I noticed that the AI is more "human like" as it mimics both the good and bad habits of players. When playing the game I noticed the more advanced AI do intricate combos and tricks that I only seen when playing with my buddies when playing the PS3 version of Soul Calibur 4.
The computer (at least those with the higher difficulty levels) adapts to your movement which means, you cannot use one set of moves over and over to defeat the AI opponent. I noticed that they tend to change their patterns. So if you start throwing a lot, the computer will start ducking to avoid your throws.
The computer AI itself will check what moves are effective against you and they will spam that move over and over until you block it or you lose the battle. So if the computer notices that you always get hit by low attacks then it will keep attacking low until you change you pattern.
I do not know how significant is this but if you follow the competitive soul caliber scene you will noticed that a lot of the AI names were taken from real life famous Soul Caliber tournament players such as famous French player, Kayane. Most of the AI moves mimic the style of the these players.
I'm not saying that the AI are better then a skilled opponent, because if you play the AI enough times, you will noticed that the ability for it to adapt is limited and tend to forget your patterns after the match is over. But despite of which, this is the best AI I have seen compared to the past Soul Calibur games
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I have been a fan of the weapon-based series Soul Calibur since I first bought it on the Dreamcast. I played it for hours, and it was especially fun against friends. So when I saw it was coming to the PSP, and purportedly was as faithful a port as possible of SC4, I had to hear more. Unbelievably, Team Soul and Namco were able to achieve their goal.First off, the graphics are the best on the PSP (just above God of War) and are very high-res with large, detailed character models, great lighting, and beautiful arenas. This is a game that will make anyone seeing it on a portable screen go "Wow." There is no stuttering or slowdown whatsoever.
That said, the game play is as solid as the console versions, provided you're playing in Versus mode against friends via ad hoc or Quickmatch. Sadly, if you are looking for a "story based" single player arcade mode, you will not find it. This severely hampers the SP longevity of the game, as you may quickly grow bored playing against CPU "created" characters not taken from the in-game roster. The SP campaign that is present is nothing more than a long, glorified tutorial. Basically you are asked to learn how to guard, low-guard, grab, etc. These "chapters" literally last no more than 3 seconds. So after about 30 minutes, I had had enough, and an actual battle was nowhere in sight. Perhaps it does happen, but after so many tutorials, I couldn't go on.
There is a Trials mode as well, which tasks you with performing certain moves/actions to win, such as "Block your opponent ten times," "Win with a ring-out," "Defeat your opponent with a Critcal Finisher," etc. Again, it adds to the things to do, but it's not as fun as an arcade mode.
I know this may sound like the game sucks, but it does not. This PSP edition gets the addition of guest-fighter Kratos from the GoW series, and he fits in very well into this game. The ad hoc against friends (who also must have a copy of the game--there is no "game sharing" feature) is very smooth and without lag. So if you have PSP-owning friends, you could enjoy a great fighter wherever you are. The omission of an infrastructure online mode is big, but not as big as the missing SP arcade mode. Moreover, you can install some of the game files onto your Memory Stick (the install is 256 MB) and it reduces the load times to Nintendo DS levels, which is a great feature.
With a huge roster (the same as SC4, minus Vader or Yoda), the addition o f Kratos, superb graphics, responsive controls that mirror the big consoles, great music and Japanese/English voiceovers, and a lag free ad hoc mode make SC:BD a worthy purchase, and a good time waster in Quickmatch/Trials. It's such a disappointment that a SP arcade mode and online are omitted, but fans of the series looking to take their favorite fighting series on the road will not be disappointed. Those who are SC4 owners may not find anything new here, and it may be a good idea to see how Tekken 6 PSP turns out (and which modes make the cut) before laying down your money here.
Pros:
-Beautiful graphics, the best the PSP has to offer
-Smooth frame rate
-Responsive controls/full moves list
-Music, voice overs
-Full roster of fighters w/ alternate costumes
-Kratos
-Ability to create your own fighter
-Install option drastically reduces load times
-Ad hoc against friends works flawlessly
Cons:
-No SP arcade mode
-Included SP "Gauntlet" campaign is a joke
-Quickmatch uses too many "created" characters
-No online infrastructure mode
-Longevity for players w/o PSP owning friends is questionable
-Friends must have their own copy, no game sharing
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NO SINGLE PLAYER CAMPAIGN.What does this mean for the average player?
THERES NO CAMPAIGN TO START OR FINISH.
Meaning you could just play the game for five minutes and put it aside because THERES NOTHING TO DO.
Oh theres a "gauntlet" which basically teaches you how to play the game, but it states
at the start of the gauntlet that its not part of the Soul Calibur story.
Its like saying "ah this game doesn't matter really".
Pros
You have Kratos
The game looks good
You have multiple characters and you can create characters of your own.
Cons
You have Kratos, WHO HAS NO STORY AT ALL, he's just SHOWN UP and will HANG AROUND.
