Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Old-school"

Soul Calibur is the premier fighting series. The original game garnered wide critical acclaim and even earned a perfect score from Gamespot. Since then we've had a great sequel (Soul Calibur 2) and another which was met to mixed reception (Soul Calibur 3). I'm happy to say Soul Calibur IV takes the best parts of the series and makes this game the best Soul Calibur game since the original came out all those years ago. What makes Soul Calibur so much fun is the fact that anyone can play this game. Thought it takes skill to learn your fighter, it is still easy to pick up and play much like other successful fighting games (Brawl and Dead or Alive).

The gameplay is relatively the same old-school Soul Calibur formula. Each character has a different weapon from Katanas to Nun-chucks and each character has their own set of unique and odd dialogue. The object is to knock out the other fighter by depleting their healthbar or to knock them out of the ring. This is standard to any fighting games but Soul Calibur successfully is able to make this simple type of game enjoyable and addictive. This is thanks to a tight control scheme and the pick up and play style of gaming. The controls work perfectly, no changes are needed and it feels natural. Your fighter also responds well to the controls which is important as it makes you feel totally in control which is the backbone to any fighting game. My only complaint about the gameplay here is the fact that there are some fighters which are easy to button mash with for example Kilik and Maxi. Other then that Soul Calibur IV is solid gameplay throughout and is some of the strongest this generation in a fighting game.

The graphics and sound are excellent and are up to this generations standard. They are easily some of the best graphics seen in a fighting game this generation. The character models are gorgeous and the environment look great as per usual. I have no complaints about the graphics and the style this game has really works for it. The sound is also great, every clash of swords and weapons is well done and appropriately fierce. The dialogue is cheesy and often doesn't make sense but hey, that is part of the Soul Calibur charm.

There are many other notable features in Soul Calibur IV. For one the online mode is some of the best in a fighting game this generation if you don't lag. I have never lagged online in my 110 matches and it's been a great experience. It'll last a long time with the addictive level up system and finding a game is pretty easy as they kept the lobby system as simple as possible. Another feature of this game I love is the custom character creation which is excellent. You can unlock new items all the time through playing the game and you can either make your own character from scratch or customize a premade one. This is great fun and each clothing item and weapons has their own stats. With these stats you can buy powers which make the game a lot of fun. With these special powers you can buy you can explore farther and farther into the Tower of Lost Souls. The Tower of Lost Souls is brilliant and challenging, it's very fun and really satisfying. It gives the single player the lasting value. All in all Soul Calibur IV is a great value and well worth paying 59.99 for.

The only bad things about this game are the button mashing and the star wars characters. I'm not big on them and I hate the apprentice. Yoda is fine, he's quite easy to kill with skill but the apprentice is downright cheap and annoying. Other then that Soul Calibur IV is an excellent game and well worth buying. Fans of the series and newcomers all have something to find here and it's well worth purchasing.