The world s premier weapon based fighting game franchise returns to deliver a true next generation fighting experience. Set to finally reveal the origins of the Soulcalibur saga, Soulcalibur IV features both new and familiar faces from across the galaxy, seeking the rival swords for vengeance, honor and salvation.<br><br>In a monumental alliance, legendary Star Wars icons, Darth Vader and Yoda invade the Soulcalibur universe! Soulcalibur IV continues the series tradition of reinventing, enhancing and breaking new boundaries. Now the world s favorite fighting game redefines the entire genre for the next generation of both new, and fiercely loyal Soulcalibur fans.<br><br><b>Format:</b> XBOX 360<br> <b>Genre:</b> FIGHTING (VG)<br> <b>UPC:</b> 722674210058<br> <b>Manufacturer No:</b> 21005
Features:
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Unleash the Force: Iconic Star Wars characters, Sith Lord Darth Vader and Jedi Master Yoda challenge the Soulcalibur fighters for the future of the powerful swords. Experience the legendary Soulcalibur level of graphics now in 720p HD resolution for the fi
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Take the Fight Online: For the first time ever, fight opponents around the world online in multiple versus modes.
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The Ultimate Roster: Battle with classic Soulcalibur character, exciting newcomers or customize your own unique fighter.
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New Fighting System Elements: Exciting new fighting game elements including the Active Matching Battle System and the ability to execute devastating critical strikes.
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Multiple Gameplay Modes: Experience Soulcalibur with Story, Arcade, Tower of Reminiscence, Training Practice, Character Creation, and Museum View modes.
Average Customer Review:
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Good game, nice franchiseJun 23, 2010 This game, like other games from Namco, has amazing graphics. Trust me. If you want to see awesome landscapes and fighting environments, this is your game.
About the game, it kind of disappoints me that the single mode has only 4 fights. So you can finish the game in 5 minutes, even in a hard difficulty.
You can create your own fighters and use them online. That's an amazing feature.
Amazon provided the game in excellent shape, very fast shipping and awesome quality of the product. I recommend the game and definitely buy it here at Amazon !
As Much a Pseudo-RPG as a Fighter, and a Massive Downgrade from III.Jun 11, 2010 While this game doesn't represent the very worst experience I've had this gen, it almost assuredly is at least the second biggest letdown... It's so shameful however, as in development this game seemed to offer trademark Soul Calibur gameplay that was simply a bit modernized and of course included some guest characters to attract casual fans... The game almost exclusively appeals to the casual and/or RPG market though, which is my primary gripe with it...
While my greatest worry with reference to the game's reported development was the "critical finish" system, this gameplay mechanic is actually very peripheral and difficult to achieve, and so that was one thing I was relieved about upon playing this game... What's not made very explicit within any official review I read (most notably IGN's own review) is how much effect character customization has on general gameplay. Representing one of the bad turns (if not the very worst) of creative direction of III to IV, rather than just affecting the aesthetic, a character's equipment now grants them "skill points" or what's generally equivalent to attribute points within most RPGs... There are four categories which these points can count towards, and depending how many points you have within each one you are able to select specific skills which will grant different exotic effects to whatever character the points correspond with.... Conceptually this might seem cool - especially to the markets I referenced earlier - but anyone expecting a pure/competitive worthy/balanced fighter will immediately be turned off. Referencing things objectively, there are a few modes that don't have equipment have any weight over gameplay, though exclusively referencing singleplayer, the only mode that such an idea can be said about is by far the most barebones.
With reference to the game's singleplayer, there's very little special about this game... As just mentioned, there is a very basic "arcade mode" present; although it's extremely basic this will probably be the favored mode of anyone who considers themself specifically a fighting fan rather than just a general gaming fan. While I don't dislike the arcade mode, in many ways it seems like players are discouraged from playing that mode rather than all others, with very few achievements derived from playing it, and generally speaking the least money gained by playing it once through...
To reference the other modes, of course there's a story mode, but unlike its predecessor, it's incredibly barebones... Rather than be granted plot lines in the form of visual exposition, the player is granted a wall of text which is pretty much the entirety of a "story's" involvement with story mode... As you face characters within said mode, some will make oblique references to key character traits and/or plot elements, but that's all that can be said aside from the characters' endings, most of which are also very oblique and really lacking in emotionality and/or anything generally compelling. All of said statements are intensified contrasted with the greatness that was Soul Calibur III's "Tales of Souls" mode, offering some RPG-like single-player progressive options, text which would further the story in a very logical and successive manner, and could be read completely optionally between each stage, (rather than the single wall encountered within SC IV's mode) and of course the event battles each with specialized dialogue corresponding with each character uniquely... Said mode was truly iconoclastic by the standards of the fighting genre's story involvement, and it's a travesty that Namco couldn't have developed a "story" mode more closely following within this one's footsteps...
