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Finally picked up Soul Calibur V
13 years ago
General
I got a brand spankin' new copy in an online auction for just a hair over 20 dollars and boy am I glad I didn't pick this up at launch. Not going to go crazy here but I'm going to break down my thoughts quick and keep in mind these are based on about a days worth of heavy play.
-Game feels faster than SCIV which is good in my opinion. Mechanic changes are a mixed bag though. I think brave edge is a clever way to make the old Soul Charge aspect useful again and I like how Guard Impacts are mandated by a meter as well. No more of those GI tug of war matches. A small level a resource management adds a welcome level of strategy. However I don't know what to think of Just Guard and Critical Edges seem scrubby. I can never get quick steps to work when I want and they don't seem like they're very effecting at sidestepping anyway.
-Game feels rushed. The game is notorious for its lacking content but even knowing that I was still taken aback by how scant it was. There isn't even a proper training mode to introduce players to the new mechanics. Just some scant arcade modes , Create a Soul and a shitty story mode. Fact is I think there's more content in budget fighters like Virtua Fighter 5, Skullgirls and 3rd Strike Online Edition. That's pretty pathetic when your game is full price at launch.
-Training mode is convoluted as fuck. I still don't know how to get the damn dummy to crouch or block or any of that rudimentary stuff. Virtua Fighter's training mode has completely spoiled me. Now I sorely miss when I can't see frame data.
-Create a Soul is back like a rash and it's even more robust than ever before. This mode has been the bane of this series since it first appeared in SC3. I can only speak for myself but I don't want to make some stupid looking stick character made from shitty, bland components. Customizing existing characters is cool but we don't need this many options. Obviously this game is incomplete/ rushes so Project Soul had to be short on time and/or money. Instead of making a damn good game to start they had to focus an expanding this superfluous mode and then try to charge us for more parts via DLC. No thank you. I want to play a fighting game, not a goddamn dress up fashion simulator.
-Character designs are thankfully toned down largely from the last title. SCIV's designs were hideously over-designed. Less is more and the returning cast members thankfully look much better for it.
-The roster is kind of fucked in some ways. I hate all the new characters except ZWEI. Most of them are replacements for older, better characters. Not a single one is likable to me. And some characters didn't even return. No Talim, Zasalamel, Yun-Seong or Setsuka. Two of the new obnoxious characters get alternate versions and one is largely a Setsuka clone. Speaking of clones why the fuck are there THREE mimic characters? Fuck that!
-The online options are rather clever. Things like Soul Colosseum and the registering rivals is pretty cool. Sadly it's all undone by the single most finicky netcode I've ever seen in a fighter. It's not bad in a traditional sense. It's bad in a more insidious way. The match will be smooth as butter when all the sudden mid match the connection get's lost for whatever reason. I KNOW it's not my connection. I've got damn fast cable internet and I can play all of my fighters with nary a hitch against people all over the country with no issues. But somehow this one spazzes and drops all the time. I could barely finish half my fights which is atrocious.
-Ezio is a good guest character. Fits in great.
-It's a fun game but a godawful product. I pity anybody who bought this at launch because for a full price title it's absolutely not worth it. I don't know what the future holds for the Soul Calibur series but if they ever make a sixth installment it better get more time in the oven than this one because even though it's a fun game, the lacking content is so bad it's shameful.
No wonder the hype for this game is dying already.
-Game feels faster than SCIV which is good in my opinion. Mechanic changes are a mixed bag though. I think brave edge is a clever way to make the old Soul Charge aspect useful again and I like how Guard Impacts are mandated by a meter as well. No more of those GI tug of war matches. A small level a resource management adds a welcome level of strategy. However I don't know what to think of Just Guard and Critical Edges seem scrubby. I can never get quick steps to work when I want and they don't seem like they're very effecting at sidestepping anyway.
-Game feels rushed. The game is notorious for its lacking content but even knowing that I was still taken aback by how scant it was. There isn't even a proper training mode to introduce players to the new mechanics. Just some scant arcade modes , Create a Soul and a shitty story mode. Fact is I think there's more content in budget fighters like Virtua Fighter 5, Skullgirls and 3rd Strike Online Edition. That's pretty pathetic when your game is full price at launch.
