I have been playing the Soulcalibur series since we were blessed with Soul Edge in the arcades back in the mid 90s. It was a delight, but not as easy to walk up and play as was games like Street Fighter II and Tekken. However, it devoured my quarters for a while and then disappeared into my gaming past. Later, I played a few rounds of Soulcalibur when it arrived on the scene. Again it was okay, but did not satisfy my fighting game hunger.
A few years later I bought a Sega Dreamcast on launch day and one of my game purchases was Soulcalibur. All I can say is wow! Here was an example of an arcade game done right as a console game. The graphics were polished and new modes were added. Years later I played Soulcalibur II on the Xbox and found it pleasing, but once I went back to the Dreamcast version of Soulcalibur I was shocked. The DC version of Soulcalibur looked and played better than the Xbox version of it’s sequel.
Fast forward to a few months ago, I bought Soulcalibur IV for my Playstation 3 and expected great things. I believed that Namco-Bandai would deliver great things with their next-gen debut of the Soulcalibur series and they did. At first, I was skeptical about adding Star Wars characters into the mix, we all know that a light-saber would cut through any sword even the Soulcalibur itself. However, SCIV delivered. The science fiction classic characters added to the appeal in that they did not over-power our already established cast, nor were they pathetic. Darth Vader looms large over his victims and dispatches them with a mix of cunning speed and beautiful combos. The Apprentice is fast and has some of the best new moves in the game. As with Darth Vader you must use the force wisely or else become dizzy and susceptible to any onslaught the enemy wishes to unleash.
The new modes are worth playing not just because they are great experiences, but also unlock new gear and gold. The Tower of Lost Souls is a great way to provide both an endless mode and a quest mode. I enjoy how the game design team has hidden away treasures here that can be unlocked once certain requirements are met. The way that the Tower is set up will have players coming back again and again until it is complete or as near as possible (some challenges are very hard to acquire). Coming back to the Tower is also the only way that you are sure to fill your museum (which feels a lot like achievements on the Xbox 360).
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