Stunning.
There it is, it says:
Soulcalibur on iPhone and iPadis stunning.
This first faithful adaptation of a 3D fighting game on iOS tears the
jaw, detaches the retinas, explodes the neurons and finishes with a big blow
sword in the face of the poor suspicious player who did not imagine seeing that
on your smartphone or tablet. “Faithful” adaptation because, it is necessary
remember, Street Fighter 4 was converted to 2D and still does not benefit
of Retina graphics to date. Shame on Capcom by the way. For
Soulcalibur on the other hand, we can throw rose petals at Namco,
who let loose: enhanced graphics, adaptation in 16/9 on iPhone,
all the characters, all the settings, all the magnificent effects, the
insane music and even tactile handling fear is ultimately
quality. And what's more, it's a universal application compatible with iPhone and iPad
which does not require going through the checkout again (that said at this price...). A
slap, a real one, a date in video games on iOS. And the best
adaptation to this day of this masterpiece after the Dreamcast version (at the price
of incompatibility with certain machines, see below). Phew.
Our detailed test below:
Is it necessary to introduce Soulcalibur?Good, for
those who do not know a reminder is required. The others, go to
next paragraph.
It is therefore a 1 on 1 fighting game, “style street fighter”, by a
team of Japanese whose office tables are next to those of
the Tekken team at Namco. Released in 1998 in Arcade, SoulCalibur follows
Soul Edge (or Soul Blade in Europe), another weapon combat masterpiece
white released on Playstation 1 in 1996. SoulCalibur was then adapted into
exclusivity on the new Sega console: the Dreamcast. This console
overpowering made it possible to display even finer graphics
excellent today, where the Playstation 2 offered a few too many effects
stairs on the polygons making up the characters and settings of his games.
The choice of Namco was made. It will change with SoulCalibur 2 a few years
later, the Dreamcast having passed the weapon to the left and the progress in
programming on PS2 to now avoid these graphical setbacks.
Brief. Soulcalibur 1 has only been released on Dreamcast to date, except for one
not very successful adaptation on X-Box Live a few months ago. But above all,
many die-hards claim that SoulCalibur 1 is the best
episode of the saga. For what ? Because it's the most epic episode,
the most magical, the most lyrical even. 2 and 3 are very good but below par
from 1 and give in to the sirens of graphics that are a little too flashy. Let's be
frank: a slightly cheesy aesthetic is established from episode to episode
episode from 2. The fourth will hit the mark, with the aesthetics
most disappointing of the saga, but also a Yoda and a Darth Vader as appropriate
to this universe as would a wedding section at Fnac, and, worst of all, a
heavy gameplay, losing all flexibility, the characters seeming to wear
from lead soles to shoes. We reassure you: we have a long time
played the fifth episode (scheduled for early February on X360 and PS3) and it performed well
appears to correct these defects.
It was time for a new adaptation of SoulCalibur to see the light of day for
pay homage to the game. Is this the iPhone and iPad version? 99%, yes.
The 1% missing obviously concerns handling.,
which, if it turns out to be very successful for tactile, necessarily lacks the
sickly precision that can be obtained from the buttons of a real joypad. It's said.
Nevertheless SC remains very pleasant to play and we started to stick some
Perfect on hard mode against technical opponents. False manipulations
come out from time to time and it's of course annoying, but there are a thousand of us
places the rigidity of a Street Fighter 4 on iOS.
This fault accepted, for the rest it's a party:the definition of
graphics has been significantly improved compared to the version
Dreamcastor Arcade, bringing incredible finesse to a game that has
always been aesthetically stunning (colors, character design,
decorations, etc.). We also find the epic music of the original version,
which are always listened to with great pleasure, as well as the unforgettable
voice-over commenting on the beginnings and ends of the fight. The 10 main characters
are there, with 9 others to unlock by finishing the game several times. The 60
frames/second are there (and can justify that the game only works on
the latest machines). The endings for each character made in sepia drawing
are also there. Survival, Super Survival, Training and Time Attack modes
are there. And above all, the incredible depth of gameplay remains unchanged,
composed of many special moves and above all countless
sequences of characters to master.
Among the small subjects which annoy but which we will (for the moment)
forgive us, we will note the absence of the three modes “Versus”, “Team Battle” and
Original “Mission Battle”, in other words the “2 player” modes and the
quest. Yes but Namco promises that “new modes” will arrive very soon in
Update and we suspect that these are the ones. Another annoying subject:
the price. Or €9.99 taking into account a 20% promotion for the first
days. Suffice to say that the game will quickly rise to €11.99. The trolls of
the App Store will of course be quick to scream theft, arguing that a game
today should not cost more than €5, still making people laugh just as much
real players, those who put €70 into games with a little more ambition
elaborate as an Angry Birds. It's always the same, it's always
tiring. How do you explain to them that a ten-year-old game can be worth its
12€? It's very simple: just as nice and even brilliant as
either Angry Birds, it is a small game programmed very easily (already seen
many times, it must be remembered) and who does not support for a single second the
comparison with SoulCalibur for anyone who is a bit of a gamer. This
is not the same thing. That's all. It's like comparing McDonald's with
La Tour D'Argent: you can love McDonald's without going to celebrate
her 50th wedding anniversary there. A real fighting game like Soulcalibur has a
flavor that deserves value, even ten years later.
We like:
- Graphically stunning.
- 60 frames/second. It slams.
- The best version since the one on Dreamcast released in 1999.
- More beautiful than on Dreamcast because graphically enhanced!
- The best episode of the entire saga. Maybe waiting for the 5th.
- Touch handling responds very well.
- The 19 characters present.
- The depth of gameplay is still there, with all the sequences to
learn.We like less:
- Missing 2 player mode and Team Battle mode. But Namco promises
Update with “new modes” soon, so.. - The version's excellent "Mission Battle" (adventure) mode is also missing.
Dreamcast. MAJ ? - The tactile handling of a fighting game will never be worth that of the
handcuffs. - The French subtitles are missing during the verbal jousts of the
characters. In the next update?IMPORTANT: The game is not compatible with iPad 1, iPhone
3GS, iPhone 3G, iPhone 1st generation and iPod Touch 1st, 2nd and
3rd generation. An obvious choice from the editor to keep an animation at 60
frames/second.
i-nfo.fr - Official iPhon.fr app
By : Keleops AG
