either. Yoda in particular plays unlike any other character before him, as both he and the Apprentice utilize entirely unique move sets, while also taking advantage of a special Force Gauge allowing them to access their mystic powers.

The Soul Burns Online

With SoulCalibur IV, the series takes its first confident steps online via Xbox LIVE. Like any other game you can play both Ranked and Player Match games. With Ranked games, you'll fight one-on-one against a single opponent to jockey for Leaderboard position.

By contrast, Player Match games are a much more social affair and can include up to four players in a single room, with two players actively fighting while the other two watch the action live in Spectator mode. When the fight ends, the winner stays to fight the next round while the next player in line steps up to challenge them.

SoulCalibur IV more than lives up to the series' reputation for accessibility, balance, and beauty as it adds subtly to the combat style while heaping on new features and characters to keep the experience fresh and exciting. Whether you're a fan of the series or hoping for the next great fighting game, SoulCalibur IV awaits.

Article by Ryan Treit