The original Soul Calibur appeared as a launch title on the Sega Dreamcast back in the fall of 1999. It helped to revitalize the fighting genre by introducing a weapons-based combat system featuring weaponry that had never been seen in previous fighting games. Adding the bo staff, nunchaku and a vast assortment of different swords to the arsenal meant that players no longer had to settle for the same old hand-to-hand combat. Sadly, the game’s success was not enough to save the Dreamcast. After the short-lived Sega console folded in 2001, Soul Calibur still held up as arguably one of the best games released on the dead system. To this day, it is still listed prominently on many video game top 10 lists, including mine.

Soul Calibur IV contains the same addictive gameplay that made the first Soul Calibur such a huge hit. The beefy create-a-character feature introduced in Soul Calibur III also makes a return to add extra value to the overall game. From face to hair to accessories, the characters created are fully customizable. You can then play through the game’s five different modes to garner points, which can then be spent purchasing new armour and accessories to increase your custom player’s abilities and stamina. And therein lies the meat and potatoes of SC4.
There are literally hundreds of different characters, costumes, weapon, movies and artwork to unlock. And, with the addition of online play, you can then take your newly-clad warriors and pit them against friends, or try them out in online matches. It’s great to see internet support added, though it’s not perfected and I did experience some lagging issues. Nothing that threw the fight for me, but hopefully these problems will be fixed in a future update.
The actual fighting is fast-paced, the moves look plenty brutal, and, as my special lady friend can attest to, button mashing can really go a long way. But there is still a great level of depth to the fighting system, should one feel inclined to take the time to learn it.
To some, the biggest selling point of this game will be the addition of characters from the Star Wars universe. Yoda appears exclusively on the Xbox 360, Darth Vader on the PS3 and The Apprentice (from the upcoming game The Force Unleashed) appears on both. It is an odd but welcomed addition, but just how these characters work into the Soul Calibur storyline is still anyone’s guess. Either way, don’t know/don’t care, because why over-analyze things when it’s infinitely more fun to do Vader’s force chokehold? You needn’t fret about which console to get the game on either, there is already talk that both Star Wars characters will be available to download in the near future.
There is an excessive amount of kitsch and camp that goes hand-in-hand with a game like this. Someone had to actually program breast-bouncing physics into these scantily clad Amazonian women with breakable armour (and you thought your job was tough!). But, despite the ridiculous overacting, an intensely zealous narrator spouting such gems as “May the sun shine when the clouds of the Dark Age are cleaved by his sword,” and the complete lack of any feasible storyline, Soul Calibur IV is still a highly entertaining and addictive experience.