We people in the UK and the people in New Zealand were the last people to have this game available to us. Some may find it hard to believe, but it hasn't been out for a year as of yet, but already it's a classic in the Xbox library. Made by Namco, This is the fifth installment of the Soul Series. Back in 1996, the series began with Soul Edge, of course again, we were the last ones to buy it, since it became available for purchase in 1997. Anyway, back up from memory lane, lets get back to IV.

Everyone knows what it's about. It's a fighting game, in which players have a number of rounds to knockout their opponent, or 'ring out' them (forcing them out the ring of fighting). Its main rivals are the likes of Tekken and Streetfighter. The feature that makes Soul Calibur different from it's rivals is the armour and weaponry that characters use during combat. The armour is completely destructable. Once it takes enough hits, it will break, meaning that area of the body will now recieve more damage if the opponent can hit it. The weaponry adds a different element to the punch, kick and grabs found in most fighting games.

The Soul Calibur III Character Creation returns in IV, although it's a bit limited. Character Creation is the wrong word for it, it's more Character Modification. I say this as you can only choose one of the main game characters and change them with your own clothes, muscularity and you can even change the pitch of your character's voice. Sadly, this doesn't include the Star Wars characters (Yoda with big muscles isn't going to happen).

The story mode on normal is extremely easy to finish, literally taking minutes to complete. The challenge is the harder levels of play. Fights will last alot longer, and get more complex with higher difficulty, so i wouldn't bother with the normal level difficulty as it makes the game seem lifeless.

As with most fighting game, you can perform realistically impossible moves,  particularly with the critical finish. Each character in the game has their own critical finish, but everyone of them will win you the round instantly. A coloured gem next to health bar, called the Soul Gauge, indicates when a critical finish is ready. The gem will go from blue to green, and then eventually red. A gem will change colour when a player attacked, and they guard it (block). If a player lands attacks on the opponent, their own Soul Gauge will regenerate. If a player manages to empty an opponents Soul Gauge, they will have a short opportunity to perform a critical finish after breaking a piece of the opponents armour or breaking their guard.

If you're getting destroyed during Story Mode, you can switch between characters in your party, much like Tag Team. This enables you to bring in a fresh character and try to break the troublesome opponent.

If your sick of AI fighters, then i don't recommend going online, as for the first time in the series, you can fight other people across the world, and unless you know your combos, you won't last long.
Of course, button bashing plays a part in the game, although people who know their combos will be able to keep you on the ground, and unless you know how to counter them, you've got no chance, which is good, as it brings the skill element into the game, something that's missing from fast action fighters these days.

You may recognise some of the characters from previous Soul games. The new additions include Hilde and Algol. Of course the Star Wars Characters are all new. Originally, Darth Vader was for the PS3 version, Yoda being for the Xbox 360 version. Eventually, Namco decided to make both characters available for the other platform, of course you have to buy them. Yoda is arguably harder to hit, being half the size of the other characters, yet Darth Vader has the abiity to use the force on his foes. There is also The Apprentice. No, we're not talking Alan Sugar style here, he's one of the characters from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

In conclusion, Soul Calibur IV is a great game for the veterans of the classics, and brings in new elements to enjoy. The graphics are superb, especially the beautiful surrounding fit for each character. It's also a great game to play with a group of mates, wether it be online, or head to head in real life, it bring barrels of fun. Just make sure you don't button bash.

Overall Rating:8/10