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| "A tale of swords and souls, eternally retold" |
Game: Soul Calibur V
Developer: Bandai Games
Publisher: Namco
Rating: Teen
Platforms: Xbox 360 & Ps3
MSRP: 59.99
Story
Story has always been a joke to fighting games, a detail flimsily meant to string along reasons for characters to fight one another. I suppose in a sense the fighting game industry is just like the adult film industry, its creators are assured that people never buy their products for the plot, rather for the action that unfolds. From popular gaming series like "Street Fighter" to "Tekken", no one has ever walked away from an arcade fighting game coherently understanding the plot, and "Soul Calibur V" is no exception.
From what can be gathered, the story of "Soul Calibur V" revolves around a twin brother and sister, Patroklos and Pyrrha. The two are caught on opposite sides of a war, but decide to run away together. Pyrrha gets possessed by a cursed sword and it is up to her brother to free her from its grasp. The writing for the story is unapologetic with it's cheesyness. Dialogue is bland and flat, and any attempt the game makes to stir up humor will just come off as awkward or annoying. Worst of all these offences, the main character who you are supposed to feel invested in and want to succeed, is the most obnoxious and unlikeable character the series has ever made. His personality is whiney conceited as all he does is complain. And while it is common for characters to begin this way in stories, then through the course of the plot develop and gain life lessons, the character is so obnoxious you just wont care. The voice actors themselves deliver their lines so unenthusiastically it sounds as if they are just reading lines for the first time waiting for their paycheck. In short this is a story you will want to skip through.
Again, while most fighting games don't focus on story, there is no need for it to be lacking so much here. In prior entries to the series there were mini-plots construed for every fighter in the game, and while they were short and confusing they were a lot more satisfying than the grand story that Soul Calibur V" tries to weave. The story here simply seems like a missed opportunity to engage the player in the product more, instead the player is treated to bland, forgettable, filler.
Grade: C-/D+
Gameplay
The fighting system in "Soul Calibur V" is not only life like, but beautiful and addicting. Characters realistically wield weapons with the weight and force one would expect when fighting with anything from axe's to rapiers. Unlike most fighting games however the concept of button mashing ( randomly hitting the buttons on a controller with force to win a match) doesn't translate well here. The foundation of the game is built on learning how to block and unleashing combos on your opponent, something that takes practice and dedication to master and gives a rewarding feeling when you do.
The game itself is essentially divided into three main segments. First being online mode which pits the player in fights with other players across the world in 1 on 1 combat. After engaging other opponents for a few rounds the game allows you to designate other players of your choosing as "rivals". The game then notifies you when they are on and you can challenge them for matches at anytime. There is also a leaderboard feature, which allows you to see how you rank compared to other players across the world.
The next segments are offline modes, with the first being essentially what the game is all about, fighting. You can choose to do the story campaign, or fight in classic arcade mode (A storyless mode where you choose the character you want and fight 6 opponents to win). Each of these modes are, at least where gameplay is concerned, a blast to play and will make you come back for more.
The final segment is character creation. A feature introduced in one of the early titles of the series, "Soul Calibur V" allows you to actually make a fighter of your own to bring into battle. This is probably the most exciting part of the whole game as your only limit is your own imagination. Want to make a 70's disco goddess with guns? You got it! Want to make Ronald Mcdonald?You bet you can! Character creation without a doubt is one of the features that makes the game worthwhile and any gamer should try it out at least once.
Grade: A-
Graphics & Sound
In an age of beautiful high definition graphics, every game gets closer and closer to looking more life like and Soul Calibur V is no exception. All the characters have tiny details that truly shine when playing on a High definition television and the environments are stunning to look at. The soundtrack is an orchestral score of different original pieces very fitting for cinematic fighting. Reminiscent of the sounds you would hear in Lord of the Rings or Star Wars movies. It isn't hard to guess that it was the graphics that the developers focused on most and truly, it shows.
Grade: B+
Verdict
While "Soul Calibur V" isn't a bad game, its very good, it's just not great. Too many issues are lacking for no reason other than developer laziness. And it is a shame because so much of this game felt like a missed opportunity. When compared to other games in the series it feels like this entry took a step back. Yes it is the best looking game so far, but what it makes up for in beautiful graphics it lacks in creativity and innovation.
Final Grade: B-
Is it worth your money: If you loved the Soul Calibur series in the past, I wouldn't hesitate to get this one as the game you love is hidden somewhere deep inside. But if you were a newbie to the series I would hold off on buying it just yet. I would give this game a true value of 20-30 dollars.
The fighting system in "Soul Calibur V" is not only life like, but beautiful and addicting. Characters realistically wield weapons with the weight and force one would expect when fighting with anything from axe's to rapiers. Unlike most fighting games however the concept of button mashing ( randomly hitting the buttons on a controller with force to win a match) doesn't translate well here. The foundation of the game is built on learning how to block and unleashing combos on your opponent, something that takes practice and dedication to master and gives a rewarding feeling when you do.
The game itself is essentially divided into three main segments. First being online mode which pits the player in fights with other players across the world in 1 on 1 combat. After engaging other opponents for a few rounds the game allows you to designate other players of your choosing as "rivals". The game then notifies you when they are on and you can challenge them for matches at anytime. There is also a leaderboard feature, which allows you to see how you rank compared to other players across the world.
The next segments are offline modes, with the first being essentially what the game is all about, fighting. You can choose to do the story campaign, or fight in classic arcade mode (A storyless mode where you choose the character you want and fight 6 opponents to win). Each of these modes are, at least where gameplay is concerned, a blast to play and will make you come back for more.
The final segment is character creation. A feature introduced in one of the early titles of the series, "Soul Calibur V" allows you to actually make a fighter of your own to bring into battle. This is probably the most exciting part of the whole game as your only limit is your own imagination. Want to make a 70's disco goddess with guns? You got it! Want to make Ronald Mcdonald?You bet you can! Character creation without a doubt is one of the features that makes the game worthwhile and any gamer should try it out at least once.
Graphics & Sound
In an age of beautiful high definition graphics, every game gets closer and closer to looking more life like and Soul Calibur V is no exception. All the characters have tiny details that truly shine when playing on a High definition television and the environments are stunning to look at. The soundtrack is an orchestral score of different original pieces very fitting for cinematic fighting. Reminiscent of the sounds you would hear in Lord of the Rings or Star Wars movies. It isn't hard to guess that it was the graphics that the developers focused on most and truly, it shows.
Grade: B+
Verdict
While "Soul Calibur V" isn't a bad game, its very good, it's just not great. Too many issues are lacking for no reason other than developer laziness. And it is a shame because so much of this game felt like a missed opportunity. When compared to other games in the series it feels like this entry took a step back. Yes it is the best looking game so far, but what it makes up for in beautiful graphics it lacks in creativity and innovation.
Final Grade: B-
Is it worth your money: If you loved the Soul Calibur series in the past, I wouldn't hesitate to get this one as the game you love is hidden somewhere deep inside. But if you were a newbie to the series I would hold off on buying it just yet. I would give this game a true value of 20-30 dollars.
I loved Soul Caliber. I say loved because although 3 was a great game, 4's story mode was so disappointing that I didn't even finish everybody's and didn't bother to see when the next game was coming out. Your review isn't giving me much hope that they've fixed that issue, but I'll probably pick up a used copy at some point (the graphics are too pretty and I do love the characters).
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