Of all the singleplayer modes, the one that was obviously focused on the most while the game was being developed was the "Tower of Lost Souls" mode... Here the equipment effects prove the most prominent, and the player is mandated to customize their character if they actually want to stand a chance of doing well within this mode... Frankly I think I've stated enough of my opinions on the equipment, which overall correlate with my opinions towards this mode, though some people may derive some enjoyment from it if they actually enjoy customization and/or want a genuine challenge (albeit a challenge that isn't so because of well coded AI or any other reason more befitting of a fighting game...).
By most gamers' standards, a fighting game's singleplayer modes are mitigated by its multiplayer, though for the most part, the criticisms still stand... There's a versus standard mode, which is the game at its core... While this is still prefereable to the "special" mode, the animation looks choppy contrasted with III, the game seems even more imbalanced than before, and overall it's generally a let down. Of course the special mode is the game with weapon effects incorporated, and once again is most heavily catered towards the RPG crowd... As if the general low quality of said multiplayer modes weren't bad enough, the game's netcode seems to be the worst I've experienced aside from pretty much any SNK game... Even on the highest quality connections, (those with ratings of "5" or "blue) I experienced a very large amount of input delay... When I hosted matches, this effect seemed even more prominent (how this is the case I have no idea, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't imagining that). Many hardcore fighting fans will state the fact that a player shouldn't judge a game's quality by the standards of its online modes, but considering how many achievements are tied with online play, my experiences were so bad even while hosting or on very optimal connections, and that this game is developed by major developer Namco, I think said point is definitely worthy of mentioning.
There's a bit more to games than gameplay, that much is true, but generally speaking Soul Calibur IV doesn't deliver there either... A lot of the stages that recurred from III feature themes similar in nature to said game, but overall of lesser quality. Overall the voice acting is lower quality as well, with most returning actors voicing their characters flatter than before... I reluctantly state this, as said person is also my generally favorite voice actress, but Jennifer Hale's new style of manic voice for Tira is beyond awful... I'm assuming this was a director's decision, so I don't blame her specifically, but I found the character very compelling within III and I can't say that with reference to her incarnation within IV (within that vein the new style of character design is also way too drastically different, but said point is kind of pedantic I'll admit). The only characters' voices I think are improved from III to IV are Nightmare's and Setsuka's, (due to the heavy distortion of the voice, I don't know if Nightmare's voice actor is the same within both games) and the only character who has a voice on par with their incarnation within III is Siegried (the pitch is notably different, but for whatever reason I think both voices fit the character).
To reference a few arbitrary things, the Star Wars characters are blatant gimmicks, but I think most people who've played pretty much any SC game before this one can realize that for themselves. To give the game its deserved credit, I can't complain at all about the game graphically... The facial models look incredibly lifelike, (frankly I do find myself attracted to a few of the girls in the game, despite the fact I know they are not real) the backgrounds are incredibly lush and vibrant, and it's quite possibly the very best looking game I've played on the 360 overall... Graphics are least important when it comes to game design though, and so even this credit I'll give it will not be enough for me to grant this game a greater than mediocre score... With the quality of this iteration considered, I really hope Namco can salvage the franchise and deliver a truly worthy successor to III, but it seems like Namco is deliberately making Soul Calibur casually appealing, and if that's their choice as to where to take the franchise, I doubt my hopes will ever become realized....
Excellent! A+May 31, 2010 Eu sempre acompanhei o crescimento deste jogo desde seu lancamento no PS1.Agora ele ficou maravilhoso e ainda bem que há para xbox 360. Parabéns a Namco e amazon por disponibilizar a venda de jogos para outros países.
Great game at a great priceMay 06, 2010 Pros: Plenty of character choices, fun strategic fights, customizable characters, solid multiplayer, and pretty graphics.
Cons: Collecting all the items requires a lot of patience and a cool head, difficulty often varies from a walk in the park to impossible, and some of the characters are very questionable or annoying (Voldo particularly).
First things first, I am not a fighting game enthusiast. In fact, I tend to avoid them. This is mostly because I don't like losing, so I get stuck in a perpetual lose-lose scenario. I don't play them because I lose, and I lose because I don't play them... Soul Calibur II was probably the first fighting series I didn't mind losing at. So when it came time to expand my gaming library, I decided to go with something other than a FPS and got Soul Calibur IV... I wasn't able to stop playing for two weeks.
Characters
The characters are fun, detailed, and seem very balanced - besides yoda who can't be grabbed and is too short for high attacks. Each of them retained the same moves as the first game, which isn't a bad thing. Well, except when I invited my friends over for a couple matches and was surprised to find that they were at home enough to beat me even though I had two weeks of practice.
Sound
The music in this game is nice. I'm very fond of the character customization music. The rest sets a good mood and it doesn't really get annoying, but seems forgettable. Voices on the other hand can get terribly annoying, the high pitched phrase "JUST KIDDING" sends shivers down my spine. Irritating may come from only a select few characters, but a lot of it doesn't make any since.
