What in the world is Yoda doing in a non-Star Wars video game? I really have no idea what he is doing in Soul Calibur IV. He certainly is the most interesting thing in this Xbox 360 (Playstation 3 has Darth Vader).

I had been playing NBA 2K11 , amongst other games recently when another basketball game turned up on my doorstep. But this wasn't the next incarnation in that series or another basketball simulation of a similar ilk.

Fun, fun, fun...with no rules; And players have big heads

No online multiplayer; Game can get monotonous in single player mode

Strong Points: Impressive graphics, both in the character models and environments; tight controls; solid single player and multiplayer; great character customization. Weak Points: Voice acting is feeble at best; not as ‘deep' as other fighters out there; as with most games of this genre, there is...

The fighting game genre makes a triumphant return and yes the soul still burns. With […]

+ Incredible cast of characters; + Amazing create-a-character; + Tons to see and do; + Accessible by any any skill of gamer

Online can lag at times; Some characters are simply palette swaps

The Soul Calibur saga has lasted for many years now, from its humble beginnings on the SEGA Dreamcast to today's Xbox 360. It has been highly regarded franchise ever since the original but has the Soul Calibur series finally run its course?

Beautiful graphics and variety of characters; The ladies of SCIV and they voluptuous figures

Not much of a story

Despite its drawbacks, this is a good fighting game, with a fine choice of characters, numerous skills, weapons and arenas to fight in, on top of a variety of modes, each of which can be great fun both offline and online.

Enough content to guarantee some pretty wild matches; both online and offline; a few nice innovations make this game an improvement over earlier editions in the series; excellent visuals and sound

Single-player is underdeveloped, lacks a richer narrative, rare moments of lag in online matches, no Yoda vs; Vader..; yet

Soulcalibur has always been a flashier, more graceful and grander game than your average brawler. It's still very much about bringing all manner of pain to your opponents, but it's also about looking good whilst doing so.

"Soul Calibur... IV." That familiar announcement leads into the opening screen for one of the lushest games I've played on the PlayStation 3. The Soul Calibur series is a weapons-based fighting game which originated on my beloved Dreamcast when the original game was released back in 1999.

I'm not what you'd call a Star Wars fanboy, although I grew up with the series; However, whoom -ing a lightsaber while playing as a menacing Darth Vader was a strangely satisfying experience; Did I mention that Darth Vader is cool (PlayStation 3 only)

Realizing that I'd rather be playing Soul Calibur I or II ; where the characters flowed slightly faster (in my memory) and there were more interesting learning/adventure modes

All in all, Soulcalibur IV is a high quality game which will keep you coming back for more. From the surprisingly addictive character customization to the challenging Tower of Lost Souls, this game is well crafted and presented, leaving little room for improvement.

Great control; Easy to pick up and play; Multiplayer is fantastic both online and offline; Character creation/customization is great fun

Story mode is a letdown; Voice acting can sometimes be laughable

The last time we saw Soul Calibur , the third installment didn't really seem to impress many people. Released on the PS2 a few years ago, it came at an inopportune time and didn't add enough to the formula to make a huge difference to most gamers.