Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions - Kotaku Comments

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Roflcopter_Down: Wants you to follow HIM! — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:01:59 MST

What?! Stage6 = win

Roflcopter_Down: Wants you to follow HIM!

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

xpnet — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 20:49:18 MST

F that stupid Divx player!!!!!!!

xpnet

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Jason *Jaxel* Axelrod — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 18:37:12 MST

@i.roboto: VC came because of their efforts to get rid of 2G. Rather than fix the bug in SC3, they isntead changed the input mechanism, which led to VC; which is far worse than 2G. 2G was a 3 frame window, so it took a lot of skill to use. I learned to master 2G when SC2 was big because I had problems with GI; won a few tournaments because of it too. The way they fixed VC in SC3AE was once again by changing the input mechanism. You can no longer advance guard walk or retreat guard walk in SC3AE. Once again, rather than fix the problem, they just covered it up by getting rid of a lot of substance to the game...

Here's some vids for ya...
[www.stage6.com]
[www.stage6.com]
[www.stage6.com]

Jason *Jaxel* Axelrod

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

i.roboto — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 15:11:13 MST

@Jaxel: I just watched your youtube vids online. Your Talim is really top notch, it's great to see Talim players not overly abuse 33A and 1A+K? or is it 1A+B I'm thinking of...

You've got no vids vs Taki though ;) I found Talim had issues vs her, but then again my Talim is no good.

All I know in that my group of Soul Caliburing buddies, is that when SC3 came out and people found the move sets reduced (exorcism cancel ticked my Taki buddies off big time) that pretty much ended any thought of playing SC3 seriously.

SC2 was perfect for the most part except for the 2 game breaking bugs (2G, G-step) and tracking issues.

If they manage to fix this.. w00t!

i.roboto

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Spampy — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:03:30 MST

@Nightshift_Nurse:

Anyone who's played T3 for a full night knows full well how the completely overpowered Phoenix Smasher rips Eddie to shreds. =D (Paul's my fave)

Spampy

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Neoshinji — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:55:10 MST

Hello,
A moderately serious SC player here. I personally rather Namco concentrate their development funds on actual fine tuning not figuring out what fighting style Hannah Montana should have.

SC3 was pretty much a disappointment to many. SC3AE was a step in the right direction, but it seems like they are starting once again to cater a bit too much to the casual gamer market.

Which is long term a bad idea since the typical casual gamer will just move onto the next sparkly game released 2 weeks later. While more serious gamers are left to figure out how to deal with game balancing/glitch issues.

I just hate to see all the hard work that was done to SC3AE go to waste.

philip

Neoshinji

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

zanzibarlegend — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 11:22:31 MST

anybody know if they decided if both consoles get vader and yoda? or will they be console specific?

zanzibarlegend

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

DarkHogosha — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:51:52 MST

@Nightshift_Nurse:
Eddie mashers are easy to beat if you block. Something I'm assuming you don't do?

DarkHogosha

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Argyle — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:44:07 MST

that's one fine mullet

Argyle

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Azrael — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:13:50 MST

Provided they don't put Vader and Yada into the plot (and given how this stuff was handled in SC2 and since they are on different consoles, it's not likely at all) this is cool indeed. They want people to know it's there but I'm sure this will be no worse than 2, which was awesome. Besides that, all they need to do is fix the problems introduced with SC3 like broken Create-a-soul movesets which you can't use in training mode, and the load times (probably just a PS2 thingh) and it will be all groovy.

Azrael

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Mr.SithNinja — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:11:14 MST

MURDERFACE brings up a great point... Where the hell IS teh Chuck Norris fighting game???? I guess it would be a short game considering that everything that they would have him fight in the game is a one roundhouse to the face fatility....

Mr.SithNinja

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:02:01 MST

@zanzibarlegend: No! Everyone was pretty disappointed that none of the new characters, particularly Vader and Yoda, weren't playable.

@MURDERFACE: LOL EMO

Michael McWhertor

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

MURDERFACE — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 09:57:40 MST

@MURDERFACE: But i think we all are still waiting for Chuck Noris to be in this game.