Gameplay
You get all your standard combos with additional parrying, grappling, and countering as well as a soul gauge that allows special abilities if full or special finishers against you if you block too often and empty it. Customizable armor is also available for almost all characters, adding quite a bit of interest in the form of character creation. Everything put together makes for some surprisingly strategic and enjoyable battles.
Design
The majority of my play time resided in a mode called Tower of souls. It is by this mode that you gain all the equipment to customize your characters. You ascend the tower battling groups of enemies one at a time, often followed by a boss character at the final stage. Clearing the challenges can be hard when your characters have a health bar that remains damaged from each progressive stage, but this does add a layer of strategy when you can equip your characters with abilities and armor to fit each situation. It starts getting frustrating when you consider items that are only obtained only when you perform a specific task like not taking damage and the probability of ring out\death over 9 fights and you'll find yourself replaying some stages 20 times or more. There is also a lengthy screen that comes up when you fail, making me wish there was a way to open the menu and retry mid-battle.
Overall
Despite some of it's less enjoyable moments, there isn't many fighting games that I've enjoyed as much or spent as long playing as this one. If you like fighters and have a little money to spare for what is now a very cheap game, I say go for it. Just be warned you might go a little crazy if you try to get all the items. I give it a 8.8/10
Take the Fight Online!Mar 29, 2010 Soul Calibur 4 - Circa 2008
GOOD:
- Good/Tight controls.
- Overall balanced gameplay.
- Tons of different and unique fighters.
- Minutes to learn years to master type gameplay.
- Lots content to unlock such as new Fighters, costume pieces, stages, and extra modes of play - this might keep you busy for some time.
- All returning characters from Soul Calibur 1, 2 and 3 have their move sets/styles upgraded and slightly changed sometimes.
- Two new Soul Calibur fighters Hilde a woman Knight who uses a lance and a new playable boss called Algol. Also note there is a few bonus characters designed by Japanese manga artists and the inclusion of two Star Wars characters.
- Build your own unique characters from tons of costume items (and you can change the colors on any one of these items as well). You can pretty much make any character you want. Also you can edit the clothing of any of the regular fighters as well.
- Finally be able to play Soul Calibur online over Xbox Live (note this is only for Gold users).
BAD:
- A lot of the cheesy/easy win moves discovered in Soul Calibur 3 are back and there are some new ones are well. This is really a pain online and worse with laggy.
- The story is total nonsense and thankfully be just ignored.
- Laggy online, while this is more of an issue with your internet connection if you don't have a strong connection your gonna see lots of lag online.
IF IT FITS YOUR TASTE:
- Has medieval theme, both European and Chinese/Japanese.
- Not traditional fighting game in the sense that there is no real combos and or supers, and there is limited projectile moves.
- Fight with weapons, like a 3D Samurai Showdown type of game or a Tekken/Dead or Alive with weapons.
- A 3D fighting game that really uses the 3D space (with eight way run).
- Build your own unique characters (pretty much costume only, you pick a pre-set fighting style) and fight with them in Versus, Tower, as well as online modes, (Lots of the new items and costume parts should be unlock to really get a better selection of costume accessories, not much to pick at default).
- Have to unlock most of the game content like fighters, stages and items through many different modes of play, which takes time and skill (some people do not have either and will be upset with this).
- Tower modes help you earn in-game money to unlock stuff. This tower mode is broken down into two different areas. The first Ascending the tower has you playing matches against the CPU in harder and harder matches and you can save and rest at the end of every level. Descending now has you doing a similar trial but you can not save after each level, since it more like endurance encounters.
- Earn in-game money (like in Tower mode and playing ranked online matches) to unlock tons and tons of stuff from new fighters to new costume items for your custom character, or art work and videos.
- A new finished system makes it so if you get enough powerful hits on your opponent with our being interrupted you can now do a splashy finisher type move to them, wining the match.
GAME ITS MOST ASSOCATED TOO:
- Soul Calibur 3
- Tekken 6
- Samurai Showdown
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- The Premium edition comes with the game, a download code for more exclusive costume items, a real world t-shirt (with Yoda on it), a mini comic, art book and it all comes in a metal case for save keeping.
- There are a few download packs for this game in terms of new costume pieces and weapons, but be careful some downloads for this game are nothing more then unlocks for content already found within the game. There is also a download the add music from the first Soul Calibur game from Dreamcast.
- There are two Star Wars characters in Soul Calibur 4, Yoda the little green Jedi master from the movies and The Apprentice from the game Star Wars: Force Unleashed. These new Star Wars characters can use Force abilities (limited use energy use but they can recharge). There is no real good reason (story wise) for these characters to be in this game.
- Darth Vader from the Star Wars movies and who was once only exclusive on the PS3 version is now a Download for the Xbox 360 version.
based on 62 reviews
