PSP Review – Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny

11/06/2009 Written by Anthony SeverinocloseAuthor: Anthony Severino Name: Anthony Severino
Email: sev1512@playstationlifestyle.net
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The Soul Calibur series has been a major success on home consoles. Namco-Bandai is now taking the fight on the go via the PlayStation Portable. Available on UMD at retail level, and digital download via the PlayStation Store, Soul Calibur hopes to give your favorite handheld that extra “kick” you’ve been looking for. So, does the “soul still burn” on the PSP, or does its the acclaimed franchise’s first foray on Sony’s flagship handheld fizzle out to nothing more than ashes? Find out in our Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny review.

Soul Calibur is known for its near flawless fighting mechanics, and thankfully that series mainstay has survived the transition to the PSP from its console brethren. The controls are sharp, fluid and responsive. The move list for each character is extremely robust, and range from simple button press combos, to complex multi-button press, analog stick combinations. Mastering these more complex moves will give you an edge, but at the same time is not necessary to win. Instead you’ll use the more difficult to master moves to jazz up your match, leaving your enemy in awe. My only complaint with Broken Destiny’s gameplay, is that side-stepping can be clunky, and throws are harder to pull off. Still, everything else you’d expect from Soul Calibur is here, and is done with finesse.

The roster is packed with long-time Soul Calibur fan-favorites such as Voldo the sadist, and Ivy, the ample bussomed, whip wielding Ivy are back, along with some fresh faces. One such face is a highly recognizable spartan warrior, God of War’s Kratos. As great as battling with the normal Soul Calibur combatants can be, nothing is as satisfying as wreaking havoc unto your opponent using Kratos’ Blades of Athena. Kratos, with his godly blades on chains and over the top special moves, Kratos is a perfect fit for the famed fighting franchise. In fact, you’ll enjoy clashing versus your opponent with Kratos so much, you might find yourself only using the ghost of sparta.

If Kratos doesn’t tickle your fancy, there is a roster of 28 skilled combatants to choose from. The game also features an excellent create-a-character mode. Your limited to the fighting styles attached to the weapons each regular roster characters use, but the created character’s appearance has near endless customizations. This is mainly due to your ability to swap color palettes of a list of pants, boots, armor, helmet, etc. It even allows you to snap a shot of your created character’s pose to create its own character select screen icon. You can create up to 16 characters.

Along with the fighting genre staple, the Vs. mode, Soul Calibur offers a variety of single player modes. The Gauntlet mode is the main “story” mode, and even though it serves its purpose, it’s very lame. If you need a tutorial to hold down and attack then you should turn in your PSP right this second. The mode does get more challenging, and intense if you can make it past the “duh” parts without going back to Vs. mode. The game does feature multiplayer via ad-hoc, but unless your friends have the game also, you are stuck playing with yourself.

The game is absolutely gorgeous. One of the slickest looking, smoothly animated PSP games to date. Characters models are extremely detailed, and some arenas have breathtaking backdrops. The Gothic styled music is the norm for the series, and adds an epic feel to battles. It certainly does justice to the beauty Soul Calibur is known for.

Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny is a near perfect fighting experience, exactly what you’ve come to expect from the franchise. Those who are new to the series will love the varied character roster and robust move-set. The game certainly doesn’t have any groundbreaking features, but it’s fantastic nonetheless. If you are a fan of fighting games this is a must-buy, as it holds it’s own with the very best fighting games the PSP has to offer. The soul still burns.

PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score Roster packed with variety of combatants Simply gorgeous visuals Deep, fluid fighting mechanics you would expect from the Soul Calibur series

Rate this Article: (3 votes, average: 2.33 out of 5)

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