TGS '07: Soulcalibur Legends Pre-show Update

TOKYO--At a pre-TGS briefing, Namco Bandai let us get a little more hands-on time behind closed doors with its upcoming slasher Soulcalibur Legends for the Nintendo Wii. Unlike the arcade-fighting-style games that established the Soulcalibur franchise, Legends is modeled on a fusion of 3D action title and dungeon crawler. The code we played--which appears to be either the same build or a slightly updated version of the one we looked at back in July--included the same single-player quest level.

Our hands-on time also allowed us to look at and play the cooperative mode, which will be available when the game ships. While you only control one character at any given time in the solo mode--with the ability to swap in a second character on the fly--the multiplayer component of Soulcalibur Legends allows for split-screen offline co-op play with a friend through a different set of levels.

Controller gestures remain the same as the last time we saw this game, with the Wii Remote being used sword-style to slash at your foes. Left or right swings register and animate accordingly onscreen, while up or down swings stab and upper-cut. The Nunchuk serves as your movement controls, character toggle, and combo activation method. Waving the Nunchuk lets you dash at your enemies, while when in the power-up mode, thrusting both your Wii Remote and Nunchuk in unison will unleash a devastating attack.

When we asked the Namco Bandai representatives about the player lineup for Soulcalibur Legends, they were quick to point out that while the game is set around the time of the end of the first game, the player roster for Legends will not be as extensive as the original player list. Instead, they've developed control gestures specific to a smaller number of characters to help give each a unique feel. While the game comes into the story late, we were assured that players who weren't familiar with the Soulcalibur universe would have no trouble picking up player relationships or history with the help of some creative dialogue and cutscene animations.

More playable characters should be announced soon, so be sure to check back for a full hands-on preview as the code continues to mature.