[www.youtube.com]

MURDERFACE

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

MURDERFACE — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 09:51:21 MST

That pic makes me laugh. Vader Vs. Emo looking kid...............vader wins cause emo kids cuts own wrists in battle LOL

MURDERFACE

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

zanzibarlegend — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 09:18:27 MST

@McWhertor: did u see any Star Wars/SC 4 realted stuf while you were there? That pic looks way too suspicious...lol thanks for the story.
SC4 ftw!

zanzibarlegend

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

DCSimian — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 09:03:03 MST

Glad to hear it plays well. Haven't played SC3 (lack of PS2) so if it is similar to how SC2 feels, I'll be happy :)

DCSimian

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

GhaleonUnlimited — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 08:05:52 MST

Yeah, SC3 killed the tourney scene really quick. I hope for the scene's sake (a fighter should be able to be fun to casuals but also function at high-level) that it goes back to SCII a little more.

Even if that means a step backwards in terms of innovation (like Tekken 5 building offa TTT instead of T4), which I don't think Namco's known for anyway.

The good thing about these days is fighters can be patched with no hassle for all users. Too bad arcade revisioning was never this easy in the '90s.

GhaleonUnlimited

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

execrationist — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 07:58:31 MST

Thanks for the great story and heads up, this is one of my most anticipated for 2008.

execrationist

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Johnny-C — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 07:54:02 MST

@DarkHogosha
I think that Xianghua move is 66A+B, but I'm just being nitpicky. You're absolutely right about everything else.

Johnny-C

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

DaiMacculate — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 07:34:53 MST

@Jaxel: /agreed. I didn't even get to play SoulCal3 for about 2 months after it released (I don't even try for the competitve fighting stuff anymore, not good enough) and then I was supremely disappointed. SoulCal2 is far superior even with the toss in characters on the consoles. Of course SoulBlade and SC1 were also awesome.

I'm glad to hear you guys thought it had potential though, hopefully we'll get something more like SC2 with upgrades than a straight progression from SC3.

DaiMacculate

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Electroqueen — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 06:25:34 MST

Just played Street Fighter Alpha 3 yesterday and woah. The player in the picture looks like that dude from Final Fight.

Electroqueen

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

bneals — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 06:01:48 MST

Interesting...Vader, the star wars character that will be exclusive to the PS3 version, is apparently playing the 360 version of the game. Hummm.

bneals

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

amost — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 05:15:05 MST

@TheCleaningGuy: also Killer Instinct 2
(sorry for above post)

amost

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

SAKY — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 04:55:25 MST

"The developer has decided, wisely, not to fix a game that's not broken". That is just an awful statement

If it isn't the original fighting engine (SC1) then it's broken in some way!

SAKY

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

The Amazing Exploding-Man — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 04:09:09 MST

Hmm, honestly I played 3 a lot more than I did 2. I hope they retain that whole make a fighter story mode from 3. That rocked.

Course then again I am a total casual when it comes to fighting games. And that may be why my heart sank a little when I read ring outs are harder to pull off. I hated when they added walls in 2, and that was always my favorite part of the original Soul Calibur.

Well one way or another this was an interesting read, and I look forward to playing this one.

The Amazing Exploding-Man

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Witzbold — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 03:52:03 MST

@McWhertor: lol thanks. :)

Witzbold

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 03:45:13 MST

@Witzbold: You are too kind! Congrats on your bans, btw. :)

Michael McWhertor

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

BTFzor_Freestyle — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 03:43:21 MST

Despite it being highly unlikely, Soul Calibur 4 needs to go to the Wii. Fuck your shiny graphics, the GC controller was MADE for Soul Calibur.

BTFzor_Freestyle

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Br0ken_Engli5h — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 03:36:29 MST

SC3 was pretty much shunned by me and my friends and was regarded as a big step backwards for the series. We didn't even hold that opinion because of how broken the game was either, but simply because we all had characters, either subs or mains, who took a big hit to their movelist.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for relearning old characters in the sequels, but they just lacked that fun factor and I think in part it's due to a lot of their depth going out of the window.

Br0ken_Engli5h

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Witzbold — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 02:56:34 MST

Damned fine reading. Mr McWhertor I salute you!

Witzbold

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Jest — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 02:07:01 MST

@icepick314: The history that you mention is probably going to wind up being very irrelevant in regards to this game.

