Sitting on my shelf downstairs is a PS1 copy of SoulBlade, the great-great-great-great-grandfather of SoulCalibur V. After all these incarnations and passage of so much time, can the franchise still be alive and kicking? Hell yeah!

Oh, you want more than that? Well, first off we have a new storyline to work through on Story Mode. We are now set 17 years after the last game and following the character Patroklos, Sophita Alexander’s son and his hunt for his sister, Pyyrha. There isn’t much of a storyline granted, but this is a fighting game after all.

The widely publicised character addition to this game is Assassin’s Creed’s Ezio Auditore, who fights with his famous hidden blades, crossbow and sword. The character has been worked in well and his moves and weapons blend seamlessly with the rest of the characters available, much more so than the guest Star Wars characters from SC4.

Other than Ezio, there are a few more new faces, and other well known returning ones too, including Taki, Cervantes and Siegfried.

A new Critical Gauge has been added to game which functions in a similar way to the super bar in Street Fighter. This bar is designed to give the player some more devastating moves and it also encourages more thought out gameplay than in other SoulCalibur games.

There are technical moves available for those who want to take their gaming further, and the Guard Impact shows this. You can guard by simply pressing a button, but with guard impact you can action counter moves that require more technical skill and ability. These elements also help to remove the random button bashing victories which can happen at times, although not so much as titles like Tekken.

This game sits nicely in that respect in-between the finger epilepsy of Tekken and the more technical moves of Street Fighter, and in my opinion this is a very good place to be.

SoulCalibur V offers the seasoned player a challenge but is also good for novices who are new to the fighting genre, or those who just can’t be bothered to remember moves combos that much. The range of characters available and customisation also opens up the appeal of the game, with the various fighting styles and looks on offer.

If you don’t like what is already there, you can always design yourself a character. I spent far too long making monstrosities on this feature and it was really good fun too and will help you stand out online.

The online mode of SoulCalibur is always a ‘main event’ in the series and SoulCalibur V is no exception. You can choose from ranked or unranked matches, which allows you to go against someone of your own abilities if you prefer or someone higher if you fancy facing off against a more formidable foe.

To say that the Legendary Souls mode offers a challenge is a massive understatement. This mode offers the sort of challenge that would be accepted by someone who constantly wins fighting game tournaments in Japan for a living. You get attacked by the craziest of combos and moves in a way that only AI or seasoned SoulCal veterans can pull off, while I fought with the skill and prowess of a kitten in a paper bag.

There are other modes available though such as Arcade and Quick Battle, however Tower of Souls mode does seem to have been removed.

Overall this game is looking great. The graphics are sharp and clear as is the sound, however the voiceover sounds a bit like a depressed Leonard Nimoy, but that may just be me. The slightly cringey one liners are still in there from all of the characters and let’s face it, we would miss the cheese-stuffed catchphrases if they weren’t.

All in all, the longevity of the game certainly sits with the multiplayer aspect, be it online or local, but this isn’t really a genre that focuses heavily on single player gaming anyway.

SoulCalibur V is a great game for veteran SC players as well as newcomers and with the wealth of game modes and multiplayer fun to be had, it’s total time spent in your console if guaranteed to be a long one.

Overall: 4/5

Graphics
+ Clear, stunning graphics.
- The stills in the Story Mode get a touch annoying.

Gameplay
+ Excellent gameplay with lots of variation between characters.
- Legendary Souls Mode is less accessible for novice fighting game players.

Audio
+ Great soundtrack which sits well in the background and suits the style of game.
- Some of the one liners are just too bizarre even for me!

SoulCalibur V is out now for Xbox 360 and PS3.