Developer: Project Soul Publisher: Namco Bandai, Ubisoft (EU)

Release date: 7/29/2008, 7/31/2008 (Japan, Europe)

I GOT SOUL…AND I’M SUPER BAD!- James Brown

Well well. It’s finally here. About friggin’ time, I think.

Let me start off by saying that although this newest release in the Soul Caliber world doesn’t re-define the genre, it’s an amazing play and easily the best in the series. Jesus, this almost makes you forget that SCIII even existed. Almost.

Oh, and just because there has been so mush emphasis in past months I’ll get this out of the way as well: Darth Vader and Yoda are merely alright to play as. Yoda is short, neigh-impossible to grab and has some cool jumping attacks. Vader’s moves are unfortunately based off of the original trilogy – meaning that they’re slow and completely unimpressive (but powerful – wheee). Seriously, it’s like having a palsy victim on the roster. I don’t even like typing these words because I’ve been so jazzed about these characters coming to the series. And while things like well integrated force powers work for their presence, they really don’t fit in all that well. A couple plays through is all you need. Maybe when Vader and Yoda cross platforms there will be more reason to use them.

Starkiller, the Apprentice from the upcoming Force Unleashed is moderately badass (but still make you yawn, although certainly better than the others). He moves more as I envisioned Darth Vader would. Huh. Even the stages are a little boring. All in all, disappointing. So many fan boys are Mother-F**king their computer screens right now and I’m truly sorry that it has to be that way. E-mail the developer if you like. I’m sure they’d love to hear from you.

Alright, let’s start off with the looks of the game shall we? I’m sure you can tell just by looking at the screen shots that this is the most beautiful fighting game ever made. The detail is insane and almost borders on obnoxious – a bonus character called Angol Fear is an obvious take on an anime style and she looks eerily real for God’s sake. Backgrounds are equally as impressive. The character creation is much better this time around with a lot – but not too many different items and styles to have at. And adding that personal touch to your favorite character is always a cool thing. When you’re buying out of necessity for modes such as the Tower Of Lost Souls, your created character will look, well stupid for a while. But what can you do yeah? At least this time around there aren’t any friggin’ tambourines to fight with (seriously what were they thinking?). Being able to download various costumes from past SC releases for the main characters is a wonderful nod to the days of yore.

The only complaint I have is that some sections such as bonus character endings are done in 2-D and look rough around the edges. But that’s it.

The games sounds and music are as good as they ever were. All the clangs of metal hitting metal are there as well as metal hitting flesh (though that takes some doing this time around). The voice acting is pretty damn good, if not occasional corny (of course that’s any game now isn’t it?). I prefer having Japanese voices with English subtitles myself. Although Darth Vader sounds like a really angry Japanese businessman. Which I guess is kind of funny.

The music is as grand as ever. Every battle sounds like the universe is hanging in the balance. The downloadable tracks from past SC releases is also a very welcome touch.

Now let’s get down to the meat-an-potatoes of this whole thing: gameplay. As always the hit detection is spot on. And when you don’t have to worry about things of that nature you can immerse yourself in the fast, visceral and intense fighting you’ve all grown to love. The balance is pretty damn good this time around (unlike the questionable balance from SCIII). So as long as your playing against someone of a similar experience level you can count on a fair fight.

And if you suck, well, there’s not much we can do for you.

A few nice additions have been made that up the strategy several notches. First, there is the Active Matching Battle system (AMB). You’ve seen it in various fighting games since King Of Fighters. As you work your way through some of the different modes, certain characters will join you along the way. So as you’re fighting, you can switch off with that character while the other gets to rest and fill up a bit of health. I guarantee that when things get really hard and you have a partner you’ll be switching them around like a crazy person. And to make things even more intense, they’ve implemented a Soul Gauge and Critical Finish that can turn your world on its side. Basically, your soul gauge starts off as blue, then green, and eventually red. This happens when you guard too much. When your gauge starts to flash, you’re a second or two away from a “Soul Crush” state where you get dizzied. During this time your opponent can execute a Critical Finish, which is just like a finishing move. And then your dead.

So just picture that friend of yours that always blocks until just the right moment and annoys the hell out of you. Now picture him blocking while chunks of his armor are flying off. Now picture yourself finishing him off all half naked while he swears like a trucker because he’s a dumbass.

Take that you turtling bastard, hah!

The modes are OK. But for me, this is where the problems are. First, there’s no team battle mode – which sucks gigantic balls. I really don’t see a reason to take something like that out, especially when you can swap characters around. Very annoying. Then there’s the story mode (one of my favorites), which can be finished in about five or so minutes and is amazingly disappointing. You get to fight several characters in a row per stage but it just doesn’t last long enough. So after a couple of runs through you have enough cash to purchase just about the entire roster – which kind of takes some of the zing out of going after them in the first place (giving you that kind of ‘huh’ feeling). The Tower Of Lost Souls replaces the Edge master mode of games past – it’s about sixty levels each with different challenges and rules/conditions (and it can still be insanely hard when you get a little over half way into it). It’s fun but it seems like it’s missing something – I can’t quite put my finger on it. The Museum and training modes are still there and doing their thing. The Museum’s unlockables are always fun to mess around with.

The other big thing is the multiplayer, which is a first for the series and the obvious concentration of Project Soul. Unless you have a shitty online connection the matches are quick and lag-free (not an easy feat these days). Oddly enough however, there are really only two versus modes to pick from. TWO!! You have your Standard vs. and your Special vs. (for created characters). I hope that something is planned to expand your options. Not that playing SC online is gonna get old anytime soon. But still.

Overall, if you have any love of fighting games just pick this up, grab a friend, and start hacking away. It’s a game that’s great for newbies and veterans alike. Oh, and make sure you have some time on your hands yeah? You’re going to be burning those hours up.

Durka!

Overall: 8.5 out of 10

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