Grab yer popcorn - this new SoulCalibur V trailer is so epic it should be shown at the cinema
OK, you've got us in the mood for SoulCalibur V - release the game already!
Justin was a GamesRadar staffer for 10 years but is now a freelancer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy.
If you've been following our rather extensive SoulCalibur V coverage, you'll probably have noticed we already have a 'story' trailer for the game. But forget about that - Namco's just released another story trailer and it blows the first out of the water so hard, it'll have dried off by the time it's hit the ground. Think about how hard that would have to be. Yeah, that hard.
For starters, there's Booming Voice-Over Man, a freakin' crescendo on the soundtrack and so many angsty glances from the protagonists, it's like watching a particularly ernest fan trailer for Twilight. But you know what? It's worked on us (can you tell?). We feel totally up for something, even if that 'something' is a trip to the cinema for some popcorn and too much Ben & Jerry's. But hey ho - let's go:
Ahhh, doesn't that cadence at the end make you feel like it's all going to be OK? Aside from the disappointingly limp reading of the famous 'tale of souls and swords' line, which isn't quite up to the original in our eyes (erm... ears), that's definitely how you do a trailer for Soul Calibur without showing any part of the actual gameplay experience you're going to be having. But that's probably why they call it a 'story' trailer.
Namco has also released a bunch of new screenshots for you to ogle: The art style is a more logical progression of the first SoulCalibur than IV was, which makes us very happy. Peruse them at your leisure here:
The game is out so soon we can smell it - February 3 in the UK and January 31 for the US. But even stronger in our nostrils is the retro-tinged scent of the original SoulCalibur, which launches on iOS devices tomorrow. If that and the above trailer doesn't get you in the mood for the main event, nothing will.