Soul Calibur IV hands-on (page 2 of 2)

Razor's Edge

Right off the bat, it's obvious that Namco spent a tremendous amount of effort in making Soul Calibur IV look its best on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Both versions of the game boast vibrant, fluid visuals that sparkle with eye candy. We did notice that the Xbox 360 version looked slightly sharper, with the PS3 version suffering from a few jagged pixels during close-ups...then again, the PlayStation 3 version felt more comfortable to play thanks to the fighter-friendly DualShock 3 controller, so you can call it a draw. Overall, both games looked spectacular, pushing explosive special effects (showers of sparks, light blooms) and perfect frame rates. Whichever version you choose, there's no doubt that Soul Calibur IV is a gorgeous game.

The fighting stages deserve special mention: they look simply gorgeous. Only four or five stages were playable in the version we played, but all looked spectacular. We saw an ancient temple similar to the arena from Soul Calibur IV; a strangely sinister merry-go-round; a grand hall decorated with spears and weapons, and a lush jungle setting populated by what appeared to be DoDo birds (which are extinct in modern times). Eye-catching details abound: One level opened with crusading knights galloping past on armored horses, before the camera entered the building and the fight begin. Now that's flair! A slick depth-of-field effect slightly blurred the background details and helped the characters pop off the screen.

We Must Concur That The Soul Still Burns

Overall, we were pleased by our experiences with Soul Calibur IV. The game is clearly well-produced and polished, and introduces enough new gameplay wrinkles, characters, and refinements to make it a worthy follow-up to the other games. It's too early to make any definitive review of Soul Calibur IV, but based on what we saw, fans will likely be pleased with the latest evolution of this well-regarded fighting series.

Yoda is exclusive to the Xbox 360 version; Darth Vader to the PS3 version. Neither guest character was playable, sadly.

Yoda is exclusive to the Xbox 360 version; Darth Vader to the PS3 version. Neither guest character was playable, sadly.

Soul Calibur IV plays like you'd expect: fast and fun.

Soul Calibur IV plays like you'd expect: fast and fun.

Comments [65]

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Mesziah

i have a PS3, so Darth Vader, lets see how you do, i'm sure he'll kick ass, time will tell...

Mesziah

i have a PS3, so Darth Vader, we'll see how you do, hope this truns out great, only time will tell...

weinymew

ps3 360 doesnt matter.....hopefully you can download one when the game starts to loes steam. i'd pay not to buy this game twice

whysofaded

Hmmm...I want this game for my 360 so I can play against my Xbox Live friends...But I want the Dual Shock controller to play it on....Damn this ones going to be tough.

denveraic

Dualshock? It's the same damn controller since the PS1. What makes it so good? I'll stick with the 360 controller, It fits in my hands perfect, I couldn't want more from a controller. The less pixilated graphics will be nice 2.

wowa

meh i'll wait for the real fighters of 08 watch this sc still have the corrupted saves problem sc2/3 had.

Sire

whysofaded Posted at: 04/16/08 at 5:50 PM PST Hmmm...I want this game for my 360 so I can play against my Xbox Live friends...But I want the Dual Shock controller to play it on....Damn this ones going to be tough.
There are a couple places online that actually do just that, they switch out the guts of one controller and put it in another, so which ever you prefer, . . . it's actually a pretty cool idea, . . but it looks way, way to complicated to try on your own, plus, when they do it, it looks professional, as opposed to breaking like 9 controllers before you get it right.

MGS4FINISHTHEFIGHT

denveraic Posted at: 04/16/08 at 5:54 PM PST Dualshock? It's the same damn controller since the PS1. What makes it so good? I'll stick with the 360 controller, It fits in my hands perfect, I couldn't want more from a controller. The less pixilated graphics will be nice 2.
Yeah and it has the same name to aint that cool. Another thing the PS3 controller fits in my hands perfectly to and its not as big and bloated as the 360's.

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