Game Review: SoulCalibur IV (360, PS3)

I HATE fighting games. I stink at them so badly and I can’t figure out all those button combinations and moves. I’m lucky if I can make Ryu poop out a fireball! However, even though I detest fighting games, I still really like SoulCalibur IV. That’s how good it is.

 

SoulCalibur IV is the latest in a series of weapons-based, 3-D fighting games from game maker Namco Bandai. Choose from more than two dozen warriors and master their unique weapons fighting styles. Star Wars fans, take note: a couple of popular characters are playable in each version-Yoda on the 360 and Darth Vader on the PS3. They don’t quite fit with the rest of the cast, but who cares? It’s fun!

While the single player modes aren’t as robust as in previous games, you still have Arcade, Story, and Tower of Lost Souls modes. The latter has you ascending or descending a tower, fighting opponents along the way as you unlock treasures and goodies. You can also play versus with a nearby buddy, but as far as multiplayer goes, online is where it’s at. Playing online is easy to do and runs pretty smooth. A few expert players I know say that sometimes, a slight lag can mess up timing on special moves, but I don’t know any different. Even though I lose a lot online, I still have had fun playing against family, online friends, and co-workers. If you’re having trouble winning online, you’re more than welcome to play against me. I guarantee you’ll win most of the time! My Xbox Live gamertag is Klonoa360.

Character creation mode is back and is more versatile and easier to use than ever before. Make a male or female character and outfit them with armor and garb, choose skin and hair color, voice pitch, and even physique. It doesn’t take very long to make a decent looking character, and you can even show them off online. I’ve made a lot of fun characters from other games and TV shows myself, including Ulala (Space Channel 5), Cammy (Street Fighter II), Reiko Nagase (Ridge Racer), Phoenix Wright and his lawyer rival Miles Edgeworth, Jimmy T. (Wario Ware), and even Iron Chef Yellow (I call him “Chef Sweaty”).

Play control is fluid and smooth. A novice fighter like myself can push buttons and directions on the joystick and still perform pretty cool attacks, and an expert player can do even better moves and timed hits for more powerful blows. New gameplay elements include breakable armor and critical finishes. The graphics are some of the best I’ve seen on the new consoles, it’s as if you could almost reach out and touch the characters. Overall, SoulCalibur IV is one of the best fighters this year. 5 out of 5 stars! (My favorite characters are Nightmare and Cassandra, if anyone cares)

Kid Factor:
SoulCalibur IV is rated T for Teen by the ESRB for Mild Language, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, and Violence. Of course the game is violent, it’s a fighter after all. But there is no blood or limbs being chopped off or anything. In fact, blows just go through the other player like butter, and only flashes of light are shown. Although some of the throw moves still look pretty painful. The partial nudity and sexual themes come from some of the female characters who don’t wear enough clothes and have ridiculous proportions (Ivy and Taki, I’m looking at you). And some of the characters occasionally curse. A few of the fighters are scary enough to give very young kids nightmares. Heck, there’s even a character named Nightmare!

But even though it’s rated T, I would still let some kids a little younger than that play it, provided I was there to supervise. However, I wouldn’t let anyone less than teenage play online. Other players are free to make whatever kinds of characters they want online, and I’m a little embarrassed to say what some of the ones I’ve seen are! So online is best for older gamers only.

No Responses to “Game Review: SoulCalibur IV (360, PS3)”

  1. This game is not as bad as everyone thinks at all. The problem with the costumes is a problem that a huge number of games have. The bouncing breasts is not much of a problem because it is in alot of games from this generation. Those are pretty much the only issues with this game. If you dont think your son, daughter,brother or sister is not ready for this game then you are being too protective of them growing up which can hurt them later. I would rate this 8 years up.

  2. DONT READ MY TOP REVIEW I JUST GOT THE GAME AND DID NOT LOOK TO INTO IT UNTIL NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Looking more into this game the only 3 characters that have innappropriate outfits are voldo ,a skeleton looking fighter that looks like he is wearing bondage gear but is absolutely not so thats not a problem he looks more like a mummy , taki, whose costume is too tight but once you really take a look at the costume, you will notice it is not that bad at all because it is not revealing anything at all really,finally ivy, whose costume is revealing and skinny but come on it does not reveal any bad parts, another costume that when you look at it you will realise it is also not much of a problem. the sight of thong wear is another no problem when you at it in person, you only see that on barely any characters and they are not so revealing like they say it is. These costumes look almost exactly the same as the costumes from soulcalibur 2, soulcalibur 3, soulcalibur broken destiny. The other outfits wont be much of a problem. Bouncing breasts are not much of a problem when you look into it trust me. This game is also extremely fun for kids, teens and adults too once you get to play this game. If you still dont think this game is right for you civilings/children then there is nothing to say but that this games reviews have been way to exagerated and your definitely wrong

  3. Amazingly fun. The nudity and themes are at low minimal at best. Costumes for the female characters are not as bad. Ivy’s first costume be questioned at first but that is the worst there is and it still is not bad compared to other games. This game is super exagerated during it’s reviews. Really it is not bad at all. Not once through the game do you see any bad areas of female or male characters.The outfits in character creation don’t reveal anything. You can barely see breasts move on female characters and some not at all.The only real concern with the game is the violence which is the main sapect of the game. Ages 7 up.

  4. BEST FIGHTER EVER. My favorite fighting games used to be the street fighter series and the tekken series until I played this game.Violence is the biggest problem with this game because that is what the game is, fighting. There is no nudity or close to nudity in this game. Sexual themes are a rating because of ivy’s first costume which is the ony costume that is visibly different but does not reveal any parts that are wrong and is over exagerated on the way it looks when they review this game. There is nothing else wrong with this game.I would rate this game ages 5+ up and if your kid is protected from violence ages 9+ up.

  5. DEAD OR ALIVE 4 !!!!This game is just like dead or alive 4. Dead or alive 4 is also not a bad game. Dead or alive 4 is one of the most exagerated game I know like Soulcalibur 4. Dead or alive 4 is good game. Its not nearly as bad as you think. Male characters are more worse than female characters. They are left topless and have over exagerated muscles and walk like macho men.Female characters dont reveal anything with thier costumes. The females act really feminine ( I love flowers, dont leave your my friend, LOL, OMG) that kind of feminine but dont say anything wrong. Male characters act macho( I can beat you, you want to mess with me ,I am going to knock youdown) nothing wrong so it should be rated T because the violence is extreme and is the worst part about this game. No nudity in this game or sexual acts. JUST VIOLENCE AND LOTS OF IT!!!!!! Ages 8+ because of violence

  6. Check ou soulcalibur 2, soulcalibur, soulcalibur broken destiny, and soulclibur 3 the costumes to soulclibur 4 is similar to to the costumes in those games. And those games are good and popular games to have. NOT AN INNAPROPRIATE GAME IS IT? NO IT IS NOT.

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