Every day is a new fight

Soul Calibur IV, the only game that I have been loyal to since the first day of purchase. I have a few times before purchased and traded in only to be bought again. However this will never be the case because I love this game too much. I remember my excitement being totally torn apart when stealing Kirsten’s shiny Soul Cali’ IV tin at the Battle Of Destiny, it only gave me a bonus disc and not the game itself!

Some of you may have noticed that this has been my major gaming for the past few months. I’m still enthusiastic for any incoming challenges over Xbox Live. Everyday is a new fight and I continue to learn new ways to play with my favourite characters. Thanks to the Ready Up forumers and new people I’ve met in custom matches, my sexy duo Taki and Xianghua have come a long way.

Let’s fight! Gamertag: TinyShaz

Taki has developed from being a ‘kicking queen’ (a bad habit of playing from the Soul Edge/PS1 days) and finally I’ve got her pulling out more of her ninja blades. Well come on, a big-boobed, fast and deadly kunoichi is the obvious winner. There have been times when people forbid me to use her or they’d leave the game all I can say is (cue for bad arrogant pun) “Eat my terror-Taki!” and “deal with it” hehe.

Xianghua has been a new direction and to simplify the story, inspired by her use from other players online. I decided to conquer what I once found confusing and bring this young spirited swords-lady to my side. Her fancy footwork and sword style accompany my liking of varied tactical play. Also she’s a brilliantly cheeky fighter and it’s funny to make her have a tantrum on the floor!

The thing that intrigues me most is that all opponents (CPU or Xbox Live) will teach you something about yourself. Recent conversations with tournament players of Neo Empire, Inti and Rakurai established more things that I can work on. Fighting games have room for exploration, there’s more to beat-em-ups than just beating the game on the hardest setting or (what I despise) performing moves on your friends for achievements. Since the Battle Of Destiny last year in July, my competitive nature has been revived and even as a beginner in tournament play it’s a fabulous experience for gamers. So in turn while others have taught me a few new things on my path to improvement, I want to share advise with those who want to join the road too (whether it’s for casual or competition).

If you want to be a better performer think about new moves outside of the common combos. Maybe it’s time to perk up your parry skills (hopefully on a decent connection). Your usual tactics won’t always guarantee a win against every player so be aware of not becoming predictable or opponents will remember your move patterns, especially if you play the same person a lot! Open your mind and never treat all your opponents the same. Believe me, even after dodging or countering regular players, there have been times when I got pwned by a newbie mashing buttons. Some gamers find this frustrating because the opponent isn’t considered to be playing the game ‘properly’, however I see this as having only yourself to blame. I’ve seen a lot of players out there go guns blazing and unleash themselves on helpless assaults, the opposition only needs to block and time an effective slash to throw you off. Take a step back and learn to read your opponents.

My friends list is currently 70% Soul Calibur buddies. Having taken my girls to battle the world on Xbox Live I fought fantastic players from across the globe, from Italy, Sweden and Japan. Most of my rivals today are in the U.K, France and the U.S. So here’s a special thanks to my friends, all talented players so look out for them in matches and expect a little challenge!

dirty ray80 (UK), A1 BLITZ (UK), Don Joff (UK), Jamesbuc (UK), BLEZZ80 (UK), lonewolfterry (UK), ke20leouf (France), xxMALICEMIZERxx (France), Justin Wong (US), Fresh2DeathJ (US), Scudzzorz (US),

The most common characters used online