A Taste of Soul Calibur IV

So, yesterday Tony got Soul Calibur IV and another Xbox controller and then we raced back to his place to pop it in. After a little confusion with the sync up of the new controller ("Why is the shiny new black one player two!? Here, you can be player two...") we sat down to immerse ourselves.

It. Was. Beautiful.

The graphics are stunning. Admittedly, nice stuff looks better on an HD tv, but *fangirl mode activated* ZOMG I WUV IT GIMME MORE *fangirl mode deactivated*. I literally almost salivated as I made Tony guinea pig story mode as Kilik (his best character). I had been obssessively looking for character pics on-line (Costume Get! was extremely helpful in aiding my fangirlism) for about six months now, but it was finally gratifying to see the character's alternates. I haven't seen all yet because we only played for two hours. So far I'm digging Tira's jester outfit (as well as her default), Talim is adorable (though her alternate is blonde for some strange reason, but hey, that's what the character editor is for...*evil cackle*), and Xianghua's costumes make up for her voice acting. And her cheapness. With which I totally owned Tony. That's okay though, he owned me when he was Kilik.

The control scheme is basically the same as on the PS2, but with the Xbox's bumper keys and triggers it makes pulling off some of the tougher moves easier. If you can remember what does what. The right-side buttons are the same (Y=A (upper attack), X=B(lower attack), A=Guard, B=Kick), the left analog stick is the 8-directions (moving in 3D, yay!). Right bumper is switch during the new tag-team mode (it's also in story-mode to save you in early stages) so that you can haul in a new character if the one you're using isn't working on your enemy. Left bumper is A+B+K+G. Right trigger seems to be a charge up, though of what I'm not sure (there's also a taunt that it does). Left trigger is A+B. Though if you're me, you basically hit A & B in any combination you can.

I'm dying to try out character creator and editing. So when I do I'll comment on that.

This game is worth the money AND the wait, so far. Of course, I'm a big fan of the series thus far, so I'm a bit biased. It's exciting, though. I almost couldn't sleep last night. I just love fighting games. Good for stress, y'know?