Original Soul Calibur coming to Xbox Live Arcade; Namco unveils 2008 lineup

Namco Bandai has released a full schedule of their 2008 game lineup, and brings word of an upcoming downloadable version of the first Soul Calibur for Xbox Live Arcade.

Namco Bandai is setting its sights on 2008 in a big way. In a splashy keynote presentation, the company revealed a few surprising milestones: both the Ace Combat flying series and the Tales of Symphonia RPG series have sold 10 million copies worldwide.

The company also revealed its full slate of 2008 game releases; we've listed them here in order of interest:

Soul Calibur IV (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)

Namco confirmed the release date of this swords-and-sandals brawler: June 29th. You can read our full hands-on impressions of the game here, but we can tell you this much: we liked what we played. Namco also shared one interesting tidbit about guest Star Wars fighters Yoda and Darth Vader: they decided that Yoda should go on the Xbox 360 and Vader on the PS3 solely due to the complimentary colors on those system's respective game boxes.

Soul Calibur (Xbox Live Arcade)

Later this year, Namco is bringing the original Soul Calibur (from the Dreamcast) to the Xbox 360 as a download. The first of the modern "Calibur" games, this new version of Soul Calibur will see upgrades in the form of online leaderboards. There is no online play planned for this title, as evidenced by a specific mention of "local two-player battles."

Tales of Vesperia (Xbox 360)

An Xbox 360 exclusive, Tales of Versperia brings the Tales of Symphonia series into the HD era. Like its predecessors, it's an anime-styled role-playing game with real-time combat and a uniquely hand-drawn art style. The game is apparently the first to use HD hand-drawn art, and a Namco representative claimed it would have "more content than any previous game" in the popular series.

Afro Samurai (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)

Namco made much noise about this title because it's the first game to be completely developed in the United States rather than Japan. Based off the cult TV show, and with the lead character voiced by Samuel L. Jackson, Afro Samurai has an impressive graphical style that looks like a 3D version of hand-drawn cartoons. Despite the game's animated nature, it was fairly bloody - you can decapitate and dismember enemies in any position. From what we saw during a brief demo, it looked like a slower, less acrobatic version of Ninja Gaiden 2.

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm (PlayStation 3)

Naruto's finally heading to the PS3, and this game actually looked impressive. The graphics looked like they were straight out of the TV show, but were in full 3D...backing up the developer's claim that the game would "erase the line between the show and the game." The game features new free-roaming villages, new 3-on-3 team battles, and a new Ultimate Challenge mode that includes over 100 mini-games (boss battles were one example).

We Cheer (Wii)

This one looked cute, but was targeted towards the casual crowd. Using a Wii Remote, you lead your cheerleading team through 30 sports anthems (including modern music hits). You can play with up to four players in either cooperative or competitive multiplayer modes. You can also customize your cheerleader caption with different costumes and pom-poms. The graphics were simple but pleasing - this one could be a total sleeper hit.

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World (Wii)

A follow-up to the popular Gamecube game Tales of Symphonia, this Wii game continues the storyline of that game's events...but is set two years in the future. It's set in the same locations as the previous game, but the artwork has been redone with increased graphical fidelity. The biggest change to the game is ability to capture and train monsters.

National Geographic Panda (Wii)

Namco teamed up with National Geographic magazine for this unusual take on the digital pet genre. Under your care, a panda will grow, eat, learn, and play. You can influence its behavior and personality by your actions. Looked cute - look for it this summer.

Powerup Forever (Xbox Live Arcade, PSN)

This downloadable shooter is reminiscent of Geometry Wars or Super Stardust HD, in that the classic top-down shooting style is brought into the world of 3D graphics. You can apparently destroy massive Guardian bosses and absorb their strength.

Digimon World Championship (DS)

This summer, Namco will release a new installment of the popular monster trainer series to the DS. Look for lots and lots of new monsters as well as WiFi multiplayer battles with other players.

Comments [53]

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the_storyteller

If i have some money i will buy it. PS Vicious i didn't know being first was that important to you

The_Iceman

Soul Calibur is a good fighting game, although I still favor Mortal Kombat

the_storyteller

I havn't been a fan of Mortal Combat fan ever sense the last gen ones. I hated those. I liked the first two. Number 1 was a classic. It should be on Arcade and PSN

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