Lightsabers, pirates, ninjas… what’s not to like?

Let’s face it; have you ever anticipated a proper story in a fighting genre? It’s a game which core playing style consists of senseless physics-defying madness between opponents with sponge-cake armour and weapons as blunt as a deflated football.
What more can you expect?

So, why should Namco’s latest addition to the Soul Calibur series be any different? Well, for one, they have embellished their formula with various new fighting mechanics like soul gauges and critical finishes that can be settled by the Ancient Art of Button-Mashing.

The Written Aspect

For the past four games Namco has graced us with an overall plot which revolves around a conflict between ‘the evil sword with the giant eye’ and the ‘good sword with the sultry voice.’ Both of these baneful blades, no matter how many times they were destroyed, have always resurrected from the dead for an all-new carbon-copy sequel.

This time, however, the game introduces us to the mighty blacksmith of these mystical swords.

Enter Algol, a power-crazed god who decides that the best way to avenge the death of his son would be to beat the knickers out of every soul he meets. Fortunately for him, he need not look far, for in comes a myriad of heroes and villains fumbling about themselves to get their hands on the swords, whether to destroy it, conquer the world, protect their country, raise a family, etc.

Each of them with personal motives but they are so poorly displayed through scrolls of text and flow-charts that you decide to skip all the pleasantries and get on with the battle.

The ‘story mode’ of the game is nothing more than a disjointed sequence of battles, with loading screens fulfilling the roles of segues, until you defeat the big baddie and the character does whatever he wants. The endings for each character don’t bring much impact because it is all too predictable.

The Technical Aspect

Now we come to the gist of the whole thing, Soul Calibur 4’s shining apple – the game play. Like I said before, the game’s aspect of fun lies in the various methods and strategies of downing your opponent, whether through carefully timed attacks or an all-out flashy combo.

The difficulty and playing style of the game scales from ‘mindless button-mashing’ to ‘tedious brain-boiling’. While randomly pushing the buttons can result in a victory, you can also flaunt your superiority with some quick flashy combos, with the latter being the more satisfying result.

Thus, this interpretation of style appeals to a much larger audience, roping in both the causal and the hardcore gamers. Plus, with the depth of the combat, you would find that the employment of strategy really goes a long way in this game, busting the myth that the key to victory lies in throwing the most punches. Toss in a wide scope weaponry like pistol-swords and umbrellas, and you have yourself a game easy to recommend.

The replay ability does not stop there. The predecessor of Soul Calibur 4 had included a Character Creation system, which was fun, but it also seemed ultimately pointless until you find out that you can share your works of art with your friends online. Your creation’s fighting style is already based on pre-existing ones; the costumes and props are the ones you play around with. Besides, what could be more fun than seeing yourself on screen performing ninjitsu on a morbidly obese grim reaper? Or even Mario?

If you’re still not convinced to buy this game, or if you just decided to bypass three-quarters of the review, I have fortunately saved the best for last. Perhaps the most amusing, if not laughable new addition is the guest appearances of the warriors from a galaxy far, far away. Think Yoda and Darth Vader.

These Jedi makes full use of the Force with lambasted over-powered moves. For example, Vader can grip his helpless opponents in an invisible chokehold and hurl them straight into the maw of his red boomstick. Yoda, our favourite green killing machine, is the strongest, not because of his nimbleness and acrobatic agility but rather his diminutive stature. Most of your attacks would swerve right above him, giving him a cheap advantage. Do I hit low and be vulnerable to his attacks, or do I guard and risk a throw combo?

In Conclusion

Soul Calibur 4 shines in many areas, including character customization, a fantastically-rendered fighter roster and the online mode. However, if are not a fan of this fighting genre, you probably would not be welcome here.

Rating: ★★★★☆ -- Good