Soul Calibur VXbox 360

Released on 03-Feb-2012.

• Namco announces �000 SoulCalibur tournament

  Fancy a grand? Reckon you're the business when it comes to fighting games? Pick up the awesome SoulCalibur V, out today for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and you could earn yourself a thousand notes and the respect of gamers everywhere by taking part in SoulCalibur Impact 2012.

  The tournament, set up by SoulCalibur publisher Namco Bandai, runs across Europe and culminates in a grand final on March 17th. That's also the date for the UK qualifying heat, with winners plunging straight into the grand final at the same venue, against winners from across Europe. The champion goes home with a pocket full of money and a life-sized replica Soul Edge trophy.

  St Stephen's, Rosslyn Hill in London is the place to be, at 12pm. Even if you don't fancy registering to compete, Namco Bandai is promising lots of other entertainment including free play sessions on previous SoulCalibur titles, a DJ, live performances and free refreshments. There'll be contests and giveaways throughout the day as well.

  By our reckoning that means you've got just over a month and a half to pick up SoulCalibur V and get practicing. So what are you waiting for?

  Published: 03/02/2012

• Soulcalibur V - Preview

  Stage of History

  It's no big secret that fighting games have returned to the forefront in recent years. While it once seemed as though the genre was destined to remain a curio of a bygone era, the release of Street Fighter IV resulted in an inundation of outstanding new games like BlazBlue and Dissidia: Final Fantasy, as well as retro revivals like Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Mortal Kombat. But if all these fighting game characters were to feature in a massive battle royale - where Ryu could dragon-punch Sub-Zero in the face, and Paul Phoenix could compare hairstyling tips with Cloud - who would be left standing?

  For our money, it would be a character from Namco's long running Soulcalibur series, and while tiger uppercuts and torpedo dives do respectable damage, nothing says you're dead quite like being hit in the face with a demonic soul-rending claymore. This is the premise by which Soulcalibur has always lived, and while other fighting games prefer to go hand-to-hand with the odd fireball thrown in for good measure, the Calibur dress code states that "if you can carry it, then you can wield it". And for the imminent release of Soulcalibur V, a whole new generation is waiting to test their mettle.

  Soul Searching

  Upon entering the new select screen for the first time, Soulcalibur veterans will recognise the familiar faces of wandering samurai Mitsurugi, the ever buxom Ivy, and an "Elvis lookalike wielding a pair of nunchuks" in the form of Maxi. All of these characters retain their classic hack-and-slash moves in addition to some subtle changes. But while the allure of the familiar will be hard for some to resist, the more spontaneous among us will want to sample one of the new characters, such as Taki's ninja apprentice, Kilik's gluttonous successor, and Sophita's twin children Patroklos and Pyrrha who were separated at the age of three.

  Rather than two halves of a locket or a matching pair of rings, the twins inherited their mother's sword and shield collection - which they weave through the air in a similarly distinctive style. But in terms of characters that use a completely different fighting force Soulcalibur V introduces a fortune teller named Viola who fights with a combination of finger-blades and a hovering crystal ball, as well as the mystical Z.W.E.I. who can summon his wolf spirit E.I.N. while wielding his tri-handled sword. And for Assassin's Creed fans, there's even the opportunity to build some hidden blade combos with the cloaked Ezio Auditore.

  High Calibur

  The improvements don't stop at the select screen either, and with a number of underlying system changes that are designed to make the game more balanced and competitive, this feels like the most refined Calibur yet. The most obvious addition is the new Critical Gauge that opens up a trio of advanced techniques as you both receive and deal damage. This includes Critical Edge super-moves that have Siegfried impaling his opponent on a row of jagged icicles, in addition to the flexible Brave Edge specials that dramatically expand your combo creation options.

  Defensive players also have access to a revised Guard Impact that now takes a fraction of your Critical Gauge to perform, but as a trade-off, it can be used as a catch-all for high and low attacks. These new manoeuvres are rounded off with a new Just Guard that works similarly to the parry system from Street Fighter III, and a new Quick Step that lets you dodge and counter any predictable strikes with relative ease. And while this mechanical analysis may fly over the heads of fighting game virgins, suffice to say that Soulcalibur remains one of the most accessible fighters out there.

  Ivy League

  This focus on accessibility even stretches to the available game modes, and while our preview time was mostly limited to Arcade and Versus, we did get to sample some of the other single-player features. This included a Story mode that stars Patroklos as he searches for his lost sister and the fabled swords, a Quick Battle mode that lets you fight against a huge list of AI opponents while collecting over 400 titles, a Legendary Souls mode that houses some very tough battles, and a deep character Creation mode that lets you alter the fabric of any item of clothing.

  But funky hats aside, our lasting impression of Soulcalibur V was that despite some welcome tweaks to the fighting formula and an expanded lineage of characters, it's still the same game we know and love. It's just now there's more layers of depth for those who want to put the hours into the training room and a more comprehensive mix of modes for casual players who just want a fun fighting game with impressive visuals. That's what we expect the full game to deliver, and that's why February 3rd can't come soon enough.

  Published: 25/01/2012

• E3 Preview

  

  E3 Preview

  E3 is Christmas for gamers. That doesn't mean Santa will be popping down your chimney in the middle of summer, of course, but for one long, hot week in early June, the people who make games all get together in L.A., and tell the rest of the world what we can look forward to playing next.
  

