We can’t wait for the day when every fighting game has a half-decent go at delivering a worthwhile campaign. It’s not as if they don’t already have the characters or the stories for it – go looking for them and you’ll find that SoulCalibur V’s fighters each have incredibly intricate backstories, with relationships, interests and histories that could easily form part of an on-going narrative. NetherRealm recognised this with last year’s Mortal Kombat, setting a precedent for the genre with its excellent story-driven campaign. So why can’t anyone else?
Despite being the default option upon loading up the game, Story mode is clearly an afterthought for Project Soul, rather than the focus. A brief and creatively bankrupt extension on the usual Arcade mode, it tells the vague overarching story of Patroklos and Pyrrha Alexander, a brother and sister force sent on the trail of the spirit sword Soul Calibur. But beyond boring the player to tears, it doesn’t ever achieve anything, simply pitting players up against a handful of classic SC characters and generic fodder in a series of bog-standard bouts. The cut-scenes that intertwine, meanwhile – an odd mix of sketches and CGI – are so tedious that you’ll likely start to skip them around the halfway mark. It ends after 90 minutes thankfully, and you’ll wonder why you, or Project Soul, even bothered.
So, the story’s a load of throwaway rubbish then, but thankfully the rest of the game holds up rather well. The core combat is up there with some of the best we’ve seen in the genre, SoulCalibur’s classic weapons system remaining relatively unique to a fighter, with characters giving their fists a rest and using nunchuks, samurai swords and six-foot poles to beat down their foes instead. Some feel slightly overpowered – Nightmare and Cervantes are typically cheap, and it’s fairly easy for an amateur to pick up a quick, combo-heavy player like Maxi and destroy a sluggish character handled by a series pro within minutes. But at the same time, that’s exactly the point.
Prepare yourself for that buzzword, then. Project Soul has gone to great lengths to make SoulCalibur V far more accessible than previous games, upping the tempo and tweaking characters to react that little bit more responsively. Bashing buttons can often result in some slick combos, making fights performed by even the most amateur fighter seem like balletic and beautifully choreographed dances of violence. You might not know how you’ve pulled off that sword-swinging stunner, but since when did that matter?
As such, heading online with SCV doesn’t feel anywhere as intimidating as it can in fighters like Street Fighter IV. Sure, seasoned pros will always have the upper hand, but the system makes fights far more enjoyable and far less competitive – a positive or negative point depending on your stance on the genre.
At the time of writing our review, online multiplayer was hindered by spots of lag, something which – as many fighting fans will already know – can make or break a fighter’s lasting online appeal. There’s still hope that it’ll be fixed. Namco Bandai has promised us that an update should appear around the time you read this, but at this stage we can’t make a call on it either way.
The character creator returns from SoulCalibur IV, again with the hilarious option of being able to take your creations online. But disappointingly (although not all that surprisingly), a lot of the customisation items seem to be reserved for premium DLC. Boo-erns, Namco Bandai.
So, its weak single-player offering makes SoulCalibur V a less than ideal option for solo players, but when it comes to the core fighting mechanics there’s very little here to criticise. It’s an unadventurous sequel, and its less than perfect balance means it certainly isn’t going to topple Street Fighter IV off the top of a pro’s favourites list anytime soon. But if you’re in the market for a fun, gorgeous fighter packed with moves and choreography that’ll leave you awestruck, SCV’s the one to beat.
VERDICT: 80%
Tags: SoulCalibur V
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