In case you haven't kept up with the Soulcalibur franchise much, the series follows a group of warriors as they battle over the powerful, evil blade Soul Edge, along with the holy sword Soul Calibur. Gameplay generally revolves around one-on-one fights on a 3D plane, though the majority of character movement plays out on the X axis as each character jockeys for an ideal position. Like its predecessors, Soulcalibur IV is straight-forward and victory comes when you either deplete your opponent's health or knock them out of the arena.
New to Soulcalibur IV, which we've touched on before, is armor damage and Critical Finishes. If you strike a certain section of your opponent enough and they overuse their block, there's a chance you can break a piece of their armor which will actually alter their appearance in-game. Then, given the right conditions, you can execute a Critical Finish with a push of all four face buttons, which inflicts tremendous amounts of damage, as well as dazzles the eyes.
Although Darth Vader was our main concern for our hands-on time, we did spend a few moments checking out returning characters Siegfried and Raphael. Once again, Siegfried brings slow-but-powerful combat to the table, with shattering overhead strikes packing an incredible reach. Like the previous titles, he can change stances in the midst of battle which modifies his move set and makes for some interesting combinations. Raphael, on the other hand, slides across the stage unleashing quick strikes with a rapier. Things felt tight and controls were responsive.
But of course, the real highlight of our play time was getting out first hands-on with the one and only Darth Vader, exclusive to the PS3 version of Soulcalibur IV. We weren't entirely sure how Vader would play, considering his large size yet quick weapon type and even after playing a few rounds with him, it's difficult to make a direct comparison to another character. For the most part his strikes are quick and possess a fair reach, but his actual movements aren't as agile as those of Yoda -- obviously. While his green-skinned counterpart flips about and spirals through the air, Vader seems to rely more on sharp, precise strikes that boast a respectable amount of power, but he stays grounded.
Although we didn't have time to pore over each and every move in his repertoire, he doesn't appear to have as many flashy techniques as the other Soulcalibur characters. But he does have a few eye-catching attacks to his name. One charged attack found Vader pulling his fist back to gather energy and then unleashing it quickly on an opponent. Vader also has his iconic "Emperor Throw" where he hefts his enemies over his head and tosses them to the ground. Furthermore, if you grab your opponent at an angle, Vader will stab them right through the mid-section with his lightsaber.
Both Vader and Yoda's Force moves are governed by a Force gauge located below their health bar. Although this refills rather quickly, you'll only be able to pull off a select number of moves before you need to back off and take a breather. The most powerful Force move we could pull off was a pretty snazzy lightsaber throw, where Vader tossed his weapon just in front of himself and it spins horizontally like a circular saw. If you can catch your opponent in this attack, the results can be devastating.
As for Darth Vader's actual character model, we were pleased for the most part. Yoda looks to have way more facial detail than Vader, including wispy strands of hair atop a wrinkled brow, but we admit that Vader's outfit isn't brimming with detail in the first place.
Lastly, a special Star Wars level is also included in the game. Taking place inside the docking bay of what we assume is a Star Destroyer, players can look out into space on either side and see a massive battle taking place, including a great shot of the Death Star and dogfighting TIE Fighters, with other Star Destroyers drifting by in the distance. The level of detail in the stage, like all the other Soulcalibur locales, is extremely impressive. The stage is made even more charming with the presence of the Imperial March playing in the background.
Having seen the game running on both the 360 and PS3, we're a little worried that the PS3 version suffers from significant slowdown as opposed to the extremely smooth 360 build, but it's still early. These problems could very well be addressed in the coming months. Until then, we can't wait to get even more hands-on time with the next iteration of the Soulcalibur series.