Overpriced, overhyped, over too soon (Soul Calibur (DC))

Member Name: Nadal

Product:	Soul Calibur (DC)
Date:	10/08/01 (54 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: graphics

Disadvantages: to complex to put in this box

As this is an old game, i'm going to make this one short.

As usual i'll start with the good.

The graphics are simply beautiful to look at. Being a 3D fighter, the animation is smooth as silk. It is also emulates real martial art styles pretty much perfectly. The musical score is full bodied and suits the mood of the game.

Gameplay wise, each of the characters holds a unique array of moves, almost too many for casual gamers to memorise and incorporate compitently in battle. This is a good thing however, for it should give depth, which is crucial for a fighting game. Moves are easy to perform and look good which obviously attracts the casual gamer. Fights are fast paced, the new 8-way run/side-step manouvre helps this, as does the extremely fast 'get up' times once you have been knocked down. There are also many characters , the positives for this game are many, as denoted by All the other reviews.

I prefer to centre my review around the negative aspects of the game, as it is this that is of importance.

All of the seceret characters are alternate versions of the original line up. This is lazy, for exaple; why would one choose lizard man, when his moves are almost exactly the same as sophitia's?

Moves damage is not distributed appropriately. For exaple simple slash moves do large amounts of damage, and any character with a sword can chop about a 1/4 or a 1/5 of a life bar off by simply slashing away 2 or 3 times with one button, no special moves required. Basic slashes are also extremely fast and have good range also, thus reducing the need to master and rely on special moves which are only marginaly more powerful, yet much slower in their execution.

This game requires far less skill than namco's superior game tekken, for fighters get back on their feet far too quickly, juggle combo's are ineffective due to the strange ability to control the path of flight once knocked up,
and the 8-way run makes it far too easy to dodge moves. Parrying in this game are far too easy to do also because a large majority of basic moves (eg a simple slash or kick) for all of the fighters has the same execution length. There is no sense of difference when parrying different opponents. Once the rythm is realised, it becomes effortless to parry a barrage of attacks. The problem is that it is far too easy to be relentless in attack, and similarly far too easy to be relentless in defence.

The game appeals to the casual player. It is hyped as the fighting game that will draw in new fans of the genre. It will, simply because it looks great and is easy to pick up and play. Perseverence however reveals that it is an unbalanced game. Mastery of a character is possible, however it wont be evident when playing a casual gamer, for little tactics are required due to the problems listed above. It becomes a race to pull of the quickest moves, a test of reflex, and not neccesarily skill required to be good at fighting games. This may bring gamers together, but it frustrates those who love and persevere with fighting games. There is simply little reward for mastring a character or displaying tactics in a fight.

The great thing about games like the streetfighter series or the KoF series is that at a high level, a bout is like a game of chess. one sloppy fireball leaves a window of opportunity for your opponent to punish you accordingly. Applying constant pressure through continuous attack required a complex understanding of the game physics and mastery of all of a characters moves, each integral for success in any given situation. Games like the virtua fighter or tekken series are reveared amongst gamers because of the skill required keep an opponent on the floor, or to juggle them and so on.

In great fighting games, there should be scope for individual fighting styles to be adopted. For exaple, when i play 3D fighting games, i attempt to keep
my opponent on the floor. Some poeple are random with their attacks and use surprise, some use reflex and manouvrability for a cheap throw based style, the list goes on and on. This isn't present in soul calibur.

Unfortunately soul calibur wont be played consistantly for long. For the casual gamer doesn't hold enough interest to persevere, and those who do, will discover little beneath the ocular surface to hold their interest.

Summary: