SoulCalibur IV is going on sale soon, and here's your first look at the underoos in the game's "Character Creation". SCIV is bringing back the "Character Creation" from SoulCalibur III, and previously, we posted how it was possible to do things like created an Afro Ninja. Really, this right here is the reason for you to buy this game. And, no! It's so not because of the trite girls in bikini fighting. (Yawn.) It's for "Nightmare" and "Lizardman". Forget Darth Vader, forget Yoda, Nightmare and Lizardman deserve to be on the box way more than those Lucas characters. Way more.

Click through the gallery to see what I'm rambling on about.

「ソウルキャリバー4」、各キャラの下着画像集(全裸もあるよ) [はちま起稿]

Soulcalibur IV Breaks Street Part II: Gameplay Video

Yesterday we posted pictures of guys who got their hands on Soulcalibur IV, 10 days before its release date of July 29. Today, we have video. I guess you can just walk into any store and ask them to break the street date and get your game. Here's Yoda vs. Ivy, Yoda taking it 4-1 with a lot of button mashing and bad camera work. If the game looks repetitive, I think these guys' admittedly bad technique (" I hadn't played a Soul Calibur title since Soul Calibur 2 a couple years ago, so our match is pretty bad.") might be to blame, not the game. If any of you manage to snag this, we'd appreciate a more informed breakdown of gameplay in the comments.

Soul Calibur [sic] IV Gameplay [Youtube]

A bunch (and we mean a bunch) of new Soulcalibur IV screens have popped up. These are screens that show things like the game's Single Player Mode menu, Arcade Mode, Training Mode, VS Mode, Museum, Character Creation and a comic as well. There's lots of nitty-gritty to click through, but it's interesting stuff.

『ソウルキャリバーIV』のモード＆システム [Dengeki Online]

Soulcalibur IV Adds One More Female Fighter

With this, the seventh new character to join the Soulcalibur IV line up, we're starting to notice a trend. Kamikirimusi, like her predecessors Shura, Scheherezade, Algol Fear, and Ashlotte, is a female fighter designed by a well known Japanese artist, this time by guest artist Hirokazu Hisayuki. Kamikirimusi will fight with a very large metal club/mace and satisfy fans of exposed upper thigh flesh.

Her facial expression seen in the scan above — click through for the full-sized version if you're just visiting the front page — accurately sums up our thoughts on her design.

According to importer YesAsia, the PlayStation 3 version of Soulcalibur IV will join the ranks of games requiring a substantial installation to the console's hard drive. How substantial? Substantial. About 6.5 GB worth of your HDD, with 2 GB of space on top of that allocated to save data. The latter disk space requirement makes some sense, as the game looks to have a fairly robust character creation tool, which we hope allows for a larger number of custom fighters than its predecessor. Regardless, 2 GB, if true, is still rather hefty.

Xbox 360 fans may also be in hard drive requirement heaven, as the official Xbox site indicates that Soulcalibur IV requires a hard drive to play. This could have huge implications if... wait, who doesn't have an Xbox 360 with a hard drive by now?

We've contacted Namco Bandai Games to verify this information, but have yet to hear back.

Update: We received an update from NBG on the PlayStation 3 version. It should be noted that Xbox.com has removed the "Hard drive required" specification following the publication of this post.

Soulcalibur IV (Japan Version) [YesAsia via NeoGAF]



Soulcalibur IV [Xbox.com]

The Soulcalibur IV Ladies In Action

If Darth Vader wasn't enough to sway you toward the PS3 version of Soulcalibur IV, perhaps the God of War will. According to the latest issue of EGM magazine, by way of 1UP, Kratos may be joining the line-up of souls in Namco Bandai's newest weapons-based fighter. Considering that Yoda versus Voldo fights will be commonplace, we're nonplussed at the concept. It's a surprisingly good fit.

Sure, it's a rumor, but that "expect confirmation soon" and a hint about Xbox 360 owners getting their own platform-specific fighter — Joanna Dark? Marcus Fenix? Banjo?! — makes us wonder if this is less of a rumor than it is a tease.

Quartermann: God of War Meets Soul Calibur? [1UP]

While Soulcalibur III was largely forgettable for some of us at Kotaku, some of our best memories were forged in the game's custom character creation tool. The "dancer" style fighter armed with a pair of tambourines made for some rather amusing matches. Soulcalibur IV doesn't appear to be a slouch in the custom fighter department, with all manner of ridiculous weapons and fetish focused accessories at your disposal.

