Soul Calibur V is the latest entry into the Soul franchise. It attempts to fully flesh out the mechanics from previous games while adding a story driven single player, and adding a few new things as well. After a three year leave of absence, Soul Calibur V must prove to the industry that they are still one of the premier fighting games. Will this game rise to the occasion or flea at the sight of this challenge?
Soul Calibur vs Soul Edge
The fighting in this game is just as good as it had always been. Never once did I experience a lack of hit detection. The combo system built in the game is extremely complex and works amazing for veteran players but can be overwhelming for players new to the genre. Project Soul recognized this and added the critical edge system; this allows new players to pull off flashy moves without learning the elongated combo chains. They also have the largest and in-depth character customization that I have ever seen within a fighting game. There are so many different options for the player to choose. You can make the most intimidating abomination or the freakiest looking creature imaginable. Let your imagination run rampant. There is also a healthy 28 character rooster and as customary of the Soul franchise there is a guest appearance character. This time Vader and Yoda have been put aside for Assassins Creed’s Ezio Auditore. He defiantly makes more since within the game than jedi and sith lords. my one complaint is there is no arcade mode that properly introduces each character. But overall this is one of the best fighting games when it comes to mechanics and content.
Requiscat in Pace
With the amazing gameplay Soul Calibur V brought to the table it is sad to see the story fail on so many levels. First off, the two main characters Patroklos and Pyrrha are uninteresting and annoying. They basically do as much as they can within the game to make the player hate them even more, from slaughtering innocents to betraying those who help you; these characters are selfish and intolerable to listen to due to their terrible voice actors. Inexplicable things happen in the plot and everything that happens fails to keep your attention. It’s just an enjoyably experience and with a three hour run time you will be glad it’s over so soon.
Every character and stage is beautiful and sharp. While it definitely has Japanese influences, each characters design reflects their home country, for example Raphael, a French nobleman, defiantly has French Renaissance influences. These little bits of detail truly do wonders for the overall experience.
A small fragment of customization system
The soundtrack is huge, and with an amazing variety of music. The best thing about this is you get too choose the music when you select your stage so you get complete control of your fighting experience. Aside from a few annoying voice actors, the majority are really top notch and believable.
Overall Soul Calibur V is an amazing game. Despite the annoying story, it is rich in just about everything else. Then again does anyone play a fighter for an epic narrative? No, people play them for the insanely smooth fighting mechanics. So how much does the story really impact the overall experience? When everything else is so amazing, it’s least important aspect failing is not that damaging. I recommend this game for all tried and true fighting fans; you will certainly get every penny’s worth and more
