Single-Player Modes and Visual Glory

Whether online or offline, every game fought earns virtual gold used for buying equipment and weapons in the Character Creation section, or goodies in the Museum. Honestly, the latter feels like a waste of time, buying locked illustrations, promotional materials and high-res model captures. Still, if you're into that kind of thing, then the rest of the museum should offer plenty to drool over as well. The Chain of Souls probably offers the most interesting tidbits of information, displaying a family tree of sorts and how each character is related to others in the overall Soul universe and the conflict between Nightmare (Soul Edge) and Siegfried (Soulcalibur).

Additionally, the Museum's Event Theater offers the opening and ending movies (based on each character's story); a trailer pimping the upcoming Star Wars: Force Unleashed game; the Soulcalibur IV credits and an Extras section. The Museum also offers a Battle Records room that displays various honors awarded throughout the single-player and multiplayer games. There are 50 honors to achieve, including "Cleared Arcade Mode," "Customized a Regular Character," "Won 10 Tomes (Online)," "Completed Chain of Souls" and more. Needless to say, Soulcalibur IV offers players plenty of content to acquire and enjoy.

Unfortunately, the single-player Story mode leaves much to be desired. While it's great to read each individual character's struggle against the influence of Soul Edge, the actual length spans only five stages. Take Ivy, for instance: you read three or four paragraphs of her journey to wield and destroy the evil sword, but you never really feel her epic struggle during the story's meager five-stage offering. It's certainly enjoyable to watch her bouncing femininity, but you come away from the end movie wishing there was more meat to her journey than lively boobs and a cool snake-like sword. Why even bother playing the story modes then? You'll want to unlock the mid-story bosses, stages, end-game movies and weapons you can purchase in the Character Creation area.

Though diminutive in stature, Yoda makes up for it with speed and agility.

Outside the Story Mode, Soulcalibur IV also offers the single-player mode Tower of Lost Souls, which is a survival game requiring players to ascend and then descend a tower. There are 60 floors one-way, but you're not required to perform this miracle in one sitting, and you can actually begin to descend after completing level 20. Thankfully, the game saves after completing three levels, but what doesn't make sense, is mission failure once time runs out and you still stand with higher HP than the opponent does. The whole Tower ordeal actually offers rewards: on floor 30, you can acquire this spirit gem by completing the stage without guarding; or on floor 37, you can acquire the Siren's Helm by defeating all enemies with critical finishes.

Lastly, Soulcalibur IV offers an Arcade mode, requiring players to fight through eight stages without equipment and weapon effects. But if you're in the mood to beat up your friends rather than the A.I., you can always back out of the single-player offering and head into the local Versus Modes area. Here the same Standard and Special modes apply, yet you can still battle the CPU if you've suddenly become unpopular. The drawback here is that the game only allows up to two players, and you won't find any tag-team gameplay modes seen in previous Soulcalibur titles.

And although Soulcalibur IV offers plenty of fighting love online and offline, the real gem here is in the game's graphics. Everything you'll see here is top notch, from the elephants trumpeting in the distance at the Phantom Pavilion to the Star Destroyers riding the solar waves outside the Star Destroyer Docking Bay Laser Gates. The stages are simply amazing, full of minute detail and animation that prove to be both pleasing to the eye and a welcome distraction. Seagulls soar over beautiful sparkling blue waters at Sailor's Rest. Birds waddle across the stony stage in the Distant Marsh, an exotic location defined by a glistening waterfall emptying into a flowing river. If anything, the scenery itself shows off what the Xbox 360 is capable of generating.

The characters, however, steal the show, and that's really not surprising. Like the environments, Project Soul spent an incredible amount of time focusing on each character, their attachments (weapons, armor) and their animations. This attention to detail really becomes apparent when the camera zooms in on their faces and you can look into their virtual eyes. Hair wavers in the wind. Dresses pop up in mid-flight and offer glimpses of panties on shapely rear ends (yeah, we look for this kind of stuff). Eyes look genuinely glossy and full of character. Shoelaces even dance side to side along with the movement of the character. While the action takes precedence over eye candy, you can't help but find yourself mesmerized by every outfit, every subtle movement and every character trait that makes each individual unique. After all, this is a game about characters, and the game's presentation pulls off the daunting task of suspending disbelief and drawing you into its virtual drama.

Of course, despite the unique appearances, it is the unique fighting abilities that make each character shine. Fan favorites Kilik, Maxi, Siegfried and Ivy return to the scene along with a large number of other cool fighters and a few unlockables. Gamers will want to play each one to sample their individualism: some are quick but low in attack damage, while others are slow but high in attack damage. Naturally, each character comes packed with a plethora of standard moves, combinations and special abilities. But what makes Soulcalibur IV really stand out is its inclusion of two famous Star Wars characters: Yoda for the Xbox 360 and Darth Vader for the PlayStation 3. While it looks like there's a saved spot for an additional Jedi (right between Yoda/Darth and The Apprentice), neither Lucasarts nor Namco Bandai has confirmed the second Jedi as an unlockable or a future downloadable character.

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