When we first saw
Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny, the prospect of the weapons-based brawler hitting PSP was intriguing though not enough to divert our attention from Namco Bandai's other heavyweight
Tekken 6.
After playing it at E3, however, forget
Tekken - we're turning our sights to this phenomenal-looking game as the new standard for handheld fighters.
Broken Destiny, which is based entirely on
Soul Calibur IV, brings the full fighting and graphics engine over to portable in stunning fashion. All of the breaks and special attacks remain intact, as well as the full roster from the PlayStation 3 release.
New to the fight club are Kratos from smash hit
God of War: Chains of Olympus and an original character Dampierre. Unlike the brash, visceral fighting style of Kratos, Dampierre is a bit of a squirrel brawler.
Neither was playable in the version we checked out, though there were several other figures worth checking out. A head-to-head match between Cassandra and Mitsurugi in the Sleeping Marsh stage had the two duking it out with staff and sword in gorgeous style. The brawny Mitsurugi clashed with Cassandra in a beautiful battle that pushes the limits of the handheld.
There's no doubt this is the most visually impressive fighter yet on a handheld; moreover, the fighting mechanics are superb. Responsive controls couple with distinct fighting styles for each character for world-class fighting gameplay.
Experience with previous instalments of the series will put you at serious advantage when in comes to controlling classic characters such as these.
Broken Destiny reserves the control scheme of the last game, mapping vertical and horizontal swipes with your weapon to the Triangle and Square buttons, respectively.
You can also kick using the Circle button and guard against enemy attacks with X. Lastly, hitting the Shoulder buttons adds slashes and kicks into a single combination.
Don't worry if you have zero experience with the franchise or even fighting games in general. The controls, which focus on straightforward attacks with the Triangle and Square buttons, are easily learned. Even better, a PSP-specific training mode will make the process of learning the ropes that much easier.
That's a good thing, too, since you're assuredly going to want to engage in ad-hoc duals with a buddy. No online bouts, though local matches are good enough.
Once you've burned through Arcade and Survival modes a few times with each of the preset characters,
Broken Destiny affords the tools to create an original fighter. Alternatively, you can tweak an existing character using items earned from matches won. We've had no confirmation yet on whether you can trade original characters or items with a friend locally.
There's a lot more to uncover in
Broken Destiny, including the full character roster, stage line up, and exactly how the new training mode will play out. Slated for an early autumn release means we won't have to wait long to find out.