Jest

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Charlie303 — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 01:48:18 MST

@icepick314: I don't think so.You see,if you watch those stupid comparisons of the ps3 vs 360 graphics in gametrailers or some stupid site like that,you will most likely see that 360 graphics are better,but why is that? Cause in almost every comparison you see,they never actually use the Ps3 at it's full capacity.

Consider that.Ps3 graphics are doing well and they only use 30 % of it's capacity.

How can you fix this problem and make the ps3 graphics look better???

Answer:Go settings,change the RGB full range from limited to full.Then turn on the super white.Then you will see a true comparison.

Charlie303

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

unwesen — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 01:47:20 MST

So you were asked about the game's speed - but you're not telling us what you said in response?

unwesen

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Nightshift_Nurse — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 01:27:48 MST

@Nightshift_Nurse: correction: "...by an Eddie masher..."

Nightshift_Nurse

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Nightshift_Nurse — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 01:26:42 MST

@DarkHogosha: Sounds to me like someone's still sore about getting their ass handed to them by Eddie Gordo during a long night of Tekken 3. ;)

Nightshift_Nurse

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

eleventeen — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 01:19:36 MST

jeelouse...

eleventeen

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

DarkHogosha — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 01:15:50 MST

The console SC3 was broke as hell. Ivy's disgusting half-screen ring-out, Mitsu's VC on...what was it? 88B? I'm rusty. Setsuka's VC on her B throw, Xianghua's stupid sidestepping move...66B+K? God, I haven't played since a few months after it came out, I barely even remember. Oh, and the sisters. The fucking sisters.

If you don't know any of this crap, chances are you mash and anyone who DOES know this stuff would hand you your ass on a platter. Yeah, you're right that competitive players don't pay the rent for most Namco employees, but they ARE the ones that push the game to be balanced 'cause they explore every single inch of the game. The rest of you are convinced that (insert random character) is the best because (insert random story about your friend beating everyone with some random crap). In that case, whatev. You play how you want. The competitive players will continue to dive into the game they play and figure out every single thing that's there.

Long story short, SC3 was broke and the competitive scene for it died because of it. It's at least slightly important to note because the ones disappointed with SC3 are the ones less likely to buy SC4. People still buy Third Strike nearly 10 years after it came out. Keep that in mind.

DarkHogosha

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

FP Shindokie — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 01:00:53 MST

@Nightshift_Nurse:

Hey whats wrong with a beard? I'm trying to grow but puberty hasn't hit me hard enough so i try to shave a lot. Also head from a crazy chick? No thank you, she might just go crazy and bite it off. WHAT THEN HUH WHAT THEN?

@Furious_Liver:TF2 name i_have_fleas. Frag me!:

He's just jealous he can't grow one.

FP Shindokie

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Bando — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:24:33 MST

@amost:

"hmm I hope these "finishing moves" aren't broken
*cough*guiltygear*cough*"

No, go home.

@Nightshift_Nurse:

It's Ralph, everyone loved him and his absurd damage output in II, getting poked in the shoulder shouldn't deplete a whole fucking 4th/6th of your life. Ya, III has the uber n00bish versions of Sophitia and Asteroth, but their "broken" stuff wasn't that bad, and was easily countered with simple soul impacting or just grabbing/counter grabbing. Come to think of it, you couldn't pussy out and block all day long, if you weren't aggressive enough, you would get fucked up. Now that I think about it, III was actually pretty damn cool, fuck you internet!

Bando

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science. — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:16:57 MST

@verrius: i can't see anyone referencing the first in a series of, what, like 15 games now?

Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science.

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

FP Furious_Liver, lacks independence — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:14:37 MST

@Nightshift_Nurse: No love for us bearded ones. No love. ):

FP Furious_Liver, lacks independence

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

verrius — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:59:14 MST

@TheCleaningGuy: Eh....he might be referring to the original Guilty Gear...where you could spam the insta-kill the entire match...and if you got it off, it actually won both rounds. Then again, that game had other problems...like Sol's infinites and Justice's beam of doom... X and beyond, however, is awesome ^_^

verrius

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Nightshift_Nurse — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:51:37 MST

@Shindokie (psn and xbl): You're nuts. McWhertor would have to get rid of the beard at the very least before he'd be preferable to Britney.

