Surely, Soulcalibur fans are excited by the new Soulcalibur IV promised for later this year. However, Namco had a surprise up its sleeve with the recent announcement that itd be releasing an HD version of the game that started it all to Xbox Live Arcade around the same time. With thanks to Namco Bandai, were able to bring you an early look at the game youll be seeing on XBLA this summer, which is expected to cost about 800 Microsoft Points (or around $10).
First off, Namco claims to have boosted the graphics up to 1080p, and we cant dispute that from what weve seen. Its not as intricate as a full-priced game, but theres a lot of detail in the arenas and with the fighters.
The game also features a number of gameplay modes that will keep things fresh. Even the Practice Mode, which enables you to master each of the 19 playable characters, has plenty of options only a Pause Button away, such a full display of the characters command/combo list (and there are many, with each character having dozens that are broken down into horizontal attacks, vertical attacks, kicks, run attacks, throws and special attacks); a toggle for whether your opponent fights back in the match or not; and even a selection that does a recording of a segment of your battle, so you can play it back and assess the results.
As for the competitive modes, Soulcalibur gives you more a couple of choices. The Arcade Mode takes your selected character through a progression of the other fighters, one at a time. Time Attack pits you against the other fighter and times you how long it takes you to clear them out. Survival tests your skills by how long you can stay alive and many wins you can chain together before being defeated; you have a single health bar, but gain some back with each victory. Extra Survival is a variation of Survival that features one-hit kills, so you have to be the first to strike a blow in each match. Team Battle groups from one to eight of your favorite combatants against a like-numbered group of other fighters to see which team can take out the other one first. And Vs. Battle enables you to go head-to-head with someone else on the same console for bragging rights.
The action, if you arent already familiar, is fierce, with the characters weapons adding extra reach across the arena. With dozens of moves, a small dance floor on which to boogie and long reach, battles are intense and competitive, with good balance between all of the combatants.
