It's Sunday and that means we've already sifted through retailers' ads and found the best Xbox 360 gaming deals. Why? Because we want to save you cash and because it counts towards our government mandated community service hours. Let's get to it ...
This week, Best Buy is giving away a free drum shade with purchase of Rock Band 2 bundle and Target is selling NBA Live 09 and SoulCalibur IV for $55. Over at Circuit City, they're giving out free $15 iTunes gift cards with purchase of Fable 2 (LE), a free strategy guide with Far Cry 2, a free t-shirt with the Rock Band 2 bundle and a $10 gift card with Midnight Club: LA. Circuit City is also selling GTAIV, Mercenaries 2, The Force Unleashed and Madden 09 for $45. Have fun shopping.
It's no longer a rumor, Darth Vader will in fact be coming to a SoulCalibur IV near you. Though, for a price.
On Thursday, October 23rd, the once Playstation 3 exclusiveSoulCalibur IV Vader character will be available for purchase off the Xbox Live Marketplace. Purchasable for 400 Microsoft points. Yes, we'll admit, $5 for Vader is a bit expensive, but when you look at what you're getting in terms of getting the chance to pit Yoda against Vader in an epic SoulCalibur IV battle of awesomeness. Well, then it doesn't seem too bad. But we must ask, where's our unlockable Jar Jar Binks?
Weighing in at a reasonable 695MB and available for download off the Xbox Live Marketplace is a brand new SoulCalibur IV demo that has been specifically crafted for your SoulCalibur fighting enjoyment. And before you ask, we'll admit that we don't know all that much about the demo, what's included or which characters are featured in it (fingers crossed for Yoda), so don't ask us. Just download it and quit being so darn lazy. But, we do know what our favorite thing about the SoulCalibur IV demo is, and it's the NAMCO-BANDAI supplied demo description which reads: "Especially suitable for the players out there who are still undecided in purchasing the final product!" Now that's called being honest.
It looks like Yoda and Darth Vader are finally working together. You see, the two Jedi masters have managed to help push 2 million copies of Soul Calibur IV onto the gaming populace. The number accounts for both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 version of the game. We're curious to see which version sold more copies. No, not because we want the Xbox 360 version to succeed, but because we want some new nerd ammunition for the next time we get into the Darth Vader vs Yoda conversation.
For players looking to expand their musical experience in a tale of souls and swords, eternally retold, Namco Bandai has released all 17 tracks from the original Soulcalibur soundtrack on the Xbox Live Marketplace for play within Soulcalibur IV. At 80MS points a piece or 1,200MS points for the entire pack, the content is truly for the hardcore SoCal fans -- or those with an affinity for nonsense DLC.
Also available on the XBLM is actual content for the game! The Customization Equipment 1 pack clocks in at 100MS points and includes a number of new items to use for character customization. The content pack is also revival themed in that it includes equipment Soulcalibur fans will recognize from previous games in the series -- including armor sets and headgear for a number of characters.
This is it folks, this week officially marks the release of Soul Calibur IV. You may recall SCIV as the weapons based fighter that features not only ridiculously proportioned female fighters but also Yoda. The Playstation 3 version gets Darth Vader himself, though he may be Force choking his way to the 360 if rumors are to be believed. Also on the release this week are Spectral Force 3 and Summer Athletics The Ultimate Challenge. Spectral Force 3 is a Japanese strategy RPG and Summer Athletics The Ultmate Challenge is ... well, honestly, we have no idea. Looking at the title, we'd say someone is looking to cash in on the Olympic Games.
Once thought to be the only good, pure and white edition of SoulCalibur IV may eventually be tainted with DLC from the dark side. Rumor on the internets is that NAMCO's Xbox 360 edition of SoulCalibur IV, which exclusively includes Yoda and a white color scheme, may eventually get the PS3 exclusive Darth Vader fighter as a content download. Proof is in the in-game video pudding and, as you can see above, we have proof that both Yoda AND Darth Vader can battle it out in on the same Xbox 360. If true, are you willing to pay for a DLC Darth Vadar or do you demand your Vadar to be free content?
Fanboys who have their gaming roots firmly planted in the UK and are interested in Soulcalibur IV, (no not thatSoulcalibur) we recommend getting your pre-order on. Ubisoft just announced that customers who pre-order at UK retailer Play.com will receive a free Soulcalibur IV faceplate and those who choose to preorder at GAME stores will be getting an exclusive metal case packed with a bonus DVD and art book. Make your pre-order decision wisely, though no matter what you decide on, pre-order goodies have you will.
