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Soulcalibur V

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SoulCalibur V
Developer(s)Project Soul
Publisher(s)Namco Bandai Games
Director(s)Daishi Odashima
Producer(s)Hisharu Tago
Composer(s)Junichi Nakatsuru
Hiroki Kikuta
Inon Zur
Cris Velasco
Jesper Kyd
Andrew Aversa
Tomoki Miyoshi
SeriesSoul
Platform(s)PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Genre(s)Fighting game
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Soulcalibur V (ソウルキャリバーV, SōruKyaribā Faibu) is a video game developed and released by Namco Bandai Games for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2012.[1]

The sixth main installment in Namco's Soul series of fighting games, Soulcalibur V is the follow-up to Soulcalibur IV and retains the weapon-based combat that characterizes the series but follows a new character, Patroklos, who aims to rid his sister of a curse brought upon her by an ancient weapon.

The game received a positive reception, but was often criticized for the removal many iconic characters from the earlier games in the series.

Gameplay

Like the previous games in the series, Soulcalibur V is a weapon-based fighting game. Players use high and low vertical and horizontal attacks to damage opposing player characters and can block incoming attacks or parry enemies' moves to gain a tactical advantage. The game features a tweaked "Critical Edge" system, allowing players to fill up a meter and utilize a variety of special attacks.[2]

The game features a variety of gameplay modes. In Story Mode, players take control of the game's protagonist Patroklos, guiding him through a series of battles divided into twenty episodes. The game's arcade mode allows players to control any of the game's characters and face six opponents in time trial matches. In addition, the game features Quick Battle mode, which allows players to unlock titles for their online profiles and an extra "Legendary Souls" mode. Like its predecessors, Soulcalibur V also sports variety of multiplayer modes, allowing players to face each other both online and offline. The character creation mode from previous games has also been retained.[2]

Plot

The game takes place 17 years after the events of Soulcalibur IV and centers around the children of Soul series veteran Sophitia.[3] The protagonist is her son Patroklos and his estranged sister Pyrrha is a supporting character. The two siblings journey across Europe in an attempt to rid Pyrrha of the "malfestation", a curse that is bestowed upon whoever comes into contact with the evil weapon the Soul Edge.[4]

Characters

Main article: Soul series playable characters

The game features 28 playable characters, including 10 characters that are new to the series.[5] The new characters include two versions of Pyrrha and Patroklos.[2] The game also introduces the mysterious Z.W.E.I. as well as Viola, a fortune teller. Several new characters use the fighting styles of previous characters in the series: Taki's successor Natsu, Xianghua's daughter Yan Leixia and Xiba, who uses Kilik's fighting style.[6] The game's guest character is Ezio Auditore da Firenze from the Assassin's Creed series.[7] The game also features a number of returning characters, such as Mitsurugi, Cervantes and Nightmare.[5]

Development

A petition for Soulcalibur V posted on Facebook caught the attention of Katsuhiro Harada, producer of Namco's Tekken series. He accepted suggestions and promised to lobby on behalf of fans for the creation of a new Soulcalibur game. The game was teased as early as 2010, when game director Daishi Odashima tweeted "SC is back!". On December 25, 2010, a new Soul series project was announced to be under way, led by a new director.[8] In late April 2011, Odashima tweeted again saying "Hopefully I will be able to announce something mid May."[9] Soulcalibur V was officially announced by Namco Bandai on May 11, 2011.[1]

Development of the game's story mode was outsourced to CyberConnect2, developers of the Capcom game Asura's Wrath.[2] The story was originally planned to be four times longer, but was cut back because of time and manpower restraints.[10]

Release

Pre-order bonuses included the playable character Dampierre from Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny.[11] A collector's edition of Soulcalibur V was released along with the standard edition in a book-like package containing the game, CD game music soundtrack, art book, making-of DVD and exclusive White and Dark Knight character creation downloadable content.[12]

Namco has released additional downloadable content for the game. The first "Launch Day" pack includes a set of character customization items described as "exotic" as well as music from Soul Edge and Soulcalibur. The Valentine’s Day February 14 pack includes customization items described as "fearsome", along with music from Soulcalibur II and Soulcalibur III. The February 28th pack includes more customization items and music from Soulcalibur IV and Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny. The music tracks are also available individually.[13] Further DLC packs are planned to be released once a month.[10]

Reception

Soulcalibur V received mostly positive reviews, resulting in average Metacritic scores of 77 (Xbox 360)[15] and 81 (PS3).[14]

