


Previous SoulCalibur games have always been filled with unlockables. There are other modes: the requisite multiplayer matchmaking, Quick Match mode and the excruciatingly difficult Legendary Souls mode all extend playtime, as do the often hilarious character creation tools, but it feels like so much more is missing. The result is disappointing and brief and seems, above all, unfinished.
SOULCALIBUR 2 INTRO SERIES
Instead of working through every character on the roster in turn, the action focuses on three new and largely forgettable characters while the story is told through a disjointed series of mission menus, storyboards and cinemas. SoulCalibur V has the map, but little else, in common. I was initially excited to see that, at least superficially, this story mode resembled the story mode from SoulCalibur 2, a wonderfully executed mix of challenges, lost-in-translation narrative and bizarre unlockables laid out on an old-fashioned world map. I cut through the six opponents in as many minutes. He played exactly the way more than fifteen years of SoulCalibur games had trained me to expect.
SOULCALIBUR 2 INTRO MOVIE
The first thing I did – after sitting through the very sparkly intro movie and navigating the menus that look and feel about as polished as the ones you might find on a Dreamcast emulator disc – was run through arcade mode with good old Mitsurugi. SoulCalibur 2 is the high water mark of the series and, in many ways, SoulCalibur V feels like coming home from college - only to find your parents moved to a different house while you were away. While I can easily thrash all but the deftest of my friends when I get on a tear, I am nowhere near masochistic enough to attempt online play. I have played all of the SoulCalibur games at great length but have balked at the labyrinthine plot and more arcane facets of the challenge modes. I exist somewhere between the two polarities. To be a highly motivated SoulCalibur player, however - one who is invested in the minutiae of the game’s baffling storyline or committed to dominating the hurricane of different game modes in any given release – requires a special kind of gamer. There is something universally appealing about beating your friends with an improbably large sword over a few beers. Mitsurugi is triumphant yet again.Īt their most basic, SoulCalibur games are not an acquired taste. I grab her shoulder and unleash a series of attacks that light her on fire and send her into the air. A downward slash, as she picks herself up again. The katana stabs out, knocking her down once more. Groaning, she rolls over and gets to her feet. Before she lands, I slash her with two lightning fast horizontal cuts. The katana flashes out of its scabbard, slicing into my opponent and knocking her into the air. I guarantee it.A SoulCalibur fan considers the brand new SoulCalibur V.įorward, forward Y. Once you discover the exquisite, artful fighting game that lies underneath, you'll be thanking yourself for the best $20 you ever spent.

It helps to have a friend (or friends, preferably) to learn with however, seeing as the computer opponents have no real gray-area - it's either easy as pie or tough as nails. Feints, fakes, deception: these all play a part in the vast mechanics of SoulCalibur 2. Their speed, their attacks, their all adds up eventually, and I found myself playing less of a fighting game and more like playing virtual chess moving at dozens of maneuvers at once. Once you familiarize yourself, you'll begin to see the small nuances of each character. This may seem very daunting at first, but trust me on this, this game is far more satisfying than the Tekken or Dead Or Alive series.
SOULCALIBUR 2 INTRO HOW TO
Then you learn how to properly evade and defend against these moves, and launch appropriate counterattacks. Dig deeper and you find ways to get around those moves (Hands down, 8-Way Run is the best innovation in fighting games since the addition of a 3rd dimension, period). Scratch the surface and you find cool moves. At its core, it's a 3-Dimensional fighting game. Underneath the simple exterior lies a game that is so strategically deep and rewarding that I cannot stop playing it for more than a few days at the most. If you find yourself hating the SoulCalibur series from the get-go, you just simply need to be more patient.
