New SC game w new characters and new, tweaked, and missing movesets. Great game, but cries for improvement in some areas
2-8-2012: Changed myReview Deck and Classification because I forgot to change it yesterday. Sorry.
First of all, I want it to be known that I have been playing the Soul Calibur series since SC2, but although I am a fanboy, I try my best to only give truthful facts in my SC reviews.
It should also be noted that I do mt reviews in a weird way. I list all of the pros, cons, and neutrals, based on my and other players' opinions.
PROS:
1) The game is still fun to play, especially if you are a fan of the Soul Calibur series. The game is even more fun in multiplayer though, whether you play it offline with your friends, or online with your friends and complete strangers.
2) Movesets have been tweaked, but it somehow feels better now, even though it while require a little bit of time to get used to it when coming from previous SC games. Combos, for example, seem a little easier to pull off now for example.
3) Creation Mode (still called "Create A Soull" or "CAS" by some) is now more advanced and has so many more options to let your creative juices flow. PLEASE BE RESPONSIBLE WITH YOUR CREATIONS THOUGH! MAKE SURE THEY ARE APPROPRIATE!
In addition, unlike SC4, weapons and clothing no longer affect the strength of your characters. This is definitely a positive thing since you no longer need to worry about either creating a cool-looking character who is weak, or a strong character who looks like he got dressed while spinning around in a tornado.
4) DLC
CONS:
1) There are three mimics in the game, which to me and many others, is two too many.
2) This is my opinion, but I feel that there are too many "sword and shield" weapon types, which are all pretty simiar.
3) New roster may have watered down the variety of the SC weapon types. Again, this is my opinion, but I feel like the roster has turned a bit bland now.
4) There is a serious lack of character stories, either in the form of a in-game storytelling, or a readable bio for each character. This one is actually my opinion AND the opinion of the community.
5) The new roster dropped some unique and fan-favorite characters or weapon types like Talim and Zasalamel. Many players are wishing that the weapon types still remained at least.
They could have still added at least these characters' movesets for Creation Mode and avoided alienating and angering many fans.
6) DLC seems like it may be already on the disc like in SC4. Also, it has not been announced, but at the time of writing this review, there is no word as to whether or not there will be additional DLC movesets.
7) Critical Edge: This is a con based on my personal opinion. I feel.like the Critical Edge is too easy to pull off and to build up its meter. Because of this, players are able to almost "spam" (term used lightly) the Critical Edge, which does lots of damage and is impossible to block UNLESS to somehow happen to be blocking BEFORE they execute the attack. In addition, the CPU just LOVES to spam this as well.
8) Nightmare at end of Arcade mode, Normal difficulty (only). OK, this is also my opinion, but I am really starting to become convinced that Nightmare is broken here. Whenever I fight him at this point, he just seems to repeat the same devastating combo over and over until I am dead. I cannot block it or retaliate against it LOL. I don't know the combo name, but he keeps grabbing me, throwing me to the ground, stabbing his sword into my body as soon as I hit the ground, and basically electrocuted me with evil energy. He repeats this at least 3 times in a row and I die.
NEUTRALS (Can be a Pro or Con depending on who the player is):
1) Character roster is very different from previous games. A few old characters have returned, but had their movesets tweaked. Then there are some new characters using very different, but very similar movesets of previous characters (suchas Xiba using a similar-to-Kilik style). And finally, there are all-around new characters who are new in design AND movesets.
I have declared this point as neutral because some players find it as a refreshing change from the same old same old that Soul Calibur has become. Other players dislike it though because it ISN'T that same old same old that Soul Calibur has become. Personally, I like the change, but miss some of the old movesets, such as Talim. I think that they could have done a little better in the end.
2) Story Mode: Truth is, it is only 20 battles and focuses only on two characters, leaving many to wonder about the stories of the remaining characters in the game. However, the story that IS told is pretty satisfying for the characters that it focuses on.
Overall, some like it, while some hate it. From what I have read in forums though, even those you liked it still desired more for the other characters.
3) Arcade Mode: It is 6 battles and you now have the option to mix it up a little by choosing either a randomized route, an Asian-only competitor route, or a European-only competitor route. There is also no super boss, such as Abyss in SC3, or Inferno in SC2. Also, there is no storytelling or special ending for each individual character.
The only complaint I have read the most about the Arcade Mode is the lack of the storytelling like in SC4 (as I mentioned before, storytelling is lacking quite a bit in this game). Personally, I agree with this, but I like the mode because it is quite, yet simple.
VERDICT;
I think this game is good, but it feels like in some areas, it was rushed and incomplete. Supposedly, Project Soul only had a year to make the game, and given this fact, they did pretty good. However, I REALLY wish that they had spent more time on it becuase it needs some works in Creation mode and Single Player. In Creation, I feel like the graphics could be better and sometimes the clothing does not fit right. For example, you put a belt on a skinny character and the belt sticks out from the waist quite a bit, making the belt look really weird. As for Single Player, YES, it IS. fighting game, but there should still be enough single player content to keep one busy when there is no internet connection or you have no friends over. You don't necessarily need anything spectacular, but just something like a Survival Mode, which I loved in previous SC games (SC4 excluded).
As for DLC, I am disappointed to see what looks to be content that is already on the disk. I just feel that that is cheap since we already paid for the disk, so why pay more the unlock something we already own? Other than that, I do really hope that old fan-favorite movesets return to this game as DLC. Personally, I dont care if this comes in the form of "old character + moveset", "new character + moveset", or "moveset only for Creation." Other games, like Gran Turismo 5, have been releasing patches and DLC that has added so much more to their game, so I do not see why SC5 cannot do this as well, unless they simply do not care enough to do so.
If you are a Soul Calibur fan, then definitely check this game out because it is definitely worth playing, but if you tend to play only by yourself, then you may be extremely disappointed and may feel like the game is a little unfinished.
So, given my personal feelings and by examining the feelings of other players on forums, I am giving this game a 7.5/10: It is the best SC game to date in terms of playability, but not the best roster and offline mode.