One of the most interesting story driven characters in gaming justs EXISTS in this game,
and fights people in quick matches.
You have multiple characters AND NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM.
Just Quick matches, thats all.
Considering how much effort clearly went into the game how hard would it have been to add
a movie for each character which you see after beating 8 random characters.
Honest reviews on SoulCalibur: Broken Destiny - Sony PSP
Essentially there is no one player story mode, what there is is a long drawn out tutorials mode. You don't unlock characters, weapons, or costumes. Everything is available right from the get go, so if you liked or played SoulCalibur 4 this has everything you could want on a portable scale; minus the Star Wars characters (replaced by Kratos and a new to the series guy) and minus the actual story line concept.Me being a college student this games fits up to my needs of being able to take out at school or home and play for a short time while having fun at the same time, and be ready to save and stow away quickly.
Even though there is no campaign (one player) story mode like in the others in the series, the graphics are beefed up and the character creation is awesome, just like the previous game SoulCalibur IV.
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The Good:+Tight controls that can be customized if need be
+The fighting mechanics mirror the console version of the game perfectly
+Some of the best visuals you'll find on the PSP
+Fantastic soundtrack
The Bad:
-There is no Arcade Mode at all
-The "Gauntlet" isn't much of a compelling campaign
-You can't even set up a Versus Match against an AI character
-There is no game sharing, if you play against friends they'll need their own copy of the game
-There is virtually no true single player experience
The Soul Calibur series is known for being all around fun to play. Especially if you've got friends. But normally they tend to have a fairly decent single player campaign such as the weapons master mode in Soul Calibur II, Tales of Sword in Soul Calibur III (or the story mode) or the Tower of Souls in Soul Calibur IV. Or, at the very least an Arcade Mode. Soul Calibur Broken Destiny is a good game... provided you're not playing it by yourself.
There's not real story in Soul Calibur Broken Destiny. The game is considered non-canon by Namco-Bandai. There are an assortment of characters to use, mostly ripped straight out of Soul Calibur IV. And for the most part Soul Calibur Broken Destiny Controls rather well. Much of the controls are the same as what you got in Soul Calibur IV (although you are missing two buttons). And if they don't work for some reason you can always go into the menu and change them. Not only that, but Soul Calibur Broken Destiny is an astonishingly beautiful game. It may, in fact, be the best looking game the PSP has thus far. It's almost like carrying around a miniature version of Soul Calibur IV. The character models are just as elegant and familiar and the stages are just as familiar. There are a few details missing, but some of them you're not as likely to notice. The music is also pretty much exactly the same. The sound effects, voices, etc. will all be familiar to anyone who played Soul Calibur IV. Unfortunately the other experiences don't quite live up.
In the first place, Soul Calibur Broken Destiny doesn't have much of a single player experience at all. Almost none, actually. There's a Gauntlet mode which more or less begins off as a training mode. You'll have certain objectives in each level. Once you meet them you'll progress onward. But this isn't as compelling or as exciting as other modes Soul Calibur has provided for us in the past. The problem is, from a single player standpoint this is more or less all Broken Destiny really offers. The rest is battling people online or participating in the various quick matches. The other is finding a friend with a PSP and a copy of the game to play it with. If you've got friends willing to take the dive into Broken Destiny with you, the experience really comes alive through the versus mode because it's just a lot of fun. But when all that is said and done players may not be too thrilled that Soul Calibur Broken Destiny doesn't offer much if a single player experience at all. There's not actual story mode to tackle and there is no Arcade Mode at all. And is it really much of a fighting game if there is no Arcade Mode? Even if you want to play against computer controlled opponents of your choice the Quick Match won't do you justice. Most of them are custom characters as is, and you can ONLY do Versus Mode if you have a friend to play against. No setting up a fight against a computer controlled opponent for you.
In the handheld realm especially, offering a good single player experience is pretty much essential to the game in and of itself. This is why Soul Calibur Broken Destiny isn't nearly as good. Offering a good single player experience is important because Handheld gaming is sometimes a very solitary thing. To set up and play with friends is usually an expensive endeavor for your friends. This is why if you already HAVE friends with a PSP it's no big deal... you just convince them to get the game. On the other hand, even convincing some friends to get the game is a tough deal. Luckily in this day and age most handheld systems allow game sharing so that only one of you needs to actually own the game (the other gets a slightly less awesome gaming experience). Unfortunately, Soul Calibur Broken Destiny doesn't do that either. There is no game sharing if you wanted to have a quick match with a friend who doesn't own the game. If you want to play against friends they're going to need a copy of the game themselves.
If you're able to get a lot out of the multiplayer experience of Soul Calibur Broken Destiny, you'll find the game can be fun and enjoyable. Those who are limited to the single player experience are apt to ask themselves why in the world they actually picked it up to begin with. Normally handheld versions of some games are stripped down but in the case of Soul Calibur Broken Destiny, they stripped it down quite a bit.
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