Soulcalibur IV features Story, Arcade, Training, and Museum modes. A new mode, Tower of Lost Souls, requires players to win battles to gain rewards.[3] The game runs in HD resolution with 5.1 channel surround sound on both platforms.
The Character Creation mode from Soulcalibur III returns in Soulcalibur IV. However, instead of including original weapon styles for use with certain classes of fighters, Soulcalibur IV allows players to choose which character from the series they would like their created character to mimic. This differs from Soulcalibur III, which featured many unique styles such as "Grieve Edge". The styles of Algol, the bonus characters, and the Star Wars guest characters cannot be used by player-created characters. A wide array of new equipment pieces are available for use in Soulcalibur IV's Character Creation mode, and new options include a broader range of character voices and the ability to adjust their pitch. Players may also modify a character's general physique and muscularity.
Additionally, equipped items now affect a character's statistics. Armor, weapons, and accessories may increase health, attack, or defense; they may also grant skill points that allow the character to equip special traits affecting playstyle.[4] These traits may include automatically triggered guard impacts, the ability to inflict damage on a blocking opponent, or even a statistic increase based on parameters such as an opponent's alignment or gender. Standard characters can also be modified in this manner, albeit only modestly, allowing custom costumes and skill sets to be used in Special VS. mode. Custom characters may still be utilized in Standard VS. mode but without any special abilities gained through equipment or weapon choice. One profile is permitted for Offline VS. mode, meaning that only one profile's created characters can be loaded at any given time.
