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Soulcalibur: Legends
November 26, 2007 | 1:41 PM PST
by: Matt Furtado
AMN's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.
What the Game's About
When it was announced earlier this year that Wii was going to receive an exclusive Soul Calibur title, many were excited. Soon after the announcement, we discovered it wasn't going to be the long-awaited Soul Calibur 4 but instead a new adventure title based on the Soul Calibur universe. Welcome to Soulcalibur Legends, where you'll follow the storyline behind Siegfried and his quest to save an empire from destruction. However, he needs the ultimate power of the Soul Edge sword, which has been scattered into fragments. On his journey he will encounter Ivy, Taki, and others, as they also try to gain the power of the cursed Soul Edge.
What's Hot
The most attractive part of all the Soul Calibur titles has been the combat. Luckily, the combat in Legends is pretty solid. Players will use the nunchuck to juke out of the way of enemy attacks and to parry, and then use the Wii controller to unleash powerful attacks. The controls are extremely precise and respond to your actions without much delay. Instead of using the swing wherever mechanics that Nintendo used in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, the movements you make in Legends actually respond accordingly. So if you swing to the right, your character will swing their blade to the right as well. Thankfully, the game also features a very nice lock-on system, so the camera won't cause too much of a problem when you are in tough battles.
Soulcalibur: Legends also features a solid roster of returning characters from the Soul Calibur world. Totaling over seven characters, the game allows you to play through their own individual quests and they all have their own fighting styles. When playing as Siegfried, your attacks will be powerful but your movements will be slow; whereas Ivy will have quicker but weaker attacks. This might be nothing new in the fighting world, but it is a little more noticeable in this title because of the motion controls. The quicker fighter's attacks coordinate nearly perfectly with your own movements; this will make you feel like you are truly slicing up the enemy.
What's Not
Outside of the controls and solid roster, the game is very repetitive. The actual game will take place in the same areas over and over again, where you'll battle the same enemies hundreds of times. You can only kill the same mummy so many times before you'll become bored with it. Outside of the total lack of unique enemies and areas, you'll quickly discover that you don't do much outside of running in the game. There are hardly any platforming sections in the game or even puzzles. Most of the puzzles that do exist revolve around your weapons, like putting flames out by swinging your blade quickly.
The game doesn't deliver on the adventure setting that it sets out to do. Had the single-player adventure been included in a true Soul Calibur game, it would be a great addition to play through. But as a standalone title, the game doesn't deliver a deep and satisfying enough of a journey. It's just 10 hours, and you'll spend it running around the same areas over and over. We do have to give the game credit because it does offer some solid ideas but they aren't fully utilized.
Since you'll be walking around the same environments for a long while, you'll notice that graphically the game isn't spectacular. The main characters are pretty smooth and well polished, but the enemies and environments are dull and lack detail. The environments lack decent textures and look very dull when up-close. Also some of the movements appear to be jerky during combat.
Final Word
Soulcalibur: Legends offers some unique ideas and could have been a great step for the Soul Calibur franchise, but as it stands now, the game doesn't feel complete. With repetitive levels, enemies, boring level design, dull textures, and a boring storyline, Soulcalibur: Legends would be a better pack-in for Soul Calibur IV than a standalone title. However, for the Soul Calibur faithful, you'll find some fun swinging the blades of your favorite characters and unlocking numerous weapons within the game.
What the Game's About
When it was announced earlier this year that Wii was going to receive an exclusive Soul Calibur title, many were excited. Soon after the announcement, we discovered it wasn't going to be the long-awaited Soul Calibur 4 but instead a new adventure title based on the Soul Calibur universe. Welcome to Soulcalibur Legends, where you'll follow the storyline behind Siegfried and his quest to save an empire from destruction. However, he needs the ultimate power of the Soul Edge sword, which has been scattered into fragments. On his journey he will encounter Ivy, Taki, and others, as they also try to gain the power of the cursed Soul Edge.
What's Hot
The most attractive part of all the Soul Calibur titles has been the combat. Luckily, the combat in Legends is pretty solid. Players will use the nunchuck to juke out of the way of enemy attacks and to parry, and then use the Wii controller to unleash powerful attacks. The controls are extremely precise and respond to your actions without much delay. Instead of using the swing wherever mechanics that Nintendo used in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, the movements you make in Legends actually respond accordingly. So if you swing to the right, your character will swing their blade to the right as well. Thankfully, the game also features a very nice lock-on system, so the camera won't cause too much of a problem when you are in tough battles.
Soulcalibur: Legends also features a solid roster of returning characters from the Soul Calibur world. Totaling over seven characters, the game allows you to play through their own individual quests and they all have their own fighting styles. When playing as Siegfried, your attacks will be powerful but your movements will be slow; whereas Ivy will have quicker but weaker attacks. This might be nothing new in the fighting world, but it is a little more noticeable in this title because of the motion controls. The quicker fighter's attacks coordinate nearly perfectly with your own movements; this will make you feel like you are truly slicing up the enemy.
What's Not
Outside of the controls and solid roster, the game is very repetitive. The actual game will take place in the same areas over and over again, where you'll battle the same enemies hundreds of times. You can only kill the same mummy so many times before you'll become bored with it. Outside of the total lack of unique enemies and areas, you'll quickly discover that you don't do much outside of running in the game. There are hardly any platforming sections in the game or even puzzles. Most of the puzzles that do exist revolve around your weapons, like putting flames out by swinging your blade quickly.
The game doesn't deliver on the adventure setting that it sets out to do. Had the single-player adventure been included in a true Soul Calibur game, it would be a great addition to play through. But as a standalone title, the game doesn't deliver a deep and satisfying enough of a journey. It's just 10 hours, and you'll spend it running around the same areas over and over. We do have to give the game credit because it does offer some solid ideas but they aren't fully utilized.
Since you'll be walking around the same environments for a long while, you'll notice that graphically the game isn't spectacular. The main characters are pretty smooth and well polished, but the enemies and environments are dull and lack detail. The environments lack decent textures and look very dull when up-close. Also some of the movements appear to be jerky during combat.
Final Word
Soulcalibur: Legends offers some unique ideas and could have been a great step for the Soul Calibur franchise, but as it stands now, the game doesn't feel complete. With repetitive levels, enemies, boring level design, dull textures, and a boring storyline, Soulcalibur: Legends would be a better pack-in for Soul Calibur IV than a standalone title. However, for the Soul Calibur faithful, you'll find some fun swinging the blades of your favorite characters and unlocking numerous weapons within the game.
November 20, 2009
