Now most of us in gamer land have one of those days where you can't sleep! Sure you got work in the morning, or homework is super hard, or just the dog upstairs from where you live can't stop barking! So what do you do? Turn up the Consoles and start gaming! DUH!!!!!! Most of us have that favorite First Person Shooter like Call of Duty, Battlefield, or Halo ready for blood online. Maybe you're one of those in the world who have to continue that one quest in Skyrim. I have fighting games.
Look at my collection. Most of the titles on my shelf are Fighting games. From even Street Fighter 2 on the Super Nintendo, my first love is Fighting games. And even though the game has change and skill have succumb button mashing (a block is a block and HHHHHHHHHH in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 doesn't prove you're talented), I cannot get away from the latest fighting game.
Take for example the latest fighting game Soul Calibur V Namco has brought the series to a whole new level, for multiplayer. See, Soul Calibur was always a tale about swords and souls, and that's what its latest chapter unfolds for us. Players have to think skill and weapon area about when and where to attack. Of course you have the regular cheat, Kilik's rod has wide range, or Nightmare's juggling attacks are super cheap, but once you learn dodging and parrying you'll learn its one of the most balanced fighters in the market. And that's it for single player.....
......wait what? that's it? you expected more? Sorry. Unless you have friends coming over every night or have internet access, Soul Calibur V's train stops right here. Story? Sorry, there is none. Previous Soul Calibur games has a great story line and lets you learn how each character enters the fray, including their guest characters like Link from the Legend of Zelda series and Darth Vader from Star Wars (and why lightsabers don't slice metal Katanas). In SCV, you mostly play as Patroklos, a noble son of the late sophitia on the road to find his sister and her kidnapper. I won't spoil the story for you but lets just say 4 hours of plot holes and missing characters does not satisfy me. Even regular Arcade mode doesn't give its usual personal character story line, it feels more like a survival mode than anything.
Look at my collection. Most of the titles on my shelf are Fighting games. From even Street Fighter 2 on the Super Nintendo, my first love is Fighting games. And even though the game has change and skill have succumb button mashing (a block is a block and HHHHHHHHHH in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 doesn't prove you're talented), I cannot get away from the latest fighting game.
Take for example the latest fighting game Soul Calibur V Namco has brought the series to a whole new level, for multiplayer. See, Soul Calibur was always a tale about swords and souls, and that's what its latest chapter unfolds for us. Players have to think skill and weapon area about when and where to attack. Of course you have the regular cheat, Kilik's rod has wide range, or Nightmare's juggling attacks are super cheap, but once you learn dodging and parrying you'll learn its one of the most balanced fighters in the market. And that's it for single player.....
......wait what? that's it? you expected more? Sorry. Unless you have friends coming over every night or have internet access, Soul Calibur V's train stops right here. Story? Sorry, there is none. Previous Soul Calibur games has a great story line and lets you learn how each character enters the fray, including their guest characters like Link from the Legend of Zelda series and Darth Vader from Star Wars (and why lightsabers don't slice metal Katanas). In SCV, you mostly play as Patroklos, a noble son of the late sophitia on the road to find his sister and her kidnapper. I won't spoil the story for you but lets just say 4 hours of plot holes and missing characters does not satisfy me. Even regular Arcade mode doesn't give its usual personal character story line, it feels more like a survival mode than anything.
Now if multiplayer is your thing, then welcome on board the train. SCV has a better multiplayer setup than any game I know. Servers match up with other players base of location, rank, even character favorite. Most people even set up their Created characters online (which I might add a lot of pervs out there leaving women almost bare naked or in bikinis). Created character mode is way different from SCIV. They removed the power and soul abilities giving you full customization on whatever you want your character to look. This also gives players the full balance characters need against big monsters online. This mean you can create your character with as little clothes as possible and not be bothered with poor defense against someone who's armored crazy wielding Soul Edge.
Lastly, Game play has changed dramatically. Most characters have changed their combos and are either nerfed or boosted big time. All characters, however, have to be relearned. The Combos you've learned from Soul Calibur IV might not have the same input buttons as it is in Soul Calibur V. SCV also removed basic parrying. No more up+G or left+G to repel attacks. However, they've introduced the tactic "Guard Impact" where you press attacks A+B for certain characters and combos and this green glow appears on your weapon, this is when you can parry. What's the point in this? combo flow, just in case your opponent recovers from your attack and wants to counter you with one of their own attacks. SCV also introduces super combos called "Critical Edge", where you attack the character till your power bar is full to unleash a super attack or combo, similar to the Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom series. I guess super Combos are the big thing nowadays.
So is Soul Calibur V a game you should pick up? As a Fighting game enthusiast? yes. As a Multiplayer fanatic? yes. As a casual or lone gamer? No. As much as this game gives with customization and multiplayer options, This game went back on my shelf 4 days from release date. Sorry Namco and Project soul, But unless you bring back Link into the game and introduce a better storyline (and also explain to me how Ezio Auditore entered the series), this feels more like a flop than a fight.
And that's your Late Night Review! This is The Astromech, Reminding everyone to also be on the look out for our latest Tournament on the Last Sunday of Feburary where we bring back "Versus" at our new location: Nocturna Lounge.
Keep Fighting!
The Astromech!
Xb360: The Astromech
PSN: The_Astromech
Keep Fighting!
The Astromech!
Xb360: The Astromech
PSN: The_Astromech