  Don't fret: we'll have all of your E3 news right here on the Gamestation website once the event kicks off. To ease the wait, though, we decided to gather together some of the things you can definitely expect to hear about at this E3, along with some of the likely - and not so likely - rumours doing the rounds. Enjoy!
  

  
  

  
  

  Project Café

  The big news of E3 2011 is almost certainly going to be about Nintendo's new home console, which is currently code-named Project Café. It's not a particularly thrilling name, but you'd be a fool not to get excited by whatever the Kyoto giant is working on next.
  

  The main rumours surrounding the new tech are that it will be roughly as powerful as the PS3 and Xbox 360, which means you can expect Mario, Zelda, and even Birdo in glorious HD. It's frightening - and awesome - to think what Nintendo can cook up with that kind of power when the video games legend has had no trouble creating Super Mario Galaxy 2 on the Wii. And if that isn't enough to fry your brain, we're also hearing a lot of speculation about a brand new controller with a touch-screen interface.
  

  Rumours are one thing of course, but with Nintendo it's never safe to predict what the company will do next. The 3DS took everybody by surprise at last year's E3, so this year should be even more exciting.
  

  
  

  
  

  GTA V

  Now Rockstar's finally released L.A. Noire, the smart money's on a brand new GTA game for HD consoles. We've heard a lot of chatter about a Hollywood setting over the past few months, but whichever part of the world the team turns its eyes towards, you can be sure they'll deliver one of the best titles of this generation. GTA IV saw things getting serious with a moody tale of violence and guilt, while Red Dead Redemption showed how the Rockstar boys can weave their magic in the Old West every bit as successfully as they can in the big city. Where do we reckon GTA V will land? In our shopping basket - that's where.
  

  
  

  
  

  Half-Life 2: Episode 3

  As with Rockstar and L.A. Noire, Valve has just shipped a big game in the form of Portal 2, leaving us with plenty of hope that we'll be seeing a new Half-Life title in L.A. this year. Episode 2 left things on a tantalising cliff-hanger, and it's been too long since we gripped that gravity gun and took aim at some head crabs. With the episodes taking longer to make and growing steadily more elaborate, we wouldn't be too surprised if the new game was a full-length offering.
  

  
  

  
  

  Uncharted 3

  PlayStation fans can look forward to a proper glimpse of Nathan Drake's latest adventure at E3. The ice and snow that characterised Uncharted 2: Amongst Thieves has been replaced with scorching deserts and realistic sand physics. With a new focus on brawling moves - and a hugely expanded online game - this is one blockbuster that's sure to make a massive impact.
  

  
  

  
  

  Modern Warfare 3

  We already know that the new Call of Duty game will continue the Modern Warfare plot line, and with locations including New York, London, and Dubai, we're set for an absolute barnstormer. The story sees the US and its allies struggling to cope with a surprise Russian invasion, and as Activision's putting all of its might behind this one, we're expecting to see a stellar E3 showing. Maybe we'll even see a little multiplayer, too?
  

  
  

  
  

  Kinect

  Microsoft's motion-sensing peripheral was the star of last year's E3, and now that it's sold over 10 million units, game designers are starting to hit their stride. Kids may be interested to check out Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster, while the rest of us can get stuck into hack-and-slash game Kingdom, Forza Motorsport 4, Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor, SEGA's creepy Rise of Nightmares, and The Gunstringer.
  

  As for the big guys, we already know LucasArts has a Star Wars game in the works - one that will allow you to turn Jedi and pulp Stormtroopers with the Force. Rumours have also been swirling that there's a Gears of War Kinect title in the offing too, along with another as-yet unannounced top-quality hardcore shooter. Could it be Halo?
  

  
  

  
  

  Halo

  Speaking of Halo, it's been exactly a decade since Master Chief first set his boots down on that mysterious ring world. Will Microsoft have a new game at E3 in order to celebrate the anniversary? We reckon they won't be able to resist - and we also hear that it could be a reworking of the very first Halo adventure, using current-gen graphics technology. Sold!
  

  
  

  
  

  Super Mario 3DS

  Super Mario will apparently be unleashed on the 3DS this year with a brand new 3D adventure from the Galaxy team. That's all you need to know. Potential game of the show?
  

  
  

  
  

  MGS Rising

  Raiden takes the lead role in the new Metal Gear Solid game, and we're hoping E3 will offer us our first proper glimpse of the game's chop-happy swordplay mechanic.
  

  
  

  
  

  Bioshock Infinite

  It's BioShock in the sky, as the citizens of a huge floating city duke it out with all kinds of interesting weaponry. We haven't heard much about Infinite since its announcement - this would be a very good time to show us what the game's got.
  

  
  

  
  

  Tomb Raider

  Lara Croft goes back to her roots with the new Tomb Raider, and it looks like a survival adventure of epic proportions. We're not just after a fresh glimpse of the game itself this June - what we'd really like is a release date to go with it.
  

  
  

  
  

  Soul Calibur V

  Fighting game fans will be looking towards Namco Bandai's showing at this E3. Soul Calibur V should build on the successes of the last game - and Soul Calibur IV was absolutely brilliant, remember - with a new fighting system that favours shorter, lighter, faster blades, and plenty of characters, old and new.
  

  
  

  Published: 17/05/2011

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