Despite many reports to the contrary, the fighting game genre's demise has been greatly exaggerated. Sure, one is much more likely to see gamers lined up to play DDR than a beat-up old Virtua Fighter 2 cabinet, but that doesn't mean that fighting games don't resonate with players the way they once did. In fact, the one game that everyone was lining up to play at a recent event was Capcom's Street Fighter IV, which will be releasing this year into arcades across the world. There are also several high-profile fighting games coming to consoles, including the latest entry in Namco-Bandai's popular Soulcalibur franchise.
We had a chance to check out both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Soulcalibur IV, and it looks like they are nearly identical, both in terms of visuals and gameplay. This is basically the same style of fighting that you've come to love from the previous games in the series, although there have been a few minor tweaks introduced. The biggest of these is the Soul Gauge system, which can give characters the ability to instantly kill their opponents. Essentially, you'll be able to build up your gauge by constantly attacking your foes (knocking off pieces of their armor in the process), then (with perfect timing) unleash a devastating Critical Finish move.
Of course, the biggest news surrounding the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Soulcalibur IV is the fact that you'll be able to bring some old familiar faces into battle. In an odd promotional tie-in, the PS3 game will feature Darth Vader, while the Xbox 360 title will allow players to fight as Yoda. Both of these fighters, of course, previously existed only in the "Star Wars" universe, and it was recently revealed that they won't be the only Friends of George making an appearance in the game. You'll be able to play as Darth's apprentice Starkiller (yes, that's his actual name) in both versions of the game, though we've yet to see him in action.
We'd love to tell you all about the characters we played, but unfortunately there were only three non-"Star Wars" combatants unlocked in the build we received. Longtime Soul Calibur samurai Mitsurugi is back in fine form, as is the hulking Siegfried, who is wielding the powerful Soul Calibur sword. We also had our first chance to play with Hilde, whose long spear is strikingly similar to the weapon used by franchise favorite Kilik. She is also equipped with a short sword that she uses for close-quarters combat, although we spent a good deal of our time staying out of our enemies' range and attacking with that staff of hers.
While the fighters are certainly a big part of the game, the environments play an important role as well, since you can use them to your advantage by ringing out your foes. Although the Throne Room and Phantom Pavilion are fairly standard indoor environments, both of them are very detailed. The Garden level, on the other hand, is lush, green, and features some nice water effects around the edges of the platform. Finally, we got to check out the sole "Star Wars" level, which appeared to take place in a Star Destroyer's hangar. The battle takes place on a walkway high above the hangar floor and is blocked off on both ends by laser fields.
It was a bit tough to get an idea of what the full version of Soulcalibur IV will have in store for us, but we have a pretty good hunch that it'll be similar the previous games: solid, weapon-based fighting in impressive environments with offbeat characters. While that's not necessarily a bad thing, we hope that the developers have a few surprises up their proverbial sleeves. Of course, for some people, the prospect of playing as Vader or Yoda is enough to make the game a first-day purchase. The soul still burns.
