Here's to you, the hardcore gamer! You play the kind of games that are extreme in every way because you're a hardcore gamer. You play games like Ninja Gaiden II and Metal Gear Solid 4, the kind of games that give you that extreme and exciting kind of satisfaction, the feeling that a hardcore game should give you. You would never dare pick up the controller and play a game that didn't have the most insane graphics ever because you're a hardcore gamer. You would also never pick up a game that made you play differently, like training your mind or creating music; why...? Because you're a hardcore gamer and you always play games that have a serious edge to them!

We're saluting the hardcore gamer in this month's issue. All of the games this month have a hard, sharp edge to them and are the kind of games that you brag to people that you play. We even threw in a game that the hardcore gamer would play when he's relaxing. (C'mon, hardcore gamers have to do something when they're not fragging noobs.) Throw on your best video game T-shirt and make sure your game-related action figures are in their coolest poses because we are checking out only the most hardcore of hardcore in this month's issue of "Press Start"!

Fanboys rejoiced when Bandai Namco announced that Darth Vader and Yoda from the Star Wars franchise would be added as playable characters in Soulcalibur IV.

Soulcalibur IV for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3; Publisher: Bandai Namco; Developer: Project Soul; Release Date: July 29, 2008; ESRB Rating: T for teen; Genre: fighting; Players: 1-2; Support: N/A; Online: 2 player matches

Transcending History and the World
I swear, if Japanese developers are great at only one thing, then it's got to be this: they really know how to make awesome games with cheesy dialogue. I know, I know; the dialogue was made for that country and it doesn't translate well here in the States, but let's talk about that a little later.

The Soulcalibur series is a pretty popular fighting game series for good reason. It started out in arcades with a different name, Soul Edge, and the entire series has commonly been known for its outstanding fighting system, gorgeous visuals and extremely forceful animation. Soulcalibur II was released with a special guest fighter for each of the previous-gen systems, such as Link from The Legend of Zelda on the GameCube version, which was so cool that I'm still playing it! Soulcalibur III was released with a very sophisticated create-a-fighter option, which I'm also still playing with.

This Victory Strengthens the Soul of...
Now we have Soulcalibur IV, which has been released with both of the previous special features from II and III. Now, if the create-a-fighter option and special guest fighters have both made returns to this new installment, then it begs the question, "Who the heck are the special guest fighters this time around?" Fanboys everywhere rejoiced last January as Bandai Namco announced that Darth Vader and Yoda from the Star Wars franchise will be added as playable characters in Soulcalibur IV. After the medic resuscitated me, I went off and reserved a copy.

The gameplay in SC IV is the same awesome fighting system from previous SC installments, plus classic and newer characters have all returned. © NBGI.

What kills me is that Yoda is an exclusive character on the Xbox 360 version, while Darth Vader is an exclusive character on the PS3 version. Ain't that a big puddle of Rancor spit! Hopefully, Bandai Namco will also make Darth Vader and Yoda available on opposite systems through downloadable content so we can actually have some real lightsaber battles! But wait, another Star Wars character that has been added to SC IV is Darth Vader's apprentice from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. That's right! The main character from a game that hasn't even come out yet and here's the best part... he's like the best character in the game! Darth Vader does big, forceful moves that do huge damage, but he moves pretty slowly. Yoda, on the other hand, jumps all over the place with very flashy moves like he did in Star Wars: Episode II, but it takes a while to knock out an opponent because he doesn't do much damage. The Apprentice is fast, stylized, does great damage and uses more force powers in the game than both Yoda and Darth Vader. Also, he has air combos! No other character in Soulcalibur history could perform air combos and he's only a special guest!

Astaroth Looks Like a Chain Chomp
The fighter selection roster is huge. Classic characters from the SC series like Maxi, Ivy, Voldo and Mitsurugi have all made returns, as well as Rock, who was significantly absent from Soulcalibur II. Newer additions like Zasalamel and Tira have also made a return. The gameplay is still the same awesome fighting system from previous SC installments, but you might notice that most characters' moves have been changed around slightly. Also, the Soul Charge technique isn't around anymore. The parry system is back in Soulcalibur IV, but, to be quite honest, I never really liked the parry system in the Soulcalibur games mainly because, once you parry an opponent's attack, it doesn't leave your opponent open; they can just parry you right back when you try to attack them, so oftentimes you're going to find that you and your opponent are just parrying each other back and forth, over and over again. Thankfully, a lot of attacks can be dodged with some fancy side-stepping and, also, a lot of the characters in the game have custom counterattacks. This might make things a little aggravating for newer players because you have to learn each character's custom counterattacks, but seasoned fighting-game players will have no trouble.

Now, let's talk about the voice acting again. In SC II the voice acting actually wasn't that bad, so this seems like a step down. I mean, c'mon, with a little extra effort even the most Japanese of Japanese games can produce good voice acting like the kind found in Street Fighter 3: Third Strike or The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The voice acting is almost as bad as in Lost Planet. This is a small issue with the game, but it's worth mentioning. I'm just upset that they got rid of the original narrator who had been doing the narration since the first SC in arcades. Aside from this small issue, Soulcalibur IV is an awesome fighting game with satisfying combat and graphics that fully show off what current-gen systems can really do.