SoulCalibur V for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

fighting is slow and the story is played out through pictures with voiceovers. how exciting...not.

The Soul Calibur series has always taken arcades and home consoles to their limits, and SCV is no exception.

Visually, this game is perfect. All the fighters are rendered flawlessly with robes, capes and armor effortlessly flowing with your movements. Even the created fighters who have been lacking from their story counterparts are perfectly presented in this installment.

Soul Calibur V also shines in gameplay, offering up its predecessors timing and combo system with a couple of twists. The Soul Gauge is gone, replaced by a more familiar Critical Gauge that works similar to Street Fighter IV's Ultra Gauge, unleashing a powerful attack (which leaves you wide open for almost a full second if you miss).

Online play has seen several improvements. You can text chat with your friends during fights. In spectator mode, the action is viewed on a picture-in-picture which does surprisingly little to diminish its visual quality. If you aren't up for Ranked or Player matches, you can join the Global Colosseo, letting you test your skills against players from your immediate area and almost guaranteeing you the best connection. Random matches and Tournament matches are available in this mode, which can also simply function as a big chat room with no spectator mode.

Character creation has been significantly upgraded (or downgraded, depending on how you look at things). Items no longer offer stat bonuses, allowing you to choose the look you want rather than just going with what will give you the stats you need. More costume options, hairstyles and voice tweaks will make created characters more interesting than they were before, as well.

All in all, Soul Calibur V is leaps and bounds above Soul Calibur IV, and though I will definitely miss playing as Yoda, Ezio Auditore is a fine addition that fits the storyline beautifully.