1UP.com criticized the story mode, but was overall positive in its review, stating that the game "reinvents the series again".[18] Game Informer called it "the best Soulcalibur ever."[19] On the other hand, IGN wrote that Soulcalibur V "feels like more of the same" and was disappointed by the game, especially criticizing its story mode.[2]

Besides the lackluster story mode, an often-repeated point of criticism was absence of many the series' stalwart characters such as Sophitia, Taki and Seong Mi-na.[20][32][33][34] Cheat Code Central included "every new character in the game" on their list of top ten lamest video game characters of all time.[35]

As of June 2012, the game has sold 1.38 million units worldwide.[36]

References

  1. ^ a b VG247 Staff (May 11, 2011). "Namco nukes Dubai: SoulCalibur 5 announced for 2012". Vg247. Retrieved May 11, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b c d e f Steven Lambrechts, Soulcalibur V Review, IGN, January 31, 2012
  3. ^ McGarvey, Sterling (2012-01-31). "Soulcalibur V review". GamesRadar. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  4. ^ a b SoulCalibur V - GameSpot.com
  5. ^ a b "Soul Calibur V Review (Xbox 360)". Team Xbox. 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  6. ^ Basile, Sal (2012-01-17). "SoulCalibur V New Characters". UGO. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  7. ^ Gilbert, Henry (2011-10-21). "Assassin's Creed's Ezio joins the Soulcalibur V roster in new trailer and screens". GamesRadar. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  8. ^ "Twitter feed for Daishi Odashima". 2010-12-25. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
  9. ^ Gantayat (April 26, 2011). "New SoulCalibur Info Possibly Coming in Mid May". Andriasang. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
  10. ^ a b Train2Game interview: SoulCalibur V game director Daishi Odashima | The Train2Game Blog
  11. ^ Hilliard, Kyle (2011-10-22). "Unlock Dampierre When You Preorder Soulcalibur V". Game Informer. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  12. ^ Fletcher, JC. "Soulcalibur V Collector's Edition: the pages of history". Joystiq. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  13. ^ Soulcalibur V DLC Announced - News - www.GameInformer.com
  14. ^ a b SoulCalibur V Critic Reviews for PlayStation 3 at Metacritic.com
  15. ^ a b SoulCalibur V Critic Reviews for Xbox 360 at Metacritic.com
  16. ^ SoulCalibur V for PlayStation 3 - GameRankings
  17. ^ SoulCalibur V for Xbox 360 - GameRankings
  18. ^ a b Jose Otero, Review: Soulcalibur V Redefines Namco's Flagship Weapon-Based Fighter, 1UP.com, January 31, 2012
  19. ^ a b Adam Biessener, Soulcalibur V, GameInformer, January 31, 2012
  20. ^ a b Daniel Bischoff, Does the Soul Still Burn?, GameRevolution, 02/03/12
  21. ^ SoulCalibur V Article Review and Ratings | GameTrailers
  22. ^ Jeremy Jastrzab, Soul Calibur V Review: The burning soul will never extinguish!, PALGN, 07 Feb, 2012
  23. ^ Sterling McGarvey, Soulcalibur V review: Refinements and revamps help restore the lustre to the series, GamesRadar, January 31, 2012
  24. ^ Rich Stanton, SoulCalibur V Review: Ivy league, CVG UK, 31st Jan 2012
  25. ^ SoulCalibur V review, GamesTM, 31 Jan 2012
  26. ^ Matt Edwards, SoulCalibur 5 Review, Eurogamer, 31 January, 2012
  27. ^ Nic Vargus, SoulCalibur V review, Official Xbox Magazine, 01/31/2012
  28. ^ Jesse Lord, Soul Calibur V Review (Xbox 360), TeamXbox, February 5th, 2012
  29. ^ SoulCalibur 5 Review: A slick, underwhelming return to the stage of history, Official Xbox Magazine UK
  30. ^ Andrew Fitch, EGM Review: Soul Calibur V, EGMNOW, February 3, 2012
  31. ^ Sal Basile SoulCalibur V Review, UGO, January 31, 2012
  32. ^ Daniel Maniago, SoulCalibur 5 Review, G4tv, Feb 02, 2012
  33. ^ Nick Dinicola, 'SoulCalibur V' Is a Very Vibrant Game, PopMatters, 6 February 2012
  34. ^ Evan Narcisse, SoulCalibur V : The Kotaku Review, Kotaku, Jan 31, 2012
  35. ^ Top Ten Lamest Video Game Characters - Cheat Code Central
  36. ^ "Financial Highlights for the First Quarter of the Fiscal Year Ending March 2013 (April-June 2012)" (PDF). Namco Bandai Games. Namco Bandai Holdings. August 2, 2012. p. 3. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
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