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Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny Preview
Written by Robert Workman on Wednesday, May 6, 2009
The PSP gets a fighting game worth its Calibur.
"Transcending history and the world, a tale of swords and souls, eternally retold."
For years, fans have played Namco's Soul Calibur games and enjoyed the exciting weapons-based combat. However, it hasn't made a dent in the portable market until now. Namco Bandai recently announced Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny for the PSP, a game that's sure to please on-the-go brawlers when it assaults stores later this year.
Several features and fighters from Soul Calibur IV will appear in Broken Destiny, as it's under production by the same development team at Project Soul. Although Darth Vader and Yoda, everyone's favorite lightsaber-wielding warriors, won't return, they'll be replaced by a guy named Dampierre, a curly-mustached dude with a knife attached to his right arm. Several fan favorites will also pop up, including the sword-wielding Mitsurugi, the dominatrix Ivy and the big-breasted ninja Taki. (Yes, her boobs are still massive.) Over 30 characters will be available, although Namco Bandai has yet to reveal the final roster. Character Creation is here too, so you can build your own group of combatants.
Project Soul has worked extensively on Broken Destiny to assure gamers that it plays just as easily as the console versions. The face buttons operate your punch, kick and block attacks, while you can also use the shoulder buttons to activate soul charges and put your opponent out of their misery. Back and forth movement should be handled with the d-pad, while you can use the analog stick to wander around the ring.
Broken Destiny will also include several modes. Along with Character Creation, there's a Story mode that almost works like an interactive tutorial. You'll learn the basics and all the moves in your character's arsenal as you move through each stage. There are over 80 missions in all. (You'll also discover how his or her legacy ties in with the Soul Edge sword. It's evil!) Survival mode lets you take on a string of opponents with only one life bar, and Versus mode allows you to fight against others via AdHoc. There's no word yet if the game supports online Infrastructure, but we'd be surprised if it didn't.
That leaves only one question. How will Broken Destiny's presentation stack up compared to other Soul Calibur games? The soundtrack thus far is epic, with the same orchestrated battle music that the series is known for. The sound effects and voice samples are good too, from what we've heard thus far.
The visuals are equally impressive, with detailed animation, exquisite lighting effects and beautiful jaw-dropping stages. The menus are rather plain, but that could change over the course of the game's development.
The PSP needs as many good games as it can get right now, and Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny should be another solid addition to its library. For fans of the series and fighting nuts, the Soul still burns.
