1. destructo_dude

   7

   I'm confused at most of these reviews. The combat has not improved. It's actually been dumbed down to the point that one of the button combinations (horizontal and kick; one of the style-switching combinations) has been removed. I'm not necessarily complaining about the changes in familiar move sets, because that actually makes the learning curve interesting. I'm complaining about the way in which the combat and gameplay have devolved since Soul Calibur 3. Soul Calibur 3 took all that was right with SC2, improved it, and supplied a treasure chest of single-player modes including the best campaign a fighting game has ever seen: "Chronicles of the Sword." Soul Calibur 4 dumbed down the combat by dumping the fake-out "jump-delays," removed the campaign, and made story mode brisker. These aren't such bad changes, but remain questionable with the amount of content an HD game should have compared to a PS2 classic. Soul Calibur 5 removed A+K (stunting Ivy's entire move-set), reduced story mode to a single narrative, kicked out the Museum, and transformed mission-mode into "extreme-difficulty arcade-mode." Soul Calibur 3: Arcade, Versus, Story, Campaign, Missions, Customs (personality-building, main roster colors), Museum (movies, art, music, battle theater, profiles with full dialogue, demonstrations) Soul Calibur 4: Arcade, Versus, Online, Story, Missions (Tower: staged-Ascend and laddered-Descend), Customs (RPG-traits, main roster costumes), Museum (movies, art, overview of series) Soul Calibur 5: Arcade, Versus, Online, Story (single narrative), Missions ("Legendary Souls": Europe, Asia, both), Customs (superficially, more stuff) There's also the lack of stun-recovery that I find baffling. Usually, you're given a slim chance to avoid a juggle, but this entry has removed it entirely. The parries (Guard Impact) have been changed to work dependently on your power-meter, the thing you're trying to save for your "super combo." It reminds me of how frustrating it was in Mortal Kombat (2011) to have the combo-breaker rely on a "super combo" meter instead of allowing you two chances in a match like previous entries. Parrying has been altered to the benefit of no one. Newcomers will find no reward in practicing and performing it because it now depletes from the action. In the case of parrying, it really should have added to the meter than subtract.These are huge steps in the wrong direction. I welcomed the new characters openly, as the two previous games were two cluttered with clones. However, some of the outcomes don't make sense to me. You end up with five random select options once you've unlocked all the hidden characters (two others are just alternate weapon types for the main characters). Older, male characters that ought to be replaced have held out longer than younger females (most devastating: Talim). Mitsurugi makes sense in this regard, Maxi and Raphael (whose intended replacement is nowhere to be seen) do not. The majority of the new characters are more replacements than fresh additions, the exceptions being Viola and ZWEI who each have such unique play styles as to rival that of the SC3 additions. I want to give this a lower score, but technically it's still a good fighting game. Any fighting game that gives you a full-range of movement to actually explore its arenas has done something right. I'm also loving the Creation mode, which allows me to move three items wherever I want them (when stickers are simply not enough). Multiplayer is fast and hopefully draws a lot of attention, however I'm still displeased to wait for a single match to finish while myself and a number of others wait patiently. Couldn't it be a couple of matches at the same time in a room of five? Otherwise, the ping hasn't interrupted any of my matches thus far. The addition of Brave Edge and Critical Edge is a welcomed one as each has a specific strength that a mastered player can triumph over the proposed "army of button mashers these games cater to." So, 7 seems appropriate for now (SC4: 8, SC3:10) and I do hope stun-recovery is patched into this game because "Legendary Souls" mode (the game's one and only "mission") is such a hassle without it. To be completely honest, this is a good entry game for the series. I just hope that means people will be inclined to purchase Soul Calibur 3, if it ever ends up on PSN or Xbox-Live, or even Soul Calibur 4 for all its content and a much better approach to customs than "we balanced everything out so you can make people in bikinis tough." Side-note: For everyone saying the games went downhill after Soul Calibur or Soul Calibur 2, you missed out on two much better games.… Expand

   • Helpful?

     7 of 9 users said yes
2. MonkofMajere

   5

   As a long time fan of the Soul Calibur series, I picked up the collectors edition thinking this would be another incredible chapter in the series. What I've found, however, is a very mixed view of the game. On one side, the character creation is absolutely fabulous. It is a huge improvement on SC3 and 4's Character Creation in every way possible. This is probably the best feature of this game. There are so many possibilities it's astounding! On the other hand, however, there is the lack of beloved characters, the three mimic characters (mimic meaning they do not have their own style, but use others instead), the very disappointing story mode, and the general unpolished feeling the game has. Starting with the first point, though. While characters being taken out of the series is inevitable, those that were taken out are a little ridiculous. Some of the series best characters have lost their spots in this game, and those that were replaced are shadows of their former selves. And even some of those that returned are nothing to be excited over. Kilik, a longtime veteran of the Soul Calibur games, is nothing more then a mimic. Talim, a very popular character in the series in general, does not even appear. And the way each character is designed makes it feel like the developers just didn't put the effort into the game that they should have. And then there's the storyline. Now, I've read more then a few reviews where people have defended this feature by saying it is not supposed to be the main attraction of the game. While this is true, if you put a feature in a game you put effort into the feature. Period. Otherwise you may as well just leave it out. After reading about how the Dev's had specifically said they were taking inspiration from the new Mortal Kombat game, I was somewhat excited. While the story line in MK isn't the best, it was well designed and well put together. Soul Calibur V's storyline is terrible. You play as three characters who, for the most part, just continuously fight each other. While there is some animation, most of the cut scenes are nothing more then concept art. And while I'm sure some people would defend this by saying it is an artistic style, to me it just comes off as laziness. The game itself also just feels unpolished. And while this is to be expected (to an extent) from a brand new release, no Soul Calibur game has felt so incomplete. From the balancing issues with several of the characters to the way the characters move all feels unfinished. And unlike the story line, this does affect what this game is intended for. All in all I would suggest holding off on this purchase, even to long time fans of the series. I have loved every single Soul Calibur game to date, even dating back to pre-"Calibur", but this game needs a lot of work before it can even be considered good.… Expand

   • Helpful?

     5 of 9 users said yes
3. Alenth

   3

   By far the worst entry in the series, story mode is horrible and makes zero sense, quick match is just a grind for titles, we don't have talim, rock, zasalamel, etc but hey!! they have time to introduce a copy of jin and 3 mimics!! Patroklos and Pyrrha are by far the most annoying teens ever in a FG. The supers are really inconsistent and cheap with 1 frame start ups, Guard break is poorly done, a lot of characters are dumbed down with a lot of moves being removed, Maxi and Nightmare are really boring to play, the new replacements are more of the same. This game is only for the extreme zealous fans, the only good things are the online play, Ezio, Viola and Zwei, this is an online game only, is just a rushed game.… Expand

   • Helpful?

     3 of 4 users said yes

See all 31 User Reviews