Soul Calibur V Review

Soul Calibur V was a game I was highly looking forward too this year. Being a strong fan of the series and fighting games all together, I was overjoyed (Read: Punching people in the face excited) to hear that they would  be adding a new addition to the series. And with V, I was praying the Maker that they would rectify that atrocious Soul Calibur game released on Wii that I had the misfortune of playing. With my fingers firmly crossed and lounge room cleared of any breakable objects that could be thrown in a fit of She-Hulk gaming rage, I delved in.

First and foremost, the graphics in SC are brilliant. Not the best if compared to certain RPGS and FPS released lately, there is no realism in sight, everything is bright, vibrant and over exaggerated. But it works for fighting games and it works for SC. Each level and environment featured on the game is so incredible, filled with depth and many thing's happening in the background while you are fighting.I may or may not have gotten distracted with some levels as I was too busy paying attention to every minor detail. The levels are also interactive, throw your opponent against a wall and if your lucky it could open up, expanding the level and new dangers that could earn you an early death.

The game's menu I had monumental trouble with, and spent a very good amount of time trying to figure what the heck some thing's were and where other things were hiding. Of course, I'm this problem could have been avoided if I read the book, but who has time for that?

If you have played previous Soul Calibur games, you would know Story mode is a fantastic and fun mode where you choose a specific character to fight as, experiencing their story and what brought them to fight for the right to wield (or destroy) the sword known through the land as Soul Edge. Well, get that thought and any story you have in your head made up about certain characters out of your head right now! Soul Calibur V has shockingly taken that feature away and have made story mode a journey where you play as previous SC favourite Sophitia's children on a quest to find one another and find out what the heck is going on.
The story was boring for me, I have yet to fully complete, though pretty close to it. And cant seem to bring myself to even be bothered. Cutscenes are cut up between the normal, cgi cutscenes to cutscenes that are something that would make art fans drool. Music and voice actors shined in the game, with each character brought to life. The music featured in each level was amazing as well, adding to the atmosphere, while character themes really managed to capture each character well. I think I've abused both Tira and Viola's theme songs, they are such a wonderful pleasure for my ears.

Soul Caliburs controls, like most fighting games, can either be simple or hard to figure and adjust too. I had a horrible time trying to remember each characters moves and the fact the moves were shown in letters rather than buttons on the move list was not helping my memory dilemma. Being a mutton masher at heart, there was little that could wrong with a bunch of random button combos., but for the most seasoned fighter, SC offers alot of new delicious moves and even has a gauge allowing you unlock devastating attacks upon the unfortunate enemy.

A place that SC:V truly shines above all else is the new add in 'Character Creation'. I wont lie, I have spent countless hours creating characters that look like other video game characters and just new characters than the actual amount of time I've spent fighting. Being able to have a vast amount of options to choose from is something that most, if not plenty of Character creations tend to fail on, but not Soul Calibur, and it really delivers, adding a whole new mega awesome level with the ability to customize a new character to suit your needs. A thing I liked about it was that you could pick which Fighter you would like your own creation to fall under. In reality you just get their weapon and poses/stance.
Thanks to the CC I now have a character who resembles Harley Quinn, a dream to fight with, obviously!

Online play was something I have ventured into and if I had to describe the experience of how it went it would be like I was at a pond dipping my foot into the water to see if it was too cold and then running away because I didn't like it regardless. I experienced a long waiting time for a fighter to play against and turned away alot of the time because I could not seem to find other players. Maybe people have had positive experiences with their search, but I felt as though I was all alone in the Online world!
 I sob over that fact.

My experience with Soul Calibur V, though fun, fast paced game it lacked a certain charm that Mortal Kombat 2011 gave and shadowed for other fighting games.
If you are  a fan of previous Soul Caliburs you will love V, it has all the old schematics of prior games and smacks in some new shiny and glittery stuff! And if you are not a seasoned fighter or SC fan, have no fear this game offers a great base to satiate a healthy curiosity! 

RATE:

6.5/10