Project Soul has always taken itself a little bit too seriously for our liking. Take Soulcalibur V for example. If we were to make a bet, we’d say that most of you were only really interested in picking it up for the chance to beat up Maxi as Assassin’s Creed: Revelations star Ezio Auditore di Firenze, or see what tight suit Ivy has managed to squeeze herself into this time. (In case you’re wondering, readers, it’s an unashamedly arousing open-front fur jacket – Ed).
But no, at the forefront of the latest Cali, there’s a convoluted story about two cursed swords having a disagreement in 17th century Europe which sees main character Patroklos deliver some awkward dialogue and smash in a few rebels’ faces on his journey to take down SC-baddy Nightmare.
So, Soulcalibur V doesn’t exactly break the mould, but that was never Namco’s intention. This is a sequel built purely for the fans, a title that celebrates its much-loved, well-endowed characters and irons out the creases found in its recent fun but flawed predecessors.
But you’re probably all wondering one thing: how well does Ezio fit into a fighting game, particularly after the poor execution of guest characters found in previous Soulcaliburs? Well, after spending a few hours getting to grips with him, he’s actually a surprisingly great fit for the series.
Ezio’s a well-balanced character, well equipped for dealing with combat at both long and short range, and having learned brand-new moves specifically for the game.
The majority of them make use of his dual hidden blades, with our typical fighting style (ie. button mashing) resulting in barrages of short, sharp swipes and kicks. Additional moves tied to his hidden gun and crossbow mean skilled players will be able to surprise their opponent from distance – with the gun being a terrifically powerful tool, able to rattle off unblockable, HP-destroying bullets. We can see those horrified faces now – an unblockable gun? – but don’t worry, as its inclusion isn’t as game-breaking as it sounds. Project Soul has struck the balance perfectly, and using it leaves the player static and open to attack for a good second or so before firing.
But besides the guest characters themselves, Soulcalibur’s main attraction has always been its expertly choreographed Swan Lake-of-death combos – the most fancy we’ve seen being Ezio’s ‘Full Synchronisation’, a deadly powerful Critical Edge move that sees him assault his opponent with the blades, gun and crossbow all at the same time.
And that’s Soulcalibur V in a nutshell. A beautiful, often mesmeric beat-’em-up whose fights can look like a violent Strictly when put in the hands of the right players, remaining accessible enough for the button-mashing mass market to have a certain amount of fun with.
It certainly won’t convert non-believers, nor has it really changed all that much since the first game all those years ago. But in the battle for 2012′s top fighter, Soulcalibur V certainly has the potential to deliver a knockout blow to Street Fighter X Tekken when it launches next month.
This article was originally published in Issue 62 of 360Zine.
Tags: SoulCalibur V
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