In Soulcalibur IV, the epic struggle between the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, and the cursed sword, Soul Edge, continues with revelations about this ongoing story as fighters from across the galaxy seek the powerful swords for their own goals and to face the ultimate judgment. Propelling the franchise into the next-generation, Soulcalibur IV flexes its graphical muscles to shows its visual brilliance with a new look for both allies and enemies.
GenreFighting Games
Platforms xbox360
DEVELOPER Project Soul | PUBLISHER Codemasters | RELEASE DATE
Soulcalibur IV Reviews xbox360
gameshark.com review
With so many characters to choose from, the range of visual and fighting styles run the gamut of everything you could imagine along with some serious weaponry, not to mention the many clones of fighters that you will face through out different sections of the game, especially in the Tower of Souls. The Tower of Souls is a new addition to the series where you start off by choosing two fighters and start ascending floor by floor. As you progress higher and higher, the battles get more difficult and more rewarding. Once you reach the 20th floor, you can then choose to continue upwards to the 60th floor or choose to descend the tower which throws wave after wave of enemies at you until you and your tag team partner can no long survive the onslaught.
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1up.com review
The long-requested online mode is probably SC4’s most worthwhile endeavor. Characters level up with successive victories, and leaderboards reflect the most accomplished combatants. You can brawl using standard default attributes — or, if you’re feeling ballsy, you can enter an arena with your turbo-boosted character and see how he/she stacks up against the competition. The online mode could use a quick-rematch option, though; postfight, the game boots you back to the matchup screen, which seems just a little clunky here in 2008. Still, this mode looks like it received a lot of thought, with options to reserve space for friends in four-player battles or invite people on your friends list into a match (in the PS3 version, anyway — Xbox Live already has that functionality built in).
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ztgd.com review
Once you have reached a certain level you can begin to descend the tower, which is an entirely different beast altogether. Here you select two characters and can tag in and out much like Namco’s other duo brawler Tekken Tag. The catch here is that once you select these two fighters you are stuck with them through the whole endeavor so make sure you choose two that you are familiar with. Unlike the other mode here you will gain new items per sections like every fifth floor. The challenge of descending is also much more difficult forcing you to utilize the health regeneration your partner receives while being tagged out. The Tower of Souls is a great addition to the formula and makes unlocking items addictive and challenging.
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jolt.co.uk review
No Synopsis Available
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gaming-age.com review
Toss in some cool unlockable art and movies and you have one complete package. I can’t gush enough about how excited I am that the Soulcalibur name has reclaimed its greatness in the annals of fighting titles. I used to be a huge fan back in the Dreamcast days, and since then have been let down year after year with failing sequels that didn’t really impress, let alone evolve. Well Soulcalibur IV has done both, it has wowed me and evolved all in one fell swoop. In four words…Buy Soulcalibur IV today!
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gamingnexus.com review
Following in the footsteps of such esteemed fighters as Marvel VS. Capcom, SC4 features the ability to form teams of up to 3 fighters from which you switch in and out during a fight. It pays off to learn more than one character deeply, and becomes a big part of the strategy; as tagging out a character allows him or her to recover some HP while the other character is in the fray. The other shiny new feature of the game is the Critical Finish, a one-move kill that aroused some concern about being a game-breaker, like Guilty Gear’s Overdrive moves that were way to easy to pull off. In practice, Critical Finishes come up very rarely, and you have to meet extremely specific conditions, soul-gauge depleted and hitting the button(s) almost right as a piece of your opponents armor breaks off, in order to pull it off. Basically the Critical Finish is designed to be an anti-turtling strategy, and I think in that sense it is extremely effective.
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.x360magazine.com review
No Synopsis Available
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gamer.nl review
No Synopsis Available
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gamervision.com review
The game is far from perfect, that is to be sure, and it does little to further the dwindling fighting game genre. That said, the additions that have been added work in the game’s favor and make it the best fighting game this generation. The customization, online play, and great game mechanics make this title a must-purchase for any fan of the series, and I would recommend it to anyone looking to explore the genre.
