Soul Calibur Free To Play

[Andreas Mbili]

Character Creation from Soulcalibur III returns in Soulcalibur IV. Instead of including some original weapon styles for use with certain classes of fighters, Soulcalibur IV now only allows players to simply choose which character from the series they would like to have their created character mimic (excluding Algol, bonus characters, and the Star Wars guest characters). This differs from Soulcalibur III in that many different styles were also included, such as Grieve Edge, Kunai/Shuriken, Wave Sword, or Tambourine. The styles were removed in the transition, and the character creation has been simplified.

Multi-fighter battles in Soulcalibur IV use a different structure from its predecessors, nicknamed Active Matching Battle (AMB). The AMB system allows players to switch to other members of a 'party' of fighters with the push of a button. Also, instead of starting a new round for each opponent defeated, new opponents will simply run into the battle immediately after a K.O. - with the exception of certain combatants, these certain combatants usually being the 'end-of-the-level-boss' of each round or level. Matches utilizing the AMB system only appear in the Story and Tower of Lost Souls modes.

The Star Wars guest characters, Darth Vader, Yoda and The Apprentice, utilize unique attacks using the Force. Darth Vader is able to utilize Force-based pushes and chokes, Yoda can use the Force to launch himself into the air for complex aerial attacks, and The Apprentice is able to use Force lightning and other dark-side moves. These moves drain a special Force Gauge, which recharges gradually when not in use.

For the first time in the series, Soulcalibur IV has the option to fight against other players online. Players can play ranked matches or unranked matches which is called players matches. Modes available online include "Standard VS" where players fight without using skills and "Special VS" where players fight with skills enabled. Created characters are playable in the online multiplayer mode.

Darth Vader, The Apprentice, and Yoda are the playable guest characters. At release Darth Vader appeared on the PlayStation 3, and Yoda on the Xbox 360. The Apprentice, the main protagonist of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, also makes an appearance as a playable guest character on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. In October 2008, Vader and Yoda were released as downloadable content for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, respectively.

The Premium Edition of Soulcalibur IV includes a 48-page softcover art/comic book illustrated in full color, an XL 100% cotton t-shirt, and a tournament chart that allows "fans the opportunity to document the battle amongst friends." This chart is also a poster on the reverse side. It comes in a metal case and was released on the same date as the regular edition. The Premium Edition also has the best weapons and joke weapons already available for purchase, as well as clothing items to create a schoolboy or schoolgirl character. In New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Australia, there will be a steel bookcase edition instead, with bonus DVD containing 4 trailers in HD, 4 wallpapers, exclusive concept art and an exclusive booklet with character biographies.

There were certain criticisms directed towards the guest characters from the Star Wars franchise, with several critics maintaining that their presence was "unnatural" and that Yoda and The Apprentice in particular were "broken" and "absurd", respectively. Also, programming on the Star Wars characters containing such detail that the characters abilities are "unnatural" and "unfair" to the player when playing the Arcade or Story modes.

There has also been some criticism towards the online multiplayer mode on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. Due to poor network programming, the "auto-matching" feature will often attempt to connect players to an already full or in progress match thus giving the player the error "Match is Full". The best fix for most is to host a match of their own, in which an opponent will typically join within a minute.

Soulcalibur: Lost Swords was a free-to-play[7] fighting game distributed through PlayStation Network. Released in 2014, the game is based on Soulcalibur V and is strictly single-player. It uses the same weapon-based fighting system from previous games; however, several of the gameplay mechanics were changed, simplified or otherwise removed.

