Soul Calibur 4 Catch-All

I wound up getting a PS3 for my Birthday this weekend so I picked it over the 360 version just because it's what I have played on all these years the PS controller just feels right for this game. Me and a friend wound up playing online last night for a couple of hours and it was very smooth no lag whatsoever which was nice! I was disappointed in the chat not being available during the fights but at least the trash talking can commence between rounds. If anyone wants to add me to thier freinds list my PSN name is shaddowklr99. Give me a shout if you don't mind loosing to a girl

PyromanFO wrote:

Just rented it. With each iteration of the series I get the feeling I enjoyed the first Soul Calibur for all the reasons that Namco doesn't care about. Playing this felt like playing a violent Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball. Every pixel of the game seems crafted for a 14 year old boy.

Put in about an hour, glad I rented it.

I'm glad it's not just me.

If you have a PS3 and aren't installing it on the hard drive you're missing out. Load times decreased significantly with the game installed. I got online a bit tonight and played some. It was quite fun but the wait between matches can be a bit long. Still have issues with it setting up a match only to have it full. Played Vader as well and I like him. He really does feel like I'm playing Darth Vader. Makes me with Namco would do a Star Wars (only) fighting game.

I recommend people going to custom matches and set the search preferences to Max Player = 2. Every time I did that I ended finding very decent servers, and the best part? No wait.

I tried inviting bnpederson today, but he ignored me. What a jerk.

Edit: Fun games sephirotic! Awesome launch off the ring in that third round.

MechaSlinky wrote:

Anyway, I was hoping there would be more customization when it comes to the move-set. I'm hoping more options and things will be unlocked as I go, but as it is right now, whether I'm editing a default character or creating an all-new one, I essentially pick the character I want to play as and then alter his/her look and stats.

As far as I can tell you're default SC character or nothing. Which, honestly, I'm not all that upset about considering SC3's custom characters. Sure they all had unique playing styles that were kinda fun but at the same time they were in no way play balanced with the normal characters. The Star Wars (sans Yoda since I've not played him) seem well balanced compared to everyone else and the manga characters are just straight rips, so it still feels good.

Until the AI freaking cheats at the end of Arcade. Grr.

Thirteenth wrote:

I tried inviting bnpederson today, but he ignored me. What a jerk. ;)

Heh, roommate's obsessed with getting gold and outfits for single player. I can't deny it to him, he bought the game. Yeah. My PS3 and he bought the game. No complaints from this side. :p

Though you'll find I rarely do online stuff in any event. I just don't notice it.

We just had our first bouts at work. Great fun was had. I'm not crazy about some of the visual stuff (HUD, some backgrounds), but it's still one beautiful game. The animation is just phenomenal. And since I brought it up earlier: the boob issue doesn't bother me nearly as much in-game as it does in their promotional art. Well, based on twenty minutes with the game it doesn't.

I'm having a great time with the game. If the boobs offend you... well I guess you're out of luck. Yes, they're ridiculous, but whatever. The gameplay's still there and that's the biggest part for me.

SO far my online experience with is wasn't bad at all. There was only one lag hiccup (which made me lose!). Other than that the response time was nice. I get it in the mail yesterday and been playing it for around 5 hours so far. Very addicting.

The customization kinda sucks though.

MechaSlinky wrote:

I finally played the game, although not for very long, yet. I like it. Made a viking.

I was expecting the character creation stuff to be more robust, considering the sh*t that James Mielke at 1up said about it, but I have come to realize that he is a horrible liar.

Anyway, I was hoping there would be more customization when it comes to the move-set. I'm hoping more options and things will be unlocked as I go, but as it is right now, whether I'm editing a default character or creating an all-new one, I essentially pick the character I want to play as and then alter his/her look and stats.

(Edited for the good parts)

The character creation system is what it is. You unlock more parts to use and as you level up weapon styles it unlocks new skills but you won't be editing the movesets. That'd just be way too difficult to balance. I mean it's one thing in a wrestling game where every move is basically the same thing with a different animation but this is a fighting game. Even with all the movesets set in stone the balance is still pretty messed up. So yeah, you don't get to make your own truly custom character but on the plus side there's less of a chance of a perfect "uber build" emerging and changing the entire character customization feature into a LEGO kit (in that you can make other stuff if you really want to but in the end you're best off following a list of assembly instructions).

I'm more disappointed that they removed the movesets that were unique to custom characters from Soul Calibur 3. They had some neat stuff in there. I particularly liked the Dagger + Bomb style.

Thin_J wrote:

I'm having a great time with the game. If the boobs offend you... well I guess you're out of luck. Yes, they're ridiculous, but whatever. The gameplay's still there and that's the biggest part for me.

