Soul Calibur preview over at TeamXbox

Over the weekend Team Xbox got the chance to play a little bit of the original Soul Calibur for the Xbox Live Arcade, giving us a new preview and a whole slew of new screen shots.

The first thing you'll notice is that everything is the same - the textures, the models, the text - all the same. The major addition is the boost of resolution, so now the models look a lot cleaner. No Widescreen mode, instead a - frankly - bland border will go around the screen.

While the resolution boost is great, it would have been nice to see at least some re exported textures. They're looking rather blurry in the screens, and the writing of players names and other text is very ugly - like the sprites in Namco's Mr. Driller Online.

The game will include Arcade Mode, Survival, Extra Survival, Practice Mode, Team Battle, Vs. Battle, and Battle Theater, allowing two CPU players to battle it out.

An interesting omission from the game is the Mission Mode. On the Dreamcast version, Mission Mode would allow players to complete a series of objectives on a map to unlock different artwork. Despite it not being there - the Artwork is! It appears that the Art Gallery is still within the game despite no mission mode, and also gives the player an achievement by looking at everything.

A quick note that may just be a website error, but they specify "Content Downloads" as being available on the Team Xbox page. Maybe some DLC is in the works to add the old Mission Mode?

Check out the more in depth preview over at Team Xbox.

Source: Team Xbox - Soul Calibur XBLA Preview

First videos of Soul Calibur XBLA!

The website Exophase has got its hands on the first videos of Soul Calibur for the Xbox Live Arcade!

Obviously, looking very much like the original through an emulator, but I'm sure that's all people are looking for.

Source: Exophase: Soul Calibur XBLA Gameplay Footage

Edit: HD versions of these videos now available at Gametrailers. View them here and here.

First Soul Calibur XBLA screenshots!

Gaming-Age have got the scoop on the upcoming Namco XBLA title - Soul Calibur. Check out all the images here!

Here it just looks like a completely straight up port of Soul Calibur from the Dreamcast - which is fine, but it seems nothing else was added. No true wide screen support, same old textures and occasional flat background. It is what it is - but some additional effort would have been nice.

Source: Gaming-Age

Namco announce Soul Calibur and Infinitum (or Powerup Forever?)

Namco seems to be taking a brand new look at the Xbox Live Arcade after numerous 'classic' arcade titles. They've just announced that the original Soul Calibur (Not Soul Edge - the Dreamcast one) will be making its way to the Xbox Live Arcade, along with a brand new game titled Infinitum!

From the Press blast:

Game: Soulcalibur
Release Date: Summer 2008
Platform: Xbox LIVE Arcade

The highest rated console fighting game ever is back again for a new generation! Sharpen your blades and relive old grudges against classic adversaries in high definition. Prove your mettle against the world with a variety of leaderboards spanning every character and mode. Match your wits and fighting instincts in Arcade, Training and Survival modes, or challenge a friend in local-play Versus mode.

Interestingly, Namco have decided to make Soul Calibur an Xbox Live exclusive title instead of releasing it on both XBLA and PSN. This may be due to the PSN already having Tekken available for quite some time now, and don't want to spoil that with another fighter.

At the same time, one disappointing thing is that it does NOT include online play - though going by the Mr. Driller Online modes it may be for the best. Another thing is that Tekken on PSN was also released without online play - and was later able to via an DLC expansion pack you paid for. Considering Namco haven't been the best sports with DLC (See: Beautiful Katamari, Ace Combat) they hopefully aren't trying to nickel and dime fans again.

Still, a wide screen, HD version of Soul Calibur will make many Dreamcast fans happy. Hopefully they ARE working off the Dreamcast version, and not the original Arcade release, which was based off the original Playstation hardware.

Infinitum
Release Date: Summer 2008
Platform: Xbox LIVE Arcade, PLAYSTATION Network

Get ready for high-octane, shooting action with Infinitum. Space and time are irrelevant in your search for evil forces as you fight a relentless horde of enemies across an endless spatial battlefield. Destroying elite enemies allows you to absorb their energy, transforming your ship’s size, shape and power. As your ship evolves and grows your world and its enemies shrink to insignificance, revealing even more massive and powerful enemies that were previously too large to see.

Now this game has been called Infinitum by the Namco press release, but appears to be called PowerUp Forever everywhere else. That's kind of bizarre - hopefully we'll get an update on this soon.

From the few images that have been released - which you can view here - it's looking pretty good. However, it may get a little... lost in the current landscape of Twin-Stick Shooters currently available for the XBLA. Already it looks like a mix of Mutant Storm and the upcoming Schizoid.

It's too early to tell, but it looks like it may go the way of Geons: Emotions and be completely forgotten. Time will tell - hopefully we'll see more soon.

Source: NAMCO BANDAI GAMES ANNOUNCES NEW TITLES FOR XBOX LIVE® ARCADE AND THE PLAYSTATION® NETWORK