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To a
lot of people, the
Soulcalibur
series is in the
middle of the pack
when it comes to
fighting games. To
me, it’s in the top
three of those
series all-time.
It’s been too
consistent not to be
considered a great
series. The graphics
are always stunning,
the gameplay is
always decent but
not overly
complicated, and the
cut-scenes and voice
work is filled with
unintentional
comedy. That’s my
favorite part about
the all of these
games. The
announcer’s initial
line alone has the
capability to make a
grown man with any
kind of sense of
humor giggle like an
eight year old. I
love the
Soulcalibur
series, it’s fun to
play and it never
takes itself too
seriously.
Soulcalibur V
is another great
addition to the
series of games.
Soulcalibur
is basically a
simplified fighting
game. You can do
three different
attacks with very
little switch-ups
when it comes to
special moves and
combinations. You
guard, choose the
right time to
attack, then attack.
Soulcalibur V
relies on this
control system but
with a simplified
special attack
control called the
Critical Edge
System; you can do a
quick button combo
to do a special move
that chains some
cool attacks
together. Not a ton
of energy is taken
from these attacks
however and you’ll
more than likely use
Critical Edge attack
as a cool change-up
opposed to relying
on them extensively
to swing momentum
and win a match.
In
addition to the
revamped special
attack system, the
Project Soul team
added in ten new
characters including
Patroklos and Pyrrha
(children of
Sophitia’s from
previous games) and
best of all, they
incorporated Ezio
Auditore from the
Assassin’s Creed
games into the game.
He’s an awesome
character to play as
and he’s got a great
set of moves. The
new additions are
cool- especially
Ezio. Combine the
new characters with
a fun creation mode
and there will be no
gripes about
playable fighters.
The
single player modes
in
Soulcalibur V
take a different
focus than with
previous games in
the series. Instead
of a large focus on
the Arcade Mode, a
new Story Mode has
been added in,
making it the
priority for solo
gaming. The story
mode is addictive to
play through the
first time with a
decent enough
narrative and some
decent story
telling. It’s
unfortunate that
they relied on a
storyboard technique
with voice-over on
top of it to tell
the story. But it’s
understandable
because that would
have been a ton of
cut scene work to do
it correctly. The
storyboard technique
works well enough;
it’s just a bummer
that’s what the
developers had to
rely on. The story
centers around
Patroklos- a
horrible name for
the main character
in any game- trying
to find his sister
then get his revenge
on the malfested
(people who’ve come
into contact with
the Soul Edge Sword)
for killing his
mother. It’s not an
amazing story and
the story isn’t told
in an amazing way
but it’s a nice
start and it sets up
a good next game.
The other single
player mode that’s
back is the arcade
mode. It’s been
trimmed considerably
though. Instead of
going through a ton
of matches to finish
the mode with
different
characters, you just
go through six.
After you finish,
you don’t get a
story- you just win,
that’s pretty much
the end of it.
The
single player modes
are fine. They’re
slightly
disappointing
because even though
there’s a story mode
there’s not as big
of a focus on
story-telling. The
multi player modes
are where it’s at
with
Soulcalibur V.
There’s some strong
online play to be
had with the game,
just like there’s
been in the past.
Online matches are a
blast and the
ability to join and
create lobbies and
to tag your friends
as rivals is a cool
edition. You can
even play in a three
way game and one
player can watch the
other two players
fight and then face
the victor. Online
play with
Soulcalibur V
is a blast and the
new additions more
than make up for the
slights when you’re
playing the game in
single player modes.
Soulcalibur V
has its advantages
and disadvantages.
The single player
modes are fun but
only to play through
once or twice. The
online/multiplayer
modes will have you
playing this title a
good amount if
you’re crazy about
fighting games. It’s
not perfect, but
Soulcalibur V
is an enjoyable
experience.
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