It's not really offensive. It's just the exact opposite of the reason I enjoyed Soul Calibur. The first one was this sort of subdued, a little silly but still believable fighter. Ivy was wearing almost nothing, but you could play with a girl and laugh about how silly it is and go on. This is Yoda beating up Japanese Maids in thong underwear. This is very strange pornography for 13 year olds.

Gameplay is the same way, the first one had almost nothing extraneous to it, just moves and hitting each other. And you could jump in as a random guy and just play and not feel like you're missing 50% of what's going on. In this one, in the first 30 seconds I noted about 20 things I had no idea what was going on. And I don't care to learn, because I'm not a hardcore fighter guy. I just like to smack people around some. So the gameplay isn't really there for me either. Unless you're hardcore, that is.

It's not that I'm shocked, it's just morphed into the exact opposite of Soul Calibur for me. It's went more Tekken, less well ... Soul Calibur I guess.

Pyro wrote:

This is Yoda beating up Japanese Maids in thong underwear. This is very strange pornography for 13 year olds.

I agree. The Yoda thong outfit was certainly a bad move.

Thirteenth wrote:

Edit: Fun games sephirotic! Awesome launch off the ring in that third round. :lol:

I had some good launches there, but that was definitely a lucky one. I didn't notice much lag at all. We both got off some Guard Impacts and what looked to be two Just Impacts as well. The custom female v custom female matches were hilarious. My wife looked at the screen and said "They actually model them to look that ugly?".

I managed to get one of the more esoteric honors last night: Numeric god. This is where the last two digits of total playtime equaled the last two digits of the round timer. How on earth could someone plan for that?

There needs to be some bigger notice that you've been invited to a game. I almost missed Thirteenth's invite. Also, I think I'm going to need a headset or something. I miss the chatting between rounds.

LobsterMobster wrote:

as you level up weapon styles it unlocks new skills but you won't be editing the movesets. That'd just be way too difficult to balance.

I am really unclear on this. I noticed that my "style" was leveling up but I had no idea what that actually meant. I didn't see this in the manual, either. How do I see what I've unlocked, style-wise?

I need some people to play with online. Send me an invite if you see me log in.

Thin_J wrote:

I'm having a great time with the game. If the boobs offend you... well I guess you're out of luck. Yes, they're ridiculous, but whatever. The gameplay's still there and that's the biggest part for me.

Agreed, but I mainly wanted to reply that it makes me feel warm and fuzzy to actually see ridiculous spelled correctly on the Internet. It's like the dawn of a bright, shiny, day. Well, one that's slightly overcast with the half-dozen incorrectly used "your"'s rather than "you're"'s I saw earlier.

I always remember how to spell ridiculous because it means "worthy of ridicule". Today's helpful spelling tip has been brought to you by the lack of sleep engendered by last night's Soul Calibur marathon.

Pyro,

Why are you worrying about what people will think when you play? If you like it, play it. If a woman quizzes you about it, say 'I don't notice it' or 'Yeah, I just play for the tits' and grin.

If you make a big thing out of it, other people will make a big thing out of it. If you're fine with it there's unlikely to be a problem.

Also, it sounds like you're projecting how someone new to the series would percieve SC IV. You're noticing all sorts of sh*t, but most people probably wouldn't. For most people it'll just be cool to run around and swing a sword in a video game.

I'm looking forward to getting my copy. If there's stuff that confuses me, I'll look it up. If I can't be bothered, I'll just swing my sword regardless.

I'm going to follow up on that thought and say that my wife never made mention of the games assets. She's used to seeing that in games.

Maybe the uninitiated will only talk about the relative flatness of Ivy's butt to her bussom?

Sephirotic wrote:
LobsterMobster wrote:

as you level up weapon styles it unlocks new skills but you won't be editing the movesets. That'd just be way too difficult to balance.

I am really unclear on this. I noticed that my "style" was leveling up but I had no idea what that actually meant. I didn't see this in the manual, either. How do I see what I've unlocked, style-wise?

When you go to make/customize a character, one of the tabs has four lines. They start out blank (-----------) and sometimes the top one is unavailable, if you have a weapon with a default skill on it equipped. If you highlight a blank and press A, it brings you to the skill list.

The skills are organized into 5 categories (power, impact, boost, gauge, special) and each one costs a certain number of points in one or more categories. How many points you have to spend are based on your equipment and weapons.

In addition to a point cost, each skill also has a level requirement, which is based on your level in that style (carries across all characters that use that weapon). Skills you can't use yet are in dark gray but if you look close you can still read the requirements. In general the higher level skills either have more powerful effects (naturally) or are just more powerful versions of lower level skills.

The list is the same for all weapon styles and it's good to read them over since the roster characters have default skills and it's good to know what they mean (particularly since some skills need to be manually activated).

