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  Soulcalibur Legends
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Turning an action title into action adventureThe Soul series of games is the second 3D fighting series to feature characters that fight with weapons. When the first of the Soul series was released (Soul Edge), it hit the world hard. Adding a new sense of individualism to players, the series is held in high regard by any fan of the fighting genre. One of the biggest things about the series way-back-then was the fact that the characters came with actual stories – instead of just names and short description of their motivations, that is. And now, the series is going back a few titles to flesh out the key point of the whole series, but in a much, MUCH different way. With innovation and creativity comes the inevitable chance of failure. The Nintendo Wii could have flopped, but rather the contrary, it has inspired game developers to be innovative themselves. Now, making an action-adventure title isn't a unique task. There have been hundreds and hundreds of them on the market, but when a series known only for its intense weapon-based combat strays away from what they know... That my friends, is something worth talking about. Fleshing out the storyGoing back to the original two games of the Soul series, Soulcalibur Legends is to be set and based around the events of Siegfried Schtauffen and his connections to the destructive evil known as Nightmare. Set in-between Soul Edge and Soul Calibur, Legends should reveal more than a handful of plot elements crucial the Soul Edge storyline. We know that Siegfried made his transformation from human into Nightmare between Soul Calibur 1 and 2, so we are expecting the title to clear up the details of what exactly happened. Whilst the main character of the game is set to be Siegfried, there will also be a cast of other playable characters. These include veterans such as Mitsirugi, Taki, and Ivy as well as a few new characters such as Iska; a teen of imperial blood who sets out with Siegfried himself. Controlling with your WiimoteThe game will follow the basic control scheme that most other action-adventures have held thus far; horizontal swipes of the Wii remote will cause the character to swipe horizontally, whilst vertical swipes will cause the character to swipe vertically. The Nunchuk is used to move your character around, while shaking it is used for evasion and special moves. Jumping and guarding have been assigned to various buttons. The fun part of the game is that, with each new character you can control comes a completely unique control scheme. Although it may sound forbidding at first, it really makes sense: why would Siegfried's two-handed sword handle like Taki's daggers? As players continue on through the game, they will level up their characters, unlocking new weapons, skills, and combat styles. Unlike previous titles, unlocking such weapons as the "Vampire Sword" will produce more than just an aesthetic difference. With new weapons come new skills. Boss fightsAs with most action-adventure titles, boss fights will be crucial to the game. The first boss monster shown doesn't seem to be anything spectacular - a large tomb shooting magical projectiles - but the developers assured us it is only a taste of what is to come. The boss battles incorporate a new gameplay mechanic as well: the ability to switch off with other characters. It is unsure if players will be able to do so during other times, but this would in turn lead to 'tag-team' type battles. Stages themselves will only span from about 5 minutes to 20 minutes in length, but Namco has stated that there will be many enough stages to will give the game a proper length. Multiplayer optionsIn addition to single-player mode, Legends will support multiplayer gaming. Players will be given the ability to face off against one another, as well as take down hordes of monsters and baddies cooperatively. Not much of the multiplayer aspects have been revealed, as the developers themselves admit that the implementation of the multiplayer modes is still under construction. They expect multiplayer to feature split-screen rather than a single screen action in order to fully allow the players to explore the arena for themselves. OverallGraphically, Legends isn't producing anything groundbreaking but the quality is still top-notch. All the characters seem to be affected by a common darkened tone, but their colours and details still give off some vibrancy. Add in some dazzling slashing effects - neon purple, I might add - and some fiery explosions and you have something that is pleasing on the eyes. You cannot judge much from what is available at the moment, but movement and combat does look to be fluid and smooth. Legends may be just a small diversion for major fans of the series, but as a stand-alone game it's shaping up to be quite impressive. We all know a true Soul Calibur 4 is heavily under wraps, but here’s hoping that Legends ends up being better than Mortal Kombat's venture into the action-adventure genre. |
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| At a glance |
| Soulcalibur Legends changes the old action game series into an action-adventure title - how well they will be able to do that, we still have to wait and see. |