She's still a hottie, despite the extra padding...besides, crazy chicks tend to be fairly cavalier about giving head.

Nightshift_Nurse

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

FP Shindokie — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:45:39 MST

@Roflcopter_Down:

I'm serious if both of them came in i would hug and kiss and take a pic with Michael over Britney.

FP Shindokie

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Jest — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:44:08 MST

@Jaxel: Wow, I didn't realize it was you until I saw the Team Crooked Jester reference. I bow before your presence.

Now, as for SCIII being broken & if some of you doubt that... yes, it was horrendously broken. Variable Cancel anyone? I still have a sour taste in my mouth and still remember a vid that illustrated the fiasco with Yoshimitsu.

Yet, I find myself playing 3 more than 2 just for the fact that...well, 3 is the most recent one. Plus, the character creation was great. However, in the case that I have someone that actually wants to play competitively ($ involved) with me, playing with 2 is insisted upon.

Jest

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

EnigmaNemesis — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:39:50 MST

Good stuff, thanks for the info McWhertor!

EnigmaNemesis

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

FP Furious_Liver, lacks independence — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:38:56 MST

Yeah McWhertor, show that pussy who's boss. And yes, I just called the dark lord of the Sith a pussy.

FP Furious_Liver, lacks independence

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

MarkMan — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:36:53 MST

I'm confident in Namco being able to see the error in game balance from Soul Calibur III... So, hopefully they'll have the game TESTED TO DEATH... be it arcades or location testing in Japan/elsewhere...

GO NAMCO!

Hurry up and then bring Tekken 6 out too. :)

MarkMan

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

UmeShoryu — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:32:23 MST

There was a report a couple years ago about a blind kid who could beat others at Soul Calibur because he memorized moves and combos. However, I wonder how he'd fare against top Smash, GGXX or SF players.

Anyways, I look forward to mashing buttons and winning at SCIV. My favorite characters were Kilik, Seung Mina and Cervantes.

One question though, did Namco show anything regarding the console version of Tekken 6? Can't wait to play Bob.

UmeShoryu

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Roflcopter_Down: Wants you to follow HIM! — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:31:43 MST

@Shindokie (psn and xbl): Damn! Combo breaker :(

Roflcopter_Down: Wants you to follow HIM!

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Roflcopter_Down: Wants you to follow HIM! — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:31:29 MST

Nope, there it is. Oh my, combo post action Soul Calibur button-mashing style!

Roflcopter_Down: Wants you to follow HIM!

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

FP Shindokie — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:30:46 MST

@McWhertor:

Argh! Me and my friend were arguing to see if it was you. To me your a celebrity higher then Britney Spears. I said it there.

FP Shindokie

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Roflcopter_Down: Wants you to follow HIM! — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:30:24 MST

@Nightshift_Nurse: I prefer 2 to 3, actually.

And what happened to my other comment?!

Roflcopter_Down: Wants you to follow HIM!

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Roflcopter_Down: Wants you to follow HIM! — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:29:28 MST

What about individual jubblie physics? How is that?

Roflcopter_Down: Wants you to follow HIM!

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Nightshift_Nurse — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:24:52 MST

@Jaxel: Really. Everyone I know still plays Soul Calibur 3 when a weapons-based fighter is in order.

And I'm not being argumentative here...I really don't know a single person that prefers Soul Calibur 2 to Soul Calibur 3. I'm among them considering 3 to be the best in the series to date. Personally, I didn't think Soul Calibur 2 felt like much more than a gussied up Soul Calibur 1.

Nightshift_Nurse

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:24:24 MST

@okenny :): Over the top.

Michael McWhertor

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:24:11 MST

@Jaxel: Sorry, afraid I can't address concerns on a tournament player level, as I've never been a serious SC player. Many hours with the Dreamcast version, some with SCII on Xbox, and only a few with SCIII.

@Shindokie (psn and xbl): I don't take the bus, but I may have been on one during E3 last year, as it was the means to get around.

Michael McWhertor

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

okenny :) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:23:36 MST

@MCWHERTOR:

I just have to ask (with great shame)... how was the breast physics?

okenny :)

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science. — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:18:04 MST

@TheCleaningGuy: wow, thats some odd timing. and ironically, you of all people lol.

Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science.

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Jason *Jaxel* Axelrod — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:16:53 MST

@TheCleaningGuy: I would... but SC3:AE is impossible to find. Releasing SC3 on consoles first led to a pretty bad game; many bugs may have been fixed in SC3:AE, but characters still retain their limited moveset. Why would an arcade owner buy an SC3:AE machine? For $3000 they get a machine that can play a game that players are already playing at home, with LESS features than the home version, and LESS characters. Sure, tournament players would rather have the newer version, but as Nightshift_Nurse already pointed out, us tournament players aren't where the money comes from.

@Nightshift_Nurse: Really? I know a ton of non-competetive players and even they dont play Soul Calibur 3 anymore... they were playing Soul Calibur 2 for years after the game came out. Now, no one plays Soul Calibur 3; when this far into it's life cycle, people were still loving SC2.

- Jaxel, manager of Team Crooked Jester
One of the best SC2 Talim players in the world (and proven)

Jason *Jaxel* Axelrod

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

grandmastersexay — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:14:53 MST

@McWhertor:
I thought the guy in the picture looked familiar.
[ces.cnet.com]

grandmastersexay

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

pikachumariachi — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:14:53 MST

@ssjmichael: So I assume you think crossovers suck, that or you don't like Nintendo, Snake in Brawl FTW!

pikachumariachi

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

LittleBigPlaneteer — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:12:35 MST

@GregoriusH:

Man they put Link in SC2, if that wasn't jumping the shark then I don't know what is.

LittleBigPlaneteer

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

FP Shindokie — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:11:42 MST

@McWhertor:

Oh quick question i had for you Michael. Do you take the bus in l.a? Because i think i saw you this one time that you were on the bus heading to santa monica for a convention for Kotaku I think. I'm not stalking you though okay.

FP Shindokie

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

icepick314 — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:11:41 MST

with history of PSTriple vs 360 multiplatform games, 360 usually have better texture, bloom effects, shadow and frame rate...

wonder if PSTriple version will have some kind of motion waggle feature with Dualshock 3?

i so wanted to play as Darth Vader in PSTriple version but graphics whore in me wants to get 360 version...

hopefully when the review comes in when the game is releases, i'll wait and see which has better visuals...

icepick314

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Jason *Jaxel* Axelrod — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:11:40 MST

@McWhertor: Hmm... well I guess us tournament players will be the final judge of that. Just because they put the SC2 step system in doesnt mean it plays like SC2. All reports we have seen is that its still just SC3, but with the SC2 step system. The biggest issue with SC3 was the whole flow of the game, and how every characters moveset got cut in half when compared to their SC2 movesets. SC2 had larger movesets, which led to better mind games and balance. When they took the large movesets out, SC3 felt sluggish and extremely limited.

Jason *Jaxel* Axelrod

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

pikachumariachi — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:11:39 MST

@McWhertor: I never thought SCII was a really tight game, it was fun but any button masher could beat a pro (I'm talking from the button masher perspective), I bought it just for Link though, not a big fan of fighting games, guess I'm gonna get this one only because of Yoda.

pikachumariachi

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science. — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:11:30 MST

@amost: how were the IK moves broken?
1. they're called Instant Kill moves for a reason
2. if you mess up in any way, you're screwed and have no tension gauge for the rest of the round therefore limiting anyone (other than the already adequately powered few such as Dizzy)
3. extremely easy to screw up. majority of them have extremely limited range and all are block-able resulting in no damage what-so-ever.

and besides, who the hell would ever rely on such a gamble. i've only ever used IK's when joking around with friends.

and on a side note, maybe they'll balance kilik more. even a moderate player can have a great deal of trouble taking him on.

Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science.

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

TheCleaningGuy is no longer (that) disappointed with DMC4 — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:11:23 MST

@amost: Have you even played Guilty Gear? The instant kill system isn't broken, the techniques are easily blockable. And if the person misses, they have no special bar, fun times all around.

When is Soul Calibur getting released anyway? I hape we actually get a balanced game this time around.
@Jaxel: SC3 is slightly less broken in the arcades, try it! It's fun!