Many thanks, Lobster! I know that I can always count on you.

PyromanFO wrote:

And I don't care to learn, because I'm not a hardcore fighter guy. I just like to smack people around some. So the gameplay isn't really there for me either. Unless you're hardcore, that is.

These comments kind of surprise me, because I think SC has always been a really fun "non hardcore" fighter and the new game seems no exception. I've been playing with my wife, 9 year old daughter, and 4 year old son and everybody has a great time just "smacking people around" - SC has always played well as just a button masher and so does this newest game, which is great because my little 4 year old can be competitive with anyone else in the house.

Sephirotic wrote:

Many thanks, Lobster! I know that I can always count on you.

Always a pleasure, Seph. I ought to write strategy guides. Maybe for DOUBLE JUMP. Too bad DOUBLE JUMP is not reading this thread right now.

DOUBLE JUMP.

1Dgaf wrote:

Pyro,

Why are you worrying about what people will think when you play? If you like it, play it. If a woman quizzes you about it, say 'I don't notice it' or 'Yeah, I just play for the tits' and grin.

If you make a big thing out of it, other people will make a big thing out of it. If you're fine with it there's unlikely to be a problem.

Also, it sounds like you're projecting how someone new to the series would percieve SC IV. You're noticing all sorts of sh*t, but most people probably wouldn't. For most people it'll just be cool to run around and swing a sword in a video game.

I'm looking forward to getting my copy. If there's stuff that confuses me, I'll look it up. If I can't be bothered, I'll just swing my sword regardless.

I think what Pyro is trying to say, what I am trying to say, is that the focus seems to be less on what made the original so good.

Making the game more hardcore is bad in my estimation. I was really pissed about SC3. I'm not going to spend the time learning all the secret moves, I just want to mess around and beat people up. Getting my ass handed to me repeatedly with a character I am somewhat proficient with was enough to make me pause and consider how "fun" the game was. The other add-ons seemed pointless.

Then there is the "boobs" issue. I think the point here is that we don't need porno for 13 year olds for this to be a good game. The original Soul Calibur certainly had some sexuality but it wasn't quite so in your face. It doesn't add anything to gameplay and it certainly makes it harder to justify that you're playing it for the gameplay. It sounds about as weak as saying you read Playboy for the articles. No matter how well written, hey look, Oogaba!

I loved DOA2 and DOA3 because of the use of environment having an impact on how you play. Still, I could have done without the overt sexuality on constant display. Trying to convince people the value of these games was nigh impossible. I'd liken it to trying to address someone to persuade them to your point of view but ending your monologue by calling them an asshole. No matter how articulate you were, they're still going to remember that you insulted them.

I feel this is the same problem with SC4. The game doesn't need Ivy's "nuances" to be good, yet the increase in overt sexuality in the game makes it more difficult to take the game seriously. The original game didn't need it, so why the change in focus.

Less accessible gameplay and more sexuality just turned me off to the series. As always, I'm glad people are enjoying it. Personally, I'm enjoying the original on XBLA and don't see the point of buying this one. $60 is a lot of money to spend on a game that, if the last one is anything to go by, will end up just pissing me off.

People bemoan the giant boobies but I think the medium is just growing up. Right now it's finally ready to acknowledge boobies but is still immature about them. Video Gaming is a horny teenager. Eventually it'll grow out of it (or at least it'll be able to act like it doesn't like those kinds of things when it needs to act like a grown-up).

Speaking of which, it looks like they put Voldo's spiked codpiece back into the XBLA version of Soul Calibur. That got removed from the american dreamcast release.

Rumor has it there's already a character creation parts pack available for 100 spacebucks. It contains items from the Soul Calibur 2 costumes. I haven't been able to check myself, yet.

Botswana,

"It doesn't add anything to gameplay and it certainly makes it harder to justify that you're playing it for the gameplay."

Justify to who? I don't go to arcades anymore, so when I play games infront of people those onlookers are either friends or friends of friends. Either way, I'm likely to have spoken to them or they'll have seen me interact with other people (at a party for example).

They'll understand my 'vibe' and will know I'm playing a fighting game that happens to have characters with massive tits, that I'm not playing it because of the tits. Even if the people are strangers - let's say you're playing a demo in a shop - who cares? Unless you're hurting them or disturbing them, they may not even notice. If they do notice, they'll forget soon enough. People are wrapped up in their own worlds.

Cramps wrote:

Maybe the uninitiated will only talk about the relative flatness of Ivy's butt to her bussom? :)

Respek Knuckles!

Benticore
Out

Benticore wrote:
Cramps wrote:

Maybe the uninitiated will only talk about the relative flatness of Ivy's butt to her bussom? :)

Respek Knuckles!

Benticore
Out

...Wait, what?