A Civilization Revelation
Aug. 17, 2008
By stealth_toilet

     Soul Cailbur IV came out 2 weeks ago, and it has been precisely two weeks since my last coherent memory. This is no coincidence, but a modern day proof of forces greater than human beings directing our lives in mysterious ways. I have come to terms with this, and willingly relented to the Siren's call. Steering my ship and my crew towards the beaches of a true sequel to Soul Calibur II, I have no desire to set out to sea again. Who cares about a little polymorphism? I haven't had this much fun since we sacked Troy.

There is little I can really say about this game, for as much as I have played it since its release, I don't feel I have played it enough to truly speak on its veritable strengths. The Soul Calibur series is about the only fighting franchise I have ever had the patience or desire to sit down and play. I don't mean absent mindedly fiddling around with the controller during a meaningful conversation, or adding a match of Soul Calibur to a night rife with distractions. I'm talking about playing tournaments which subdue the audience into a quiet state of awe as the combatants face off in a test of skill, guile, and finesse. I'm talking about knowing the opposing character's moves as well as your own to instigate an intricate ballet of defensive maneuvres that will best coincide with an offensive strike. I'm talking about complete focus, letting the controller become an extension of the mind, and engaging in a moving melody that can be shattered in a split second of hesitation. No one can do this after only spending 2 weeks with the game, and so I submit the game's potential is still largely untapped. My excitement for this game lies in the belief that it very much seems to have the potential to become the antithesis of casual gaming. There is much more to this game than has met my eye, I am sure, which makes me want to play it all the more.

But I must admit, my eye has been drawn hither and thither by an unsuspecting game of the kind I usually avoid. I am no fan of the turn based gameplay style, and often I can be heard lamenting of games that could be great if they sported some other style, but Civilization Revolution (for the 360) possesses enough charm to make me turn my head for a second look. Advance Wars has warmed me up to the notion of turn based strategy considerably, as the game's content and mechanics seem to fit together well. I have often felt there should be some minigame for actually fighting with one's own units in AW, but the game has won me over with its intuitive composition of a complex system from the real world, military tactics, and simplifying that logic in a virtual setting, turn-based gameplay. The Civiliation series, much unlike Advance Wars, has kept me at bay with its impenetrably incongruous design. For some aficionadoes of the series I am sure Revolution is nothing more than a watered down iteration of the franchise, and in turn must feel like a rusty knife placed with a surprising amount of force directly into their backs (then quarter-turned for good measure). However, for a true blue console gamer such as myself, the game was dumbed down just enough for me to look and it and say "Well that makes sense." Admittedly, classifying the various nations, races, and persons of historical importance and significance as adept in one thing and lacking in another is an incredibly slippery slope, but also very endearing. My curiosity for the game piqued when I saw the bonuses each civilization received as time went on in a match and the civilization progressed. Much like understanding the translation of various military units from real life into the world of Advance Wars, seeing various technologies, people, and events translate into the world of Civilization Revolution has been an incredible joy.