Like previous games in the series, Soulcalibur: Lost Swords was a weapon-based fighting game. Players could inflict high and low horizontal and vertical attacks, block oncoming attacks, and use parries to gain a tactical advantage. Features such as Soul Crush and Armor Destruction first introduced in Soulcalibur IV have been retained; Soul Crush could be used to make opponents drop collectible items and weapons. Several mechanics were no longer present in the game, however, such as the ability to ring out a character, counter hits, and Just Guard. Guard Impact, while having the same properties as Soulcalibur V, no longer used a specific meter to execute. Two new mechanics were added: Weapon Arts, which granted each character unique attacks such as breaking through an enemy's guards; and support character feature, which allowed players to temporarily borrow another player's character online.[8]

The game featured single-player experience modes. In Quest Mode, players traversed the world to participate in battles which allowed them to collect raw materials and weapons; the former could be used to craft better weapons for use. As the existing characters no longer wore predetermined costumes and started out with only undergarments, players could customize them with various armory and other clothing parts. Virtual item sales were offered online. Similar to other free-to-play titles like Tekken Revolution, microtransactions were offered, some of which removing the playtime limit of the game.[7]

The game offered three characters as part of the default character roster: Mitsurugi, Siegfried, and Sophitia. Once the player would choose one, that character would be their sole playable character for the rest of the game unless the player collected character keys by completing quests, which would unlock the others. Fourteen additional characters: Amy, Astaroth, Cassandra, Cervantes, Hilde,[9] Ivy,[3][4][5] Leixia, Maxi, Nightmare, Patroklos, Pyrrha,[2] Raphael, Seong Mi-na, and Taki,[10] could be unlocked as a result of various in-game events.[11] Characters' appearances were in accordance with their most recent models (Soulcalibur IV and V), with the exception of Astaroth, whose design was carried over from Soulcalibur II.

The title Soulcalibur: Lost Swords was trademarked by Namco in August 2013.[12][13] The game was unveiled on September 10, 2013, via the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, which stated that the game would be free-to-play and would feature virtual item sales.[7] Further information revealed that it would also feature new gameplay mechanics, including Weapon Arts, and the game's focus would be collecting and crafting weapons. The game's teaser trailer was shown during a press event in Tokyo, which also confirmed the return of Sophitia.[14][15] Starting on November 12, 2013, Namco Bandai released character trailers showcasing battle demo of each character.

The beta version test kicked off on November 14 through 18, 2013 for Japan, which offered Mitsurugi, Siegfried and Sophitia[14] as playable characters as well as two virtual items.[8] On December 19, 2013, the game's release date was pushed back to February 6, 2014,[3][16] with Namco stating that the delay would be used to further increase the quality of the game.[2][17][18] A promotional trailer was released on February 3, 2014, in anticipation of the game's Japanese release, showing new features such as the Quest Mode and elemental attacks.[19]

On March 30, 2014, during a Namco Bandai live broadcast, titled "876 Minute" on Niconico, a poll was conducted to determine the most favorite character who did not make an appearance in Soulcalibur V. The four choices were Amy, Cassandra, Rock, and Seong Mi-na. Amy received the most votes, at 39.7%, followed by Seong Mi-na (23.8%), Rock (20.8%), and Cassandra (15.7%).[20] In the April 15, 2014 publication of Dengeki magazine, which confirmed the addition of Taki to the character roster, Namco Bandai announced that the game would see release worldwide sometime at the end of the month.[10] It was later revealed that Lost Swords would be available in the North American PlayStation Store on April 22, 2014, coinciding with a server maintenance for the Japanese version of the game.[1] Producer Masaaki Hoshino revealed that multiplayer was left out because the game uses a pay-to-win model.[21]

Another poll was conducted by Bandai Namco on the month of May 2015. It was again a character popularity poll, though it included all characters who have appeared in the Soul series so far, not just characters who did not make appearance in Soulcalibur V. It was, however, a general poll and not necessarily connected to Lost Swords. The poll was conducted on the official Soulcalibur Facebook page. Voting ended on May 31, 2015, and the results showed Talim (a character who did not appear in either Soulcalibur V or Lost Swords) as the most popular character, followed by Taki and Mitsurugi.[22]

Bandai Namco announced on September 1, 2015, that it would cease operations of Lost Swords on November 30, 2015.[23] Several send-off events were held, including ranking events and item sales.[23]

Soulcalibur: Lost Swords was poorly received by critics. Eurogamer criticized the game's significant loading times and the changes in the gameplay system, including the removal of ring outs and the lack of multiplayer, as well as the new focus on monetization.[25]

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