The Nomasphere

The version of SC4 I picked up was the PS3 version, so I know nothing of Yoda.  I wanted Vader and free online play, so I went with my obvious choice.  First and foremost if you are familiar with Soul Calibur, the game improves on the third game in the game play department, adding online play and more fluid controls.  If you are new to the franchise you’ll find the plot ridiculous and the announcer laughable, truthfully this is what makes it Soul Calibur.

Vader/Yoda, Amy, the Apprentice, Algol, and Hilde are the new additions to the game.  I say Amy, because she has her own move set for the most part now.  Aside from all the additions there are almost unlimited options for character creation, though the fact equipment weights stats can sway your creativity in favor of stat growth.  Vader is unique and straight forward in technique, Hilde is defensive, the Apprentice plays a lot like Spawn from SC2 and Algol is like Abyss, a broken boss character.

The game is missing some things that if implemented could have made it shine as the best in the series, but even with character creation and online play I still have to give that title to SC2.  The gameplay is great, if you have friends give it a rent, it is an awesome rent, if you like it enough you may want to own it, I am a diehard fighting fan so I had to own it.  It’s a truly fluid fighter and an excellent multiplayer game, with some downloadable content additions it could get even better, but I hope Namco sees where the game can be improved.   

Play it, Rent it, maybe Buy it

Overall: 4/5

            I don’t own a Nintendo Wii, it’s the only current generation console I don’t own.  I’m not a fan of “Waggling” gameplay, but I do enjoy Wii games that allow the use of a GameCube controller.  Brawl provides this feature and gives you enough fun to really enjoy this game with friends.

            For those of you who don’t know the Super Smash Bros. franchise is a party fighting game where all sorts of characters from Nintendo franchises come together to kick each other’s asses.  This particular incarnation allows you to pit Mario against Sonic the Hedgehog, or pit Solid Snake against…Pit from Kid Icarus.

            Prior to Brawl’s release I would regularly play Melee, 4-player with friends.  I had to hone my skills because the people I played with are all really good and through play I became better and better.  However the character flaws of Melee are far more balanced in Brawl, creating a more casual game where chance plays a bigger part and better closes the gap between players, not to say a first-timer will even remotely take a veteran, because that won’t happen. 

            Brawl is best with 4 people, but does have interesting enough 1 player content and unlockables to keep dedicated fans glued to their Wii in order to unlock everything the game has to offer.  The only flaws I would say Brawl has to Melee, is that the C-Stick on the GameCube controller is less responsive in Brawl.  Also while you can create your own levels, there are many in Brawl that are just distracting, where you may find yourself turning them off. 

If you played Melee religiously, you’ll notice subtle changes to the gameplay and more so to each character, so much so, you may have to change your favorite fighter, though the new and improved balance makes me enjoy picking random now over picking Fox. 

Play it, Rent it, Buy it

Overall: 5/5

This is not so much a game, as an experience unlike anything else I’ve ever played.  There are lots of cut-scenes, which is a turn-off to a lot of people, but they are entertaining and because of that you don’t even notice their length.  The story is well written, with a few heavy handed parts, but presented unlike any other game ever.  It’s like you’re truly playing a character in a movie, seamlessly transitioning between cut-scene and gameplay.