Soul Calibur IV

Soul Calibur IV is a video game that consists of 10 releases

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Soulcalibur IV's sharp fighting is offset by a dull set of single-player modes and lame guest characters.

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Soulcalibur IV is the fifth installment in Namco's Soul series. It features Darth Vader (PS3), Yoda (360), and The Apprentice as guest characters from Star Wars fame.

Overview

Namco's Soul series returns with Soulcalibur IV, which was released on July 29, 2008 in North America, and July 31, 2008 in Japan, Europe and Australia. This is the first game in the series to feature online play. It features all the familiar modes: Versus, Special Versus, Story, Arcade, Training, Create a Soul, and newly featured Tower of Lost Souls.The game also introduces several new concepts to the series, such as Critical Finishers and Soul Gauge. It has been confirmed that players are now able to play online with their created characters.

Gameplay

Soulcalibur IV doesn't deviate much from the core gameplay of the series, meaning that Soulcalibur IV doesn't deviate much from the core gameplay seen in the original Soul Calibur (released in 1999). Soul Calibur's "claim to fame" in the fighting game genre is the character's usage of weapons (as opposed to the hand-to-hand combat seen in most other fighting games). Players have access to three different kinds of attacks: a horizontal slash, a vertical slash, and a kick. Each of these attacks can be performed at three different levels: high, medium, or low. Mixing up the height and type of attack to get around an opponent's guards/dodges is the key to winning. This gameplay style could be seen as similar to Tecmo's Dead or Alive franchise. Players also have a block button. Pressing the analog stick in different directions will let the player block either high and medium attacks or medium and low attacks.

Blocking player's attacks has a little more complexity than other fighters such as Mortal Kombat. If players block for too long, an icon (which can be seen next to the player's lifebar) will slowly change from blue to green to red to flashing red. If a player's icon is flashing red, one more strong attack will send the player into a state of "Soul Crush", stunning them for a few seconds. Once in a state of Soul Crush, the opponent can press all four face buttons on the controller (block, horizontal attack, vertical attack, and kick) to engage a critical finish, instantly killing the player. This system encourages players to not play a totally defensive game, as too much defense could lead to a Soul Crush and defeat.

Players have a number of tactical options, however, to turn a well timed block into a powerful offensive assault. By pressing the analog stick or D-pad towards the opponent while hitting the block button, the player can engage a "guard impact" which will deflect the incoming attack and leave the opponent open for a split second-plenty of time to lay down a few powerful, uninterrupted attacks. Players can also "repel" a weapon attack and thrust it away from the player. This maneuver gives the defensive player even more time to hit an opposing player while they try to reorient themselves in combat.

Every character in Soul Calibur IV has high, medium, and low armor. A powerful attack to one of these areas could cause the armor to break, increasing damage caused to that area of the body. Broken armor will shatter in the middle of battle, changing the appearance of the character without stopping the flow of battle.

Character Creation

The character creation system promises to be similar to that found in Soul Calibur III, though in Soul Calibur IVthe types of clothes and armor the player equips will have an effect on his or her performance in battle. Players choose from a "style" used by one of the main Soul Calibur fighters, which effectively means that the player chooses a move set of one of the regular characters in the series. Once a style and character sex has been chosen, players can automatically generate a character based on a few specific stats (whether the character has regular, heavy or light armor, a focus on attack, defense, HP or skills, and whether the character is good or evil.

Players can also choose to create their fighter from the ground up in the edit mode. Edit mode lets players choose from a number of different facial, hair, and body types, as well as different voices for their character (which can be modulated in pitch to sound higher or lower). Most importantly, players can choose from a number of different armors and accessories to equip onto their character. These accessories will increase or decrease the amount of attack, defense, or HP a character has, adapting the character for any number of single player or online challenges.

Returning Characters

A number of characters installments in the series return in Soul Calibur IV. The game also features several newcomers and bonus characters.

Returning:

Bonus:

Unlockable Characters:

Rock: Purchase in character creation
Zasalamel: Purchase in character creation
Talim: Purchase in charcter creation
Lizardman: Purchase in character creation
Starkiller: Defeat in Arcade mode with either Yoda or Darth Vader
Algol: Defeat in Story mode
Angol Fear: Defeat in Story mode
Ashlotte: Defeat in Story mode
Kamikirimusi: Defeat in Story mode
Scheherazade: Defeat in Story mode
Shura: Defeat in Story mode
Amy: Purchase in character creation
Cervantes: Purchase in character creation
Hong Yun-Seong: Purchase in character creation
Sophitia: Purchase in character creation
Setsuka: Purchase in character creation
Seong Mi Na: Purchase in character creation
Yoshimitsu: Purchase in character creation

Limited Premium Edition

A Premium Edition of Soulcalibur IV for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 was alongside the Standard Edition. The Premium Edition includes: an art / comic book, a white T-shirt for the 360 version or a black T-shirt for the PlayStation 3 version , a Tournament Kit that will give people the chance to keep a record of their battles against their friends, and exclusive access to extra Create a Soul content.

Downloadable Content

Many videos have leaked onto the internet, showing Yoda fighting Darth Vader. Also, in both versions of the game, there is an empty character slot that is impossible to unlock. This has led many to speculate that Darth Vader and Yoda are eventually going to be up for download on the opposing consoles. That wish came true when Namco Bandai announced Yoda being downloadable on PS3 along with Darth Vader on 360 for 400 Microsoft Points (five dollars on PSN) on October 23, 2008.

At the end of July, almost immediately after its release, Soulcalibur IV saw a host of DLC, though only one pack which could be applied to gameplay. The Customization Equipment pack was made available for 100 Microsoft Points or $1.49 on PSN, and included goodies for returning characters Sophitia (who was given an armor pack) Astaroth, Yoshimitsu and Voldo (whose old head models were made available. Also released were 17 tracks from the original game's OST, which were also made available for individual sale. They were made available for 1200 Microsoft Points for the pack, or 80 Microsoft Points per track and $14.99/$.99 each on the PlayStation Network.

August saw the next DLC costume pack dubbed the 'Maid Pack'. Costing 200MS on the Xbox Market place, you unlock French Maid items for your female custom character. These items include 2 types of aprons, another french maid top, a maid headress and a maid skirt.

PS3 Japanese Version
The Japanese version is almost completely identical to the US release. If your PS3's language settings are set to English, all text and menus in the game will appear in English as well. No need to import a US copy if you are living overseas.

General Information Edit

Game Name	Soul Calibur IV
Platform(s)	Xbox 360 PlayStation 3
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft Entertainment NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc.
Developer(s)	Project Soul
Genres	Add a new genre Action Adventure Fighting
Themes	Add a new theme Fantasy Sci-Fi Martial Arts
Original US Release	July 29, 2008 need a fuzzy date?
Original US Release	know the real date?
Aliases	Soulcalibur IV Soulcalibur 4 Soul Calibur 4 SC4
OFLC	OFLC: M
BBFC	BBFC: 12
ESRB	ESRB: T
CERO	CERO: C