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gamesaktuell.de review
No Synopsis Available
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gamershell.com review
Character creation makes a comeback in SCIV, but with a twist. Instead of having free reign in designing a fighter from the ground up, all of your custom characters are based off of the fighting styles of game’s main cast. That doesn’t mean that you have to keep male characters looking and sounding like Rock, Siegfried or Cervantes, however, it just means they’ll move like them, and fight with their kinds of weapons. Even if you’re restricted to the base characters, it’s still entirely possible make some awesome creations—so far we have an effeminate looking Indiana Jones (based off of Ivy), and a ragin’ Cajun-alike, Gambit.
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msxbox-world.com review
Single player also provides more traditional "Arcade and Story" modes of play both of which will be familiar with those who have played earlier renditions of Soul Calibur. Arcade leads the player through 8 stages, with each stage getting progressively harder than the last. Story mode on the other hand consists of 5 stages, some with multiple opponents to take out. Story mode provides money, which can be used to unlock new characters (there are over 30 in the game!), as well as some customization unlocks as well. Finally story mode gives a bit of character background for those players interested in this aspect of the game.
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gamernode.com review
Online play is also a nice addition, and a welcome one at that. Taking a cue from other recent fighters, you can now beat your friends up no matter where they live. (Or, in my case, get your ass kicked by someone you haven’t seen in person in four years regularly.) Unfortunately, even the tiniest of lag spikes or latency issues will drastically alter the outcome of the fight.
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xboxaddict.com review
Anyhow, as stated each character plays through 5 levels with the final level being the ultimate battle against the big boss. Each level you will face off against 1 or more consecutive opponents which will all need to be defeated in order to advance to the next level. You’ll unlock a few characters and weapons while playing this mode dependent upon who you face and beat.
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cheatcc.com review
No Synopsis Available
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gamechronicles.com review
Soul Calibur IV offers a robust Versus experience, both locally and online. You can choose standard modes where you are locked into the preset character list, or you can go for the Special modes where you are free to fight with your customized characters in both ranked and unranked matches. The online gameplay is fast and fluid with virtually no noticeable lag. My only complaint is that I kept getting my ass kicked, but I learned long ago that just about everybody online is better than me when it comes to fighting games.
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ign.com review
The Tower of Lost Souls is the other single-player option that gives you the chance to either ascend or descend the tower, facing challenges along the way. If you ascend the tower, you’ll be able to select a "stage" or set of floors to fight through, which usually involve heavily weighted battles where you’re pitted against several overpowered opponents. Fulfilling certain conditions rewards you with equipment unlocks for the fairly robust Character Creation mode and allow you to advance further up the tower.
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gamerstemple.com review
Combat is still just as flashy as it has always been in the series. The game can be played well by both casual and hardcore fighting game fans – it is easy to learn, yet hard to master. Unlike its predecessor, Soul Calibur III, Soul Calibur IV greatly enhances its graphical presentation and looks absolutely gorgeous with the right TV setup. As usual, the sound is moody and epic for each stage, as we have come to expect from past Soul Caliburs. Sound effects are incredibly crisp, especially the sounds of lightsabers or blades clashing against each other or hitting other forms of steel during a battle. Character voices can be chosen in English or Japanese. Both language settings match the game well.
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extremegamer.ca review
Soul Calibur IV is a beautiful looking fighting game that pushes the long running franchise into some new ground while keeping the core gameplay near the same level. The roster has been filled up with an assortment of wonderful characters, including three Star Wars cameos, but if that wasn’t enough make your own fighters, or edit the current souls waiting for battle. Namco Bandai covers new ground trying its hand at the online world of gaming with multiplayer versus, and the ability to download new content for the game. Soul Calibur IV might not re-invent the deadly battler, but it does a great job giving fans what they want and a little more. Either on the PS3 with Vader, or the 360 with Yoda, Soul Calibur IV is a safe purchase and a game that will be in your collection for a long time.
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mygamer.com review
When all is said and done, Soul Calibur IV is a solid choice for any fan of the series and fighting games in general. Graphics aside, no single element stands out or demands your attention, but neither does the game come across as rehashed or “too safeâ€. In the end, Namco delivers a fun, well-polished sequel with plenty of content and great replay value. While you’ll know what you’re getting with SCIV, odds are you’ll enjoy it.
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