This week’s XBox Live Arcade release actually got me rather intrigued: Soul Calibur. A game that remarkably registers an “okay” from me. I say remarkable, because Namco’s pedigree with fighting games is simply appalling to me. I generally detest everything they’ve done. They are all simply so weak compared to the Sega or Capcom equivalents they are often literally laughable by comparison. But at least Soul Calibur was alright, had beautiful graphics, and came out on the Dreamcast. All good points for it. 🙂
It also has something unique among all fighting games for me – in that the main “hero” character in the game also happens to be my favourite character and my “main” for competitive play – not that Soul Calibur is actually good enough to really take especially seriously though.
So, as I do with any DC re-release XBLA title that I can, I ran it back-to-back with the Dreamcast version to compare. It does look much crisper and cleaner in HD of course, and looks great on a much nicer TV. But the main thing this did was make me realise was just how ridiculously good those DC graphics were once again.
Sadly though this release had been utterly gimped, and I won’t be buying it. It has no Mission Mode or online play; which renders this totally pointless for me. What a waste of an okay game! I’m just glad that I realised this before I paid to download it as that would’ve been a big mistake. The fact I barely even considered it might not have online play is an interesting point perhaps in how much more I expect from my games these days. I know it’s no simple “bolt on” for developers, but for me personally, this would be worth twice the price with online play. Without it; it’s not worth a penny.
I also thought I’d just leave a note on this blog, given my recent posts, that I don’t only play Vs Fighting games. Right now I’m also playing Lost Odyssey, Gears of War and Ninja Gaiden II. So expect some non-fighting content at some point if any of these games inspire me. Also on my to-buy list right now are also Civilization Revolutions & Orange Box (still). I’d have both by now if I knew the PAL versions worked on a USA XBox 360.
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