Now that we know a bit more about Soul Calibur IV's Create-A-Soul mode, it's time to see some more of the old familiar faces we know and love. Thankfully, a pair of Soul Calibur IV videos on GameTrailers are just what the doctor ordered. Neither video is especially long, but we do get a look at Voldo's always disgusting form. So, that's ... um ... good, we guess. Less disgusting is some footage of Ivy, Siegfried, and Amy. Overall, it looks pretty much like Soul Calibur. One thing worth pointing out, Amy's voice over sounds about as wooden as a boat. Good thing the gameplay looks to be intact. Enjoy.
While those who skipped over the series' PS2-exclusive third installment won't be familiar with Soul Calibur's Create-A-Soul mode, those who used it know that it had tons of depth and allowed for all manner of wacky options and crazy characters. For the Soul Calibur IV Create-A-Soul mode, Namco-Bandai looks to be increasing the amount of customizability available to players, giving us some interesting (Cat-man & Afro-dude) and recognizable (Ryu & Snake) characters before the game is even released. Hopefully Namco has taken into account all the various parodies we've got in mind and allows for as many custom characters as can fit on the storage device ...
The latest Famitsu, according to translations from intrepid Cheap Ass Gamer forum goers, includes some brand new information on the upcoming Namco Bandai fighter Soul Calibur IV. Of the newly revealed details, the most intriguing is that the game is set to include some kind of "character swapping" which immediately evokes the image of tag team battles seen in many other fighting games of years past. The strange part is that the swapping elements are only mentioned in regards to the single-player game. It's hard to imagine implementing a tag feature without incorporating it into multiplayer, but we'll just have to wait and see.
The article also includes details on the game's character creation mode as well as a few more technical aspects of the fighting itself. Hit the Source link to check it out.
Yay! More cross-property marketing maneuvers! Truthfully, we could stand Yoda and Vader in Soul Calibur IV. They are well known, iconic figures of their brand, and something could be said of their inclusion for the purpose of bringing fanboys from one thing to the other. Not this time. This time it's an entirely self-serving move that has roots in promoting the relatively unknown (to the the mainstream) The Force Unleashed.
The newest announcement is that the main character from TFU, Vader's "Secret Apprentice", will be a playable character in both the 360 & PS3 versions of Soul Calibur IV. Y'know, we just might've actually bought the inevitable DLC that will be made available for this game, but this move just really leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Just so long as The Force Unleashed doesn't end up using Ivy to showcase its physics systems we'll remain sane. Given the way things are going, we fear for our sanity.
When it was announced that Soul Calibur IV would play host to guest characters from the Star Wars universe, the collective fanboy meltdown concerning everything from the storyline to the balance was absolute music to the ears. Unfortunately, they may have been right on one point: Yoda's size does seem to give him an advantage. Watch the clip and decide for yourself.
Also, thanks Ubisoft being the publisher for the game in the PAL territories, Ubidays brings us a ton of new screens for the game, including shots of a new character who is actually, get this, male. The new shots show everything from special attacks to moments from cutscenes and everything in between, so get clicking.
Another game release, another special edition. The Soul Calibur IV special edition has recently been detailed by Namco Bandai and includes your standard special edition trinkets.
Over-sized tin? Check. Art book? Check. T-Shirt? Check. Also included is a "Tournament Kit," a rather grandiose way of saying a reusable blank tournament bracket card. Interesting note to Star Wars fans, the Xbox 360 special edition includes a white t-shirt with Yoda/Siegfried art while the PS3 version includes a black Darth Vader/Mitsurugi tee (all versions are XL). We'll leave it up to you to decide whether or not the collection warrants the $80 price-tag.
Namco Bandai sure has been keeping the Soul Calibur info coming strong lately, and the newest piece of media we've got is the latest trailer for the game. Amazingly, this is the first hint we've seen of anything other than blank stares on the characters faces, and it's good to know that Namco actually has some facial animators on its payroll. Much of the trailer consists of just emotional character shots with big ol' words splashed across the screen. But mercifully, towards the middle, some actual snippets of gameplay get spliced in, including some of Vader and Yoda. (Nerd moment: Look everyone, a Star Wars docking bay stage!)
_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg)
Another game release, another special edition. The 