TheCleaningGuy is no longer (that) disappointed with DMC4

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Nightshift_Nurse — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:10:29 MST

@Jaxel: This may come as a shock to you, but more people play fighting games than just arcade dwelling, frame-count minding obsessives.

Everyone I know who plays games considers part three to be the best in the series...and are in general agreement that catering to the tourney set has largely ruined other fighters for everybody else.

Nightshift_Nurse

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:07:45 MST

@Jaxel: Actually, the game is said to follow Soul Calibur II more closely, something I wanted to mention, but couldn't accurately verify with a hands-on like this.

Michael McWhertor

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

FP Shindokie — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:07:18 MST

@McWhertor:

Poor Mike *hugs* Ill go buy you one so then you can show him.

FP Shindokie

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Jason *Jaxel* Axelrod — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:04:47 MST

Dont fix a game thats not broken? But Soul Calibur 3 IS broken. SC3 single handedly killed the entire Soul Calibur tournament community in a matter of 3 months. Soul Calibur 2 survived 3 years without any problems; it was a better game and simply more fun. If Soul Calibur 4 plays exactly like Soul Calibur 3, then the tournament community is in for more trouble.

Jason *Jaxel* Axelrod

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Ashkihyena — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:01:21 MST

@Gantz: To bad Yoda wasn't actually playable there, that would've been even more ironic.

Ashkihyena

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:57:57 MST

Thanks for the impression!

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Terrorsaur. — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:57:54 MST

Only problem is when developers choose to not fix something that is not broken, they forget about improving and innovating and we are left with the same games with nothing more than improved visuals, repetitively.

Terrorsaur.

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

zymase — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:57:08 MST

Please chip in and ask if Vader can be DLC for the 360 version...

zymase

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science. — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:56:59 MST

ironically, Vader is playing the Yoda version

Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science.

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

freakoflink — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:55:07 MST

@Shteve: lol wii got the back hand

freakoflink

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

ScYze — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:53:13 MST

hope they bring back Maxi and buff him up again, he was horrible in Soul Calibur III with such a plain moveset

ScYze

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:48:27 MST

@Shindokie (psn and xbl): You didn't smell the suit... :(

Michael McWhertor

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Nexus6 — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:48:14 MST

One of my must buy titles for 2008. Too bad I won't be in the States when it comes out this summer.

Nexus6

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Krytha — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:45:46 MST

Imagine that? McWhertor stealing a Darth Vader suit and then giving it away on a Kotaku contest? Of course, he'd never do that.

...Give it away, I mean.

Krytha

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

FP Shindokie — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:42:22 MST

@McWhertor:

YOu should have robbed of his suit and showed how Darth Vader REALLY sounds.

FP Shindokie

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Nightshift_Nurse — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:40:24 MST

Good god, I cannot wait to get my hands on this game. I'm hoping once the dust settles from this latest Soul Calibur 4 showing that Namco will release more info on Tekken 6...a solid release date would be a nice start.

Nightshift_Nurse

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:40:19 MST

@goldwings: Namco brought in a handful of Stormtroopers and very tall Darth to keep us company. Unfortunately, the Darth Vader sounded more muffled than imposing.

Michael McWhertor

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

goldwings — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:37:43 MST

Dear god imagine the bouncing of Ivy's boobs 0_o
And that pic is awsome. Is that a fan or a dev guy talking to you. And if he is talking to you, is he doing it the Darth Vader way?

goldwings

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Shteve — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:33:12 MST

And what does the Wii get ? that Soul Calibur Legends piece of crap ! I think the only good thing about that game is that it features a great Tales character, Lloyd !

Shteve

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

GregoriusH — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:33:12 MST

Star Wars? Exponentially increasing breast sizes? "A new gauge that allows for "finishing moves" that can end a fight without a ring out"?

Jumped.
The.
Shark.

GregoriusH

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Digitalguardian — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:33:03 MST

Ooooh, so that's what they were hinting at before. Finishing moves...it makes so much sense now.

Digitalguardian

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

amost — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:32:36 MST

hmm I hope these "finishing moves" aren't broken
*cough*guiltygear*cough*

amost

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

blackadvent — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:32:22 MST

Michael... I pwned your father!

blackadvent

Soulcalibur IV Hands-On Impressions

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:30:54 MST

Best. Photo. Ever.

Luke Plunkett