Cowgirls? Check. Pirate wenches? Check. Cat-eared cuties wielding deadly feather dusters? Don't ask stupid questions.

Yesterday it was revealed that Darth Vader's secret apprentice from the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed would be appearing as a character in Namco Bandai's Soulcalibur IV, and now we've got pictures of the Mr. Secret himself in action, taking on the Soulcalibur regulars as well as the lean, green lightsaber machine Yoda himself. If this were a Star Wars game the screenshot up top would be immediately followed by a rolling Sith apprentice head, but who knows how things will go in the Soulcalibverse?

Check out the full gallery below, and hit the jump for the full video reveal, that promises, "New Powers Will Be Unleashed By A Secret Apprentice." Ooooo.

A brand new character is joining the cast of Soulcalibur IV and, surprisingly enough, this one isn't sporting Jabba the Hutt sized breasts. Darth Vader's "secret apprentice" Starkiller, star of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, will join Yoda and Vader in pitting lightsaber against blade when the game hits the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 next month. Yes, Starkiller is coming to both versions of Soulcalibur IV, making your decision that much easier.

Soulcalibur IV Unleashed [GameSpot]

The newest issue of Weekly Famitsu magazine reveals another soul in the Soulcalibur IV character roster. Like new ladies Angol Fear and Scheherazade, both designed by well known Japanese guest artists, the newest addition to the Soul universe comes courtesy of Gantz creator Hiroya Oku. As you can see, the fighter known as Shura sports four swords, two on each hip, plus ample and prominent cleavage, in front and back. They certainly have a "type."

We expect that much higher clarity in-game shots of Shura will become available, officially, at Famitsu.com in the coming days. Until then, squint to your hearts content.

Soulcalibur IV New Character [CNG4U]

You may already be aware that three more souls have been confirmed to appear in Soulcalibur IV—Yoshimitsu, Talim and Rock—but have you seen these three in action at 720p yet? No? Then to the gallery with you, where you'll see even more shots of my personal go-to soul Yoshimitsu and plenty of beefy Rock pics. Yes, that is a rhinoceros head!

A Better Look At Soulcalibur IV's Scheherezade

Our first look at the latest soul to join Namco Bandai's weapons-based fighter was far from ideal. Magazine scans suck, but digicam pics of mags are even worse. Thankfully, Impress Game Watch has new photos of Soulcalibur IV's elfin rapier expert, Scheherezade, giving us a better in-game look at the newcomer. I'd say she looks a bit out of place—not to mention Zelda-esque—but she's not the only character sporting pointy ears this go round.

Soulcalibur IV Character Profiles [Impress Game Watch]

This new batch of Soulcalibur IV screens features the next-generation look of three fan-favorite fighters! The quick and formal Xianghua, the brutish Lizardman, and the man with the giant stick, Kilik! Kilik's name is generally either greeted with a whooping cheer or a pained sigh, as for every fan of his powerful Ling-Sheng Su Style there is another player sick and tired of having a giant rod slammed down on his skull. Kilik is certainly looking formal this time around, isn't he? Xianghua still dresses as skimpy as ever, and Lizardman is still part lizard, part man, but Kilik seems to have gone and gotten himself a real job in-between games. Good for him!

No surprises on par with Darth Vader and Yoda joining the cast of Soulcalibur IV, but three familiar faces have been confirmed to return to the roster of Namco Bandai's weapons fighter. Maxi, Seung Mina and Yun-seong will all return, as proven by a new batch of exclusive screens from Gamespy. The new shots look, as expected, sexy as hell, even if the particular characters rate pretty low on my personal Soul Calibur totem. Two new stages also make their debut, a pirate ship and ice cave. Understatement has never been the Soul series specialty, so expect plenty of detail.

Soulcalibur IV (X360) [Gamespy]

Soulcalibur IV Director's Choice For A Cameo Fighter? Pac-Man

After playing Soulcalibur IV for a few hours last night, suffering many beatings at the hands of Siliconera's Spencer Yip and his Cassandra skills, Soul series director Katsutoshi Sasaki asked us what we thought of the game. We told him we were pleased, if a bit disappointed in the limited character selection in the early build. When we were done chatting about our own opinions, Yip inquired what Namco Bandai character Sasaki would like to have seen in the game, if he had his druthers.

I braced for something from Gundam lore, but Sasaki surprised us both with his choice: Pac-Man. The thing holding him back from a SC IV guest appearance, he said, was that Pac-Man doesn't have a weapon. Now, I could have sworn I'd seen Pac-Man sporting a helmet and lance at some point...