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Thursday 21 February, 2008
Gameplay
So we all know that no one plays Soul Calibur for the Arcade mode. Arguably, highlights of the series have always been the vs mode and the story modes. The vs mode doesn't need much analysis; it feels just as balanced and tight as playing against the computer, but with a lot more smack talk and joking. And of course etiquette--if you know someone out of the ring, you have to jump off after them.
But, personally, the story mode has always been what drew me in. The classic Tales of the Soul mode is back, wherein you can actually learn a thing or two about the dark, yet quirky, version of feudal Europe that the game takes place in through text, (often interactive) cutscenes, and regular fighting battles. Personally, I've been engrossed in the story of the Faust-like Siegfried since I first played Soul Blade, and I was overjoyed to find that his story has more or less come to dominate the central narrative.
In addition to this is a new game mode, Chronicles of the Sword, which allows the player to create a new character and journey through a brand new fictional world and storyline completely unrelated to the original Soul Calibur world. The gameplay is something of bastard child between an RTS and a fighting game--you control an army of a few characters, and attempt to defend and capture nodes from the enemy army, with the option of resolving actual combat through fighting sequences identical to the arcade and vs mode battles. Similar to the other kind of "alternate" game modes in previous installments of the series, it's not the kind of deep experience that you'd expect from a standalone RTS, but it is pretty nice for something tacked onto a fighting game.
Design
As already discussed, the core engine is pretty well balanced, feels fast, intense, and violent. While I do give this game a hard time for being anime styled (what can I say, it's Namco) it's worth noting that Soul Calibur does try laudably to not stray too far into the zone of cartoonery that only the Japanese can truly understand. There's a good mixture of realistic fighting styles and moves, over the top anime style combat, and some dark twisted stuff thrown in for good measure (seriously, Voldo, how are you so amazing?) The "other" game modes provide an interesting alternative to the brainless button-mashing of the arcade and vs mode, though often get kind of repetitive.
Perhaps the thing that sets this game apart from other fighters the most, or at least from previous installments of the series, is the character customization option. Being able to build a character from scratch is a refreshing change of pace from seeing the same vertically haired anime stereotypes leaping across the screen, and there is a special kind of satisfaction to seeing the character that you made yourself (often in your own likeness) putting the hurt on the stock cast or, better yet, the character someone else made themselves (often in their own likeness). Also, the fact that fact that you can unlock more items to customize your character, as well as earn the cash to buy those items, in virtually any game mode means that you can simultaneously try out new characters, explore new storylines, and practice and work your way towards making your pet character look as awesome as possible.
While this game doesn't do anything revolutionary for the fighting genre as a whole, what it does, it does well.
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