Brilliantly fun yet sometimes very frustrating, Soul Calibur offers the best fighting experience on the current Gen systems but that isn't without a few irritations.
The games various modes are good apart from the story mode which make little to no sense and lasts around 20 minutes per character. The tower of lost souls and arcade modes are the best ones to play as completion of these unlocks new armour and characters. For beginners these modes will be imposable and they become very hard very quickly but playing through the story mode is a useful way of improving your skills.
The games graphics is one of its strongest points. The characters all look amazing and the attacks stunning. The lip syncing however is not so good and sometimes looks downright awful but that isn't a big deal and they only use one line of dialogue before and after a fight. The dialogue itself is pretty annoying. Before a fight a voice says phrases such as "The curtain has been raised, those chosen by history...." who knows what that means!?!
With the PS3 version you get Darth Vader. He is completely pointless and has no real purpose in the game. He is very average to play as and his "force" moves are not as satisfying as they could be. Should you wish to play as Yoda you will need the 360 version however Yoda (being so very short) is hideously awkward to play against as only attacks aimed low will hit thus the majority of your moves are useless. The Apprentice (from the up and coming star wars; the force unleashed) is unlockable. He also doesn't fit into the game as he is, (only to play against), so much more powerful than the other characters. Unlike the other characters he can attack you from distance with his force moves and you rarely find an opportunity to attack due to his speed. Unfortunately to obtain him as a character you must beet him using Vader which is no easy task. Other characters can be unlocked my purchasing them. They�re are all very cheap and can all be afforded after a few hours of play.
There is an excellent character creation and customisation feature where you can either design your very own character or edit an existing one. You cannot choose specific moves for your own character but instead have to choose which pre existing characters moves you use. This is a little disappointing but won't stop you wanting to use this feature.
The games multiplayer feature is its strongest points both on and offline. Everything you could expect to see is there including voice chat.
Downloadable content is on its way and with that Yoda will be made available on the PS3 version.
Overall this is a must have game for fighting fans. If like me you have never played one before you will not be disappointed with the purchase.
