The Triangle

Issue date: 12/7/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: www.nwifi.net This sketch of the pirate queen Ivy makes the less than mediocre game seem like a masterpiece of action.

Media Credit: www.gamespot.com Although 'Soul Calibur' has been known to be an engaging fighting game, 'Legends' proves to be quite forgettable.

Soul Calibur is a great fighting game, which has one of the best dynamic fighting systems which diverge from the trend of typical button-mashers.

While Soul Calibur has strengths in its own genre of games, Soulcalibur Legends on the Wii does not make par. It may sound like a fighter with the series' favorite characters, but in reality, it is nothing like previous installments in the series. The game fails in that it plays like an adventure game that should've been released eight years ago.

The graphics for the game give the impression of a first generation PS2 game. A key element in the current game market is graphics and without it, the game struggles. The characters themselves resemble the Lego structures of old through archaic blocky models.

The sound affects aren't all that much better from the games graphical qualities. Through swinging the Wii remote, the player will hear the one repetitive sound effect the game has to offer. Maybe this would be acceptable if this was an amazing sound that caused some form of orgasmic delight, but all it consists of is a simple whoosh similar to that of swinging a bat at nothing. Unfortunately, this irritating sound is all you get with each swing, regardless of whether the on screen weapon swings or not.

After playing this game for no more than an hour, I was filled with the urge to hurl the Wii remote through the nearest window. The game is just a swinging rampage, no thought necessary. Its simplicity allows me to believe that an infant could beat this game. The character pretty much runs around trying to avoid traps and ultimately ends up in rooms that spawn enemies.

There are three actions: running, dodging, attacking. The AI proves itself just as simple as the list of commands - they stand waiting for the player to approach and attack. When attacking, the player is restricted to just three types of maneuvers: the jab, the horizontal slash, and vertical slash. While the manual says the attack is up to the player, it seems as though the computer randomly assigns the attack instead. However, there is an option allows the user wants to assign an attack to a higher likelihood.

There is a co-op option, but your friends are probably going to laugh when they see this game. The only part of the series that is recognizable from the series' former glory are the characters, even so the characters aren't that great. They don't have their standard attacks from previous installments and have been limited to a mere three attacks. In the Soul Calibur series, each character had over 20 plus attacks as opposed to this constriction of simplicity.

This game is worthless. In the end, it's only worthy cause is to burn in a great bonfire, never to be mentioned again.

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