Darth Vader and the Secret Apprentice. There you go. We said it. They’re in Soul Calibur IV. They may have absolutely dominated the pre-release hype and press, but do you know what? They’re the least interesting aspect of Soul Calibur IV. There were rumours abound for months that Kratos might be in the game. He isn’t. Unfortunately, we’ve been left with two rather ill-fi tting Star Wars characters. It’s a weird crossover that never really works, beyond the initial wow factor of hitting Mitsurugi in the face with a Lightsaber, and while the Secret Apprentice is a little more mobile and useable, neither can really match up to the proper roster. So, crossovers in fi ghting games? Yes, but only if they’re done right.

So then, with that nicely out of the way, on to the main event. The stage of history. Where Souls still burn, Kilik is still cheap and Ring Outs are still irritating. Since the release of Soul Blade in 1996, no fi ghting game has ever quite managed to achieve the same blend of accessibility, depth and beauty. And when Soul Calibur announced the arrival of the ill-fated Dreamcast in 1999, the entire genre was taken to the next level.

It was a stunningly attractive game (a fact backed up by its recent release on the Xbox 360), with gorgeously fluid animation, brilliantly modelled and realised characters and the most kinetic fighting system ever crafted. In fact, it was so good, that in the three games that have followed it, Soul Calibur IV included, it has barely changed at all. Chances are if you were a dab hand at Soul Calibur, you could pick up a DualShock 3 and hold your own nearly a decade later. And so the debate rages, is Soul Calibur IV a cash-in or a refinement of the brilliance that has come before. Just look at the score below. You already know the answer.

Perhaps the best way to view Soul Calibur is less like a traditional fighting game franchise and more like, say Pro Evolution Soccer (without that series’ steady decline in quality, of course). Namco just got it right first time, so why should it completely reinvent an already superb game? Exactly. So, in the case of Soul Calibur, refinements are okay. Very okay in fact.

And refined really is the word. Having spent plenty of time on the original Soul Calibur before IV arrived in the office, the differences are glaring. Casual observers won’t notice, but the tweaks to the parrying system, the subtle changes to the movesets, character speeds and combo damage have made Soul Calibur IV more balanced than ever before. Kilik is no longer the button masher’s dream he once was, although still entirely cheap. Mitsurugi has been slowed down just a touch, and his recovery time is ever so slightly reduced, making him a formidable foe, but not quite the dominating force he once was.

If you’ve had a favourite character in the past, then the alterations will be pretty easy to notice. It’s more of an overhaul than Soul Calibur III was over its predecessor, and it does genuinely feel new and fresh. And the stunning visuals don’t hurt either. Soul Calibur IV is absolutely gorgeous.

The animation has always been superb, but now the detail and solidity of the character models match it. Mitsurugi’s scars, Vader’s shiny armour, Taki’s… assets, they’ve all been crafted with such care and attention, each pixel has been given some sort of flair or purpose. On a decent 720p TV Soul Calibur IV is one of the best looking games on the PS3, and for once better looking than the 360 version, and is the ideal thing to put on when a mate pops round.

MGS4 may look great, but 17-hour cutscenes aren’t exactly the best way to show off your shiny PS3. But an extravagantly flashy fighting game? Well that’s more like it, really. And thankfully, Soul Calibur IV remains as accessible as it always has done. The series’ critics have always damned this occasionally button-bashing approach, complaining that new players can jump in and win with their unpredictability, but it’s this that makes Soul Calibur so compelling. The depth is there for the advanced players – the parrying system makes a welcome and slightly tweaked return, for example. It’s now slightly easier to parry a postparry counterattack, leading to more of those brilliantly dramatic multiple-parry sequences that amplify the drama of a Soul Calibur bout.

As always, the characters all have multiple stances, leading to multiple attack strings and ways to outfox your opponents. There are fakes, taunts, sidestep attacks and all manner of throws. So while you may lose to that button basher the first time, the next ten times – when you’ve figured out their movements and attack patterns – they’ll be yours.

Still, though, more of the same. There’s no denying Soul Calibur IV has an immaculate fighting engine, but it always has. So what’s new? What reason is there to invest when Soul Calibur III works just fine through backward compatibility? Well, in the fighting engine itself, there are the new critical attacks, which can end a bout instantly if timed correctly. If an opponent persistently blocks your attacks, they’ll lose a piece of armour. Just after this happens, the pearl next to your character’s name will turn black, and if you hit all four face buttons at the exact time that occurs, you’ll launch into a killing blow that ends the match.

If it sounds game breaking, fret not, because the window of opportunity to land a critical attack is minute, and they’ll only happen extremely rarely. It’s a fine addition to the game, in fact, placing the emphasis back on attacking, which is what makes Soul Calibur beautiful in the first place.

Outside of the fighting engine itself, though, and Soul Calibur IV is a slightly more underwhelming affair. The usual story and arcade modes are all present and correct, and as ridiculous and overblown as always, and this time out they’re joined by the peculiar pseudo-RPG mode entitled The Tower Of Souls. Essentially, it’s a bizarre journey to the top of a tower full of enemies, where winning affords new gear for the editing mode – see Character Building boxout – and new Call Of Duty 4-style ‘perks’ for your character. It sits somewhere between diverting and baffling, and does a great job of showing off the flexibility of the character creation with its multitude of odd, non-roster enemies, but ultimately feels like a waste of time. Beat-’emups have never been the most intellectual of games anyway, and tying it into a very underpowered RPG isn’t about to change that. Still, it’s better than the awful RTS mode from Soul Calibur III.

Obviously, the most interesting addition to Soul Calibur IV is the online mode, which is brimming with potential but is sadly not ready to test at the time of writing. Should it function without lag and connection issues, then it could revolutionise the genre. Online has pretty much changed every other multiplayer genre out there, but beat-’em-ups still haven’t quite managed it. Virtua Fighter 5 on PS3 shipped without online, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection had a decent stab at it, but there’s hardly anyone up there playing it. So if Soul Calibur IV can achieve the impossible and give the world a smooth fighting experience, then it would comfortably set a new benchmark.

What’s most exciting about Soul Calibur IV’s online modes though is the integration with the incredibly deep Character Creation mode. Not only will you be able to take your modified versions of Voldo and Sophitia online to play with, but you’ll be able to battle with the fighters you’ve created from scratch. And trust us, you can build some serious freaks. An eight- foot-tall nutcase with an Afro, Seong Mi-na’s moveset and a skintight chain-mail suit? You betcha. We can’t wait to see what Play’s more creative readers come up with. The more celebrity lookalikes the better, please.

When it’s all said and done, though, the true beauty of Soul Calibur IV comes to the fore when it’s you and a friend playing a lengthy session in the same room. We’ve all had our own epic battles over the years, we’ve all connected with certain characters and grown weary of others. The sheer kineticism of the combat and the depth of the move lists mean that you can have thrilling bouts one after another after another without even switching characters. There’s no fighting game that can match Soul Calibur’s eye for the dramatic and thirst for flair, and even with the new ropey English voiceovers and the less than perfect PS3 D-pad, there’s really nothing better out there. It’s the pinnacle of the genre.

So, Virtua Fighter 5 may be the darling of hardcore beat-’em-up fans, but we here on Play are devout followers of the church of the Calibur. Namco has outdone itself once again, and produced a fighting game of immense quality that will stand the test of time. And who needs Star Wars to do that?

Jon Denton