The AI is no worse than any other Soul Calibur game, and I don't remember ever specifically saying anything about the AI. The single player options are pretty sparse compared to Virtua Fighter, and the AI is basically incompetent compared to Virtua Fighter, but keep in mind, that compared to any other fighting game these things are standard fair. In fact, compared to Tekken, or Dead or Alive, there's quite a bit more to do when going solo.

But lets get back to what I actually said for a moment: I said that it would be difficult for anyone, even a very seasoned Soul Calibur player, to judge the specific differences in the game's characters, system and balance in such a short period of time. And you would only justly be able to do so against other human opponents. In order to get to know the key differences between SC3 and SC4, you would need to actually learn the complete move sets of several characters, and how they clash in combat.

There are some obvious differences--changes to guard impact, the elimination of soul charge, the addition of equipment health and critical finishers--but these things are hardly an instant indication that the game is vast improvement over the third installment in the series. That's all especially true when someone assumes that the second (well, third, if we're counting Soul Edge) game in the franchise is the best, since those changes are equally absent in SC2 as they are in SC3.

My impression thus far is that it does seem to be a better, more content packed game than Soul Calibur 3, but it's certainly not really obvious thus far. The only serious problems SC3 had were potential issues with character balance.. most people hated the game because it was a PS2 exclusive.. that or they just felt like jumping on a bandwagon. If you're going to tell me that SC4 is much better than SC3, I would love to hear some substance to back up such a claim, but I doubt there is any.. at least with such a limited play time.

I basically just think Soul Calibur 3 gets more negative attention than it ever deserved. If Namco seriously wanted to be certain that none of the same issues ever met players in SC4, they would have released an arcade version first and set out to balance the game in competition before porting it to the consoles. Money rules though, and this is the shortest path to the greatest profit margin.

So honestly, I don't really understand your point Alimo. Most fighting fans do judge these games almost exclusively by their multiplayer merits.. if anything the AI in SC4 seems slightly more advanced than its predecessors, and ultimately is just as competent as previous Tekken or Dead Or Alive games. The Apprentice's AI really isn't all that cheap (or particularly challenging), his moves just carry an extremely high priority and he's quick, and has a relatively long range considering those other properties.

I think the game is better too, but it's not really all that obvious why I think it's better, thus far.. and I think it's down right impossible to call this good if you're going to call any installment of the franchise bad.

So where's the bias exactly? I'll say it again: Virtua Fighter has better AI, a better single player presentation, and is probably a better fighting game overall. But you know what? There's not another game out there that I could say the same about. Dead or Alive seems shallow and easy by comparison, and extremely light on content, to top it off. The only thing it has over these other games is some killer CG endings.

Anyway.. I was just playing online and I was pleasantly surprised. Like any fighting game, it's bad when it's bad, but so long as you try to limit yourself to fighting against opponents in the blue on the ping display, you're going to have a pretty good experience.

Soul Calibur 2 is where its at. Gamecube biatch. Link represent.

This game just keeps getting better the more I play it. The idea that The Apprentice is significantly harder than any other AI character almost seems laughable now, although he did just ruin my run at the 450,000 points in arcade mode achievement. I ended with 420k, losing just one round to The Apprentice, which made me lose out on over 90,000 bonus points.. damn.. maybe next time.

This game has good achievements too, a good mix of skill based and more casual, collect-a-thon style achievements. I like.

Anywho, talking trash about what Soul Calibur game is better without clocking serious time into versus is almost as bad as having a favorite based on the fact that Link was in the game. Let me guess--you were holding out for Kratos too?

Ivy has a pretty simple infinite combo--oops! Get to patching, Namco! It's not all that surprising, I guess. The straight to console nature of the game pretty much insures such things, and Capcom can't even avoid them after loads of balancing in the arcades, so I guess one is pretty excusable. Hopefully we see continual balance updates now that this is an online affair though.

Amy on the other hand.. what a brutal character! Her unblockables are downright evil, and she's so quick. I'm finding Cassy to be pretty difficult to use online, given the occasional bout of lag. She requires a good sense of timing to use properly, which really gets thrown off by latency. Taki on the other hand you could basically use with your eyes closed, lag or no lag.

edit: Perhaps I'm wrong about Taki. I guess I'll have to learn her a bit more before rushing to judgment. I'm going to pick up Amy now, before hand, I think. It's time to re-learn Sophi too, I think. I haven't used her as a primary character since the original Soul Calibur. Cassy has always been so much more inviting.

I think I'll go back to SP for a little while. I need more practice with my main, and need to learn my alternates better. Given my experience with Taki in this game, I think she's becoming a sure thing.. next up: Mitsu and Amy.

Good stuff.

lol... still having trouble with The Apprentice?

In the never ending battle between the PS3 and 360, they both fail this round.

PS2? Wut?

All the DOA4 lovin really surprises me quite a bit. That game is basically trash, when sat next to Soul Calibur 4 or VF5. It's the best game in that franchises history--but that's not saying much.

DOA4 has always been a cheap VF knock-off. Sure, they've managed to make the series stand apart from other fighters.. but.. that doesn't make it good. To this day it uses ridiculously wide frame windows, and super easy, super high damage reversals that basically ruin the game. Oh wow--I knocked you down some stairs! Phew--That makes this a good game! ;)

If you actually bother to learn how to play SC4, you'll find that it's quite fast.. and I'm not sure how anyone could think that it's not a fine looking game as well. If you think Tekken is going to be more technically proficient than Soul Calibur, well, you're going to be disappointed. Some of the backgrounds in SC4 are really quite cool. I love the animated backgrounds in some of the stages, like the warriors rushing past on horseback, for example. It's all in the details.I admire the fact that you're not willing to play them casually, but come on Alimo.. it's not that hard to play two fighters! Just take it slow--one at a time.

Yeah, I don't use my mic when playing with strangers in fighting games. I find it even stranger when people boot you out of the room for not having your headset on. This is a fighting game, I didn't come here to chat, I came here to kick your ass.. and you wouldn't want to hear what I have to say, anyway.

How do you unlock the apprentice? I want to complete the chain of souls and I think he's the only one I'm missing. Sort of silly that he's on the grid at all, but they actually included the guest-artist characters in the chart as well. I'm almost done with the achievements that require the use of multiple/all characters, which is good.. it gets tiring. I just completed story mode with everyone, and I'm glad that's over with. I don't particularly like using characters that I either don't like, or don't know how to use.

PS. This game owns.

edit: nvm.. you have to beat him with Yoda in the arcade mode apparently. I never would have done that accidentally. Neat. I think the 100 critical finishes achievement is going to take the longest to get out of like, anything. I've only done one so far, and I had to go out of my way to do it for the achievement.

Ouch. This game is causing some serious persistent images on my old ass plasma screen. I haven't seen any permanent damage--it goes away after a few hours of watching TV--but it's starting to make me worry. The thing is, most games have static hud elements, so why would this be any worse? Regardless, I think it might be time to move my Xbox to my LCD monitor for a while.