-Training mode is convoluted as fuck. I still don't know how to get the damn dummy to crouch or block or any of that rudimentary stuff. Virtua Fighter's training mode has completely spoiled me. Now I sorely miss when I can't see frame data.
-Create a Soul is back like a rash and it's even more robust than ever before. This mode has been the bane of this series since it first appeared in SC3. I can only speak for myself but I don't want to make some stupid looking stick character made from shitty, bland components. Customizing existing characters is cool but we don't need this many options. Obviously this game is incomplete/ rushes so Project Soul had to be short on time and/or money. Instead of making a damn good game to start they had to focus an expanding this superfluous mode and then try to charge us for more parts via DLC. No thank you. I want to play a fighting game, not a goddamn dress up fashion simulator.
-Character designs are thankfully toned down largely from the last title. SCIV's designs were hideously over-designed. Less is more and the returning cast members thankfully look much better for it.
-The roster is kind of fucked in some ways. I hate all the new characters except ZWEI. Most of them are replacements for older, better characters. Not a single one is likable to me. And some characters didn't even return. No Talim, Zasalamel, Yun-Seong or Setsuka. Two of the new obnoxious characters get alternate versions and one is largely a Setsuka clone. Speaking of clones why the fuck are there THREE mimic characters? Fuck that!
-The online options are rather clever. Things like Soul Colosseum and the registering rivals is pretty cool. Sadly it's all undone by the single most finicky netcode I've ever seen in a fighter. It's not bad in a traditional sense. It's bad in a more insidious way. The match will be smooth as butter when all the sudden mid match the connection get's lost for whatever reason. I KNOW it's not my connection. I've got damn fast cable internet and I can play all of my fighters with nary a hitch against people all over the country with no issues. But somehow this one spazzes and drops all the time. I could barely finish half my fights which is atrocious.
-Ezio is a good guest character. Fits in great.
-It's a fun game but a godawful product. I pity anybody who bought this at launch because for a full price title it's absolutely not worth it. I don't know what the future holds for the Soul Calibur series but if they ever make a sixth installment it better get more time in the oven than this one because even though it's a fun game, the lacking content is so bad it's shameful.
No wonder the hype for this game is dying already.
Oh, and movelists weren't so damn tiny.
good times, I didn't get 5 because they didn't bring back the seong family fighting style(my fav characters)
I hated the fucking Story Mode of this game. The plot was stupid, it was so short, and the whole thing was predictable. I was also mad that there was so little Single Player content. I love Soul Calibur b/c I didn't always need a group of friends to play it, these last few have killed the brand for me. Not getting the next installment, if they even get to make one.
No comment on Training mode. All I'll say is that I found it more finicky than previous training modes in the series.
I'm going to partially disagree with you. I like the Character Creator, but I wouldn't mind ditching it if it meant that we got more content. I like playing pretty dress-up with my characters.
Agreed on Character Designs. So much better.
I also dislike the new cast, pretty much all of it. I even looked online to see what some of their backstories were. Some made me wonder why they weren't in the game (Xianghua's clone is actually her daughter, Taki's clone is her disciple, Xiba kinda just exist). Some pissed me off (ZWEI doesn't talk about his past and Viola has amnesia, I'm not kidding). This is a minor gripe, but I hate Patrick's fighting stance. He's holding the fucking sword on the other side of his body, facing AWAY from the enemy. That's stupid. And I love the part where he starts using his REAL style... a perfect imitation of Setsuka. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! I'm also curious as to why they cut so many people from the cast, including the coolest black guy in fighting games.
No comment on online. I gave up on the game before giving online much of a chance.
Agreed on Ezio. He fits in much more than the Star Wars characters did.
Thank you for your sympathies.
That's right, only to customize characters with epic armors or silly costume, but i agree this game is nothing but a lackluster.
I've only played for 1hour and i reject the disc and insert Skyrim.
For a fighting with no sense of replay values, it's a disgrace. Aleast you can play longer in SCIV to unlock costume parts or completing some challenges.
this game does not worth the launch price, and the dlc.... well, there's a few costume that i want, but sadly you can't transfer your costume parts from SCIV to SCV. (NAMCO, YOU IDIOTS!!!)
I must fight you! :o