I've played a few story modes in fighting games now.. and what can I say? They were pretty bad, and I might as well have skipped them. A few hours of cutscenes with cheesy dialogue and fights inbetween them. Don't get me wrong, the singleplayer content such as arcade and survival modes is still very strong, and I have a lot of fun in my fighting games even when I play alone.
A week or two ago, I picked up Soul Calibur 2 HD in a sale. I had never played a SC-game before, but I immediately got in the groove and really enjoyed it. The gameplay felt familiar, and it won't reinvent the wheel for anyone that has played a few fighters. The biggest difference is that you are fighting with weapons and shields. This is mostly cosmetic, but there are some differences in how it plays. Instead of the usual punch and kick, your main attacks are either horizontal or vertical (though you can kick too). You can go for a highly damaging and juggle-able vertical slice, but this is easily sidestepped. It can quickly get highly technical!
So.. for the story mode (Weapon Master). I started playing it with a open mind, and.. you guessed it from the title of the post. It was a lot of fun! You are moving around on a map, selecting what mission you want to do. The most interesting difference is that every battle has a modifier that changes how it plays. The arena can be exposed to strong gusts of wind, your opponent can be invisible, or you can only damage the opponent by a perfectly timed guard impact. There was even a battle where you had to deliver the final hit before the battle ended, passing the bomb onto the opponent. Fun stuff all the way!
Every time you win a battle, you earn xp and gold. You level up (not sure if this actually changes how hard you hit) and get new titles, with the ultimate goal of becoming the Iron Edgemaster at level 72. The gold is used for buying new weapons for the fighters, where each weapon has different stats and features. One weapon can have higher attack, but less defense. One might slowly regenerate your health, while its attack power is slightly gimped. There's always a balanced weapon to choose, or you can find one that is tailored to your style. You can also spend the gold on artworks or costumes for the characters. New characters are also unlocked (for all modes) as you progress through the story.
In some levels, you are fighting your way through a dungeon. This works in the same way as the world map, only you are moving through it block by block on a grid, where every "block" is a fight. So you're fighting your way through the dungeon, working your way toward the boss. The paths will often branch out, so you'll just have to try a direction and see if you are getting somewhere. It's another interesting addition to the campaign for sure! The story related dungeons are no bigger than maybe 4-5 battles, but I'd say one of the optional ones were 15-20 battles (with some getting lost and going the wrong direction). These can drag on for a bit, as you have to do them in one sitting, but with some patience, it's not a issue :)
So.. that's my two cents about the Soul Calibur 2 Weapon Master mode. It was definitely a pleasant surprise, and I wonder if the rest of the SC-games are worth playing. Even if you're still not sold about playing the campaign, it is of course a excellent fighting game. I haven't played it with my friends yet, but the arcade mode has kept me hooked after I completed WM. I also ended up buying a copy of SC2 for the original Xbox, just to have this nice piece of gaming history in my physical collection (and there's that warm, fuzzy feeling about playing games on original hardware). It actually runs at 720p on the OG Xbox! Wicked!
If there was one fighter I lost 9 times out of 10 against.. it was Voldo. Honorable mention: Ivy
Is it Soul Calibur or SoulCalibur? :|
Have you played any other fighting games with actually good campaigns? Let's discuss!
Submitted by kaffeeschmecktgut | #Specialdealer Special Offer Online Shopping Store 2016
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