Soul Calibur, one of Namco's most storied franchise, has always been considered a good series and it will finally make the leap to Xbox 360 and PS3 this summmer on July 29. Read on to find out about some of the more interesting changes and additions made to the series for Soul Calibur 4.

The Art of Weapons-Based Fighting

For the most part, it seems like Soul Calibur 4's fighting mechanics will remain unchanged besides graphical upgrades. One thing of interest, though, is what Japanese video game mag, Famitsu, reported was that the game may contain tag-team elements in the single-player mode. They didn't go into too much detail, but suggested that "teammates may suddenly join and leave at the end of the battle." as CAG translated.

Soul Calibur III was widely regarded as almost absurdly unbalanced, here's hoping that the Project Soul team will get balancing issues ironed out. If not on day one, post-release updates should take care of any bugs.

Hate the Fighters? Make Your Own!

One thing the SCIII did right, though, was the almost limitless customization made available through the Create-a-Fighter. It let you take to the ring the most absurd- or awesome-looking fighters of your making against the already established cast.
With the addition of Star Wars representatives, it should make for some interesting options this time around.

The Multiplatform Experience

Soul Calibur 3 was only released for PS2 last generation after the second game had appeared Gamecube, Xbox, and PS2. Soul Calibur 4, regarded by many as the best weapons-based fighting series, makes the jump to both Xbox 360 and PS3 on July 29 with some distinguishing features and varying characters.

'The Soul Still Burns' with Yoda and Darth Vader

While it might seem weird that the Xbox 360 version of SC4 will feature Yoda and Darth Vader will lend his likeness to the PS3 version, it definitely has its precedent. In 2003, Namco released Soul Calibur II which featured a unique character with each version of the game; GameCube got Link from The Legend of Zelda, Heihatchi from Tekken appeared on PS2, and Spawn, well, spawned in the Xbox version.

The GameCube version sold the best -- likely because of Link's appearance -- and it will be interesting to see how how it pans out with SC4. Darth Vader or Yoda? Regardless of who you choose, they will both feature the Darth Vader's "secret apprentice" who is the main character for the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

Oh, yeah, and expect to fight inside the Imperial Star Destroyer in SC4 as Darth Vader's stage. What's left to be shown is what stage will represent Mr. Yoda and the Secret Apprentice.

God of War's Possible Appearance...

Kratos, of God of War fame, has been rumored to be a selectable character in the PS3 version of the game but it seems unlikely as it would've been announced at this past E3. And if the red-stripped hero makes an appearance that'd mean the Xbox 360 version should have another exclusive character...Halo or even Gears of War-related maybe?

The Same Old Stable

Among the different gameplay videos and screenshots released so far, all the old characters poised to return in Soul Calibur's latest, along with three newcomers Angol Fear, Scheherazade (nice spelling), and Shura.
Those featured in the latest gameplay vignettes are: Rock, Talim, Yoshimitsu, Amy, Cervantes, Zasalamel, Siegfried, Mitsurugi, Hilde, Raphael, Auguste, Gerhilde, Marienbard, Taki, Helerides, Xianghua, Astaroth, Ivy, and Cassandra.

Hands Up for Online

"We've heard from fans that they really want the game to be online, so we figured that, with the current environment, we really couldn't make SC4 without online play," said Soulcalibur IV Director Katsutoshi Sasaki told EGM last year and we're hoping that's still the case now.

The latest builds of the game haven't shown much of online or how it will work, but Virtua Fighter 5 Online (Xbox 360) proved that 3D fighting can be done and done with superb, lag-free results. Here's hoping that it's still in the works for the final build, because going over to people's houses to play together is so PlayStation 1 era.

Premium Edition, uh, Not Worth It...

Even the biggest fans of Soul Calibur will be hard-pressed to buy the $79.99 "Tournament Edition" of SC4. It will include a few lackluster additions to the regular version such as: a t-shirt, tin case, comic book, and umm, a tournament bracket card. Lame, indeed.

If the collector gets to you, go for it, but the icing-less version will retail for $59.99, on Xbox 360 and PS3, July 29.

Carlos Macias is a featured writer for Xomba.com. Read the rest of his work here .