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Saturday 26 January, 2008
Gamelog #2
Gameplay:
In general I liked the single player mode (Tales of Souls) better than the strategy mode (Chronicles of the Sword). I know the game makers are trying to make the game more interesting by adding in additional elements from strategy games in. However since I’m more into rpgs, this didn’t really appeal to me that much.
On a side note I noticed that the single player mode grew much harder later on. Overall the AIs seemed more competent than those from the second series. The ramped up AI resulted in that I couldn’t just simply button mash my way through the game (as I have so often done) but that I had to instead figure out combos and use them in concert with my blocking ability. Combat just seemed more tit-for-tat instead of Soul Calibur II’s massive single combo punch.
Design:
Well first of off I would like to comment on the single player mode of “The Tales of Souls.” After playing through the storylines of several characters, I left with the impression that the makers of this game put a lot of effort into the storytelling in an effort to increase replay value. The player may choose a character from among all those offered, and most of all each character has a unique storyline. Additionally, during the game the player is often forced to make choices that will affect the continuation of the story. The characters also all have their own special fighting style as well as special moves. All of this results in that the player is forced to play again and again to squeeze out all the potential storyline of the different characters.
Then there’s the other elements including the “Chronicles of the Sword,” as well as Soul Arena and World Competition. To me the Chronicles were just an attempt to draw in elements of strategy games into an rpg like world. It’s just wasn’t really into it compared to the rest of the game. I do like strategy-rpg hybrid games, and one that I really liked was Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders. Although KUF:TC had mediocre graphics, it did succeed in combining strategy with rpg- and that’s what I think the makers of Soul Calibur III were aiming for.
In addition the game makers added a neat little twist to the in-game videos that players are forced to watch. Many players simply skip the videos in order to get to the fight faster. However the game makers made it so that an in game video has a direct impact on your character. For example someone might throw a blade at you, and then you have to press a certain button during the video to dodge it. If you don’t then you start out the next fight with damaged health. This didn’t affect me much since I was already interested in the storyline, but this will make other gamers pay more attention to the in game vids.
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