I'm pretty sure the first thing I saw about Soul Calibur IV was the concept artwork of Ivy. If you've been to any gaming sites in the past few months, you've probably seen it; it's the one with her breasts roughly the size of watermelons. Well folks, don't worry, they're even more absurd in the actual game. It's rare to see a moment where Ivy's breasts aren't taking turns running laps around her chest from even the slightest movement.

I've heard a number of statements saying people are downright embarrassed playing this game. Understandable. Both genders are heavily sexualized, especially when you compare it to the first game. In addition, there's an armour breaking system. You can lose up to 3 pieces of armour, which leaves some characters in a bra and panties or the male underwear equivalent. It's a ridiculously over the top fighting game that keeps a sense of humour about itself. My latest custom character wears a deer on her head and if I feel like it, she can battle with a pot and pan. One of the first custom characters I faced was called Carrot Top, a hugely buff male with an orange afro and a thong, who fights using a giant shishkabob and what appears to be a giant ham.

Change Undergarments!!

It's a strange combination. A game that takes its fighting system very seriously, yet doesn't take its characters seriously whatsoever. While I can see how that might turn some people off, I found that aspect very enjoyable. Of course, the fighting system isn't without its flaws, mind you. I've gone through single player and played quite a few hours online, and there're a few characters who will piss you off no matter what. Similar to what I've heard about Link from Soul Calibur 2, one of the guest characters in this game is an absolute bitch. The Star Wars promotion crossover, the Sith Apprentice, is cheap as hell. When you get to witness the supreme cheapness of the force throw, you'll see what I mean. With that in mind, I've found a surprisingly small amount of players online that try to exploit the fighting system. Whether that's due to the freshness of the game or a decent community, I'm not sure. Even the usual xxbongripz420xx gamertags haven't been too bad. I'm pretty sure I haven't been called a racial slur yet - let's see how long that lasts!

The single player features a story mode, arcade mode, a tower (missions) mode, an extensive character creation feature, as well as unlockable art and other bonus features. There's a fair bit of content in the single player, though I wish the missions available in the tower were fleshed out more.

The character creation mode is easily one of the highlights of the game. You can heavily modify existing characters or create entirely new ones. You unlock new items by beating single player modes, getting achievements, buying them with in-game money, or buying DLC (currently, a few SC2 outfits are available for 100 points on the marketplace with UPCOMING MAID OUTFITS ??? laffo, Namco). There are literally hundreds upon hundreds of items, ranging from modern military outfits and giant deer heads, to more traditional suits of armour and flowing dresses. Each character you create can use any fighting style used by the other characters in the game, whatever voice you'd like with the ability to change pitch, you can even give them custom HP/strength/damage attributes for certain modes of the game.

The fiercest fighters in the world.

As long as you've got a sense of humour and aren't worried about people laughing at you playing a game with giant bouncing boobies and male thongs out the wazoo, Soul Calibur IV is a worthwhile purchase. The Collector's Edition is a bit more difficult to justify unless you need the default gamer size shirt (tent-like, as always) or want the tournament card. The included comic book/artbook is somewhat crappy, but the extra included customization options with the CE are decent.

4.5/5

Soul Calibur IV available at Amazon.com -