Soul Calibur IV

Xbox 360, also PS3
Stylish swordplay
Ever since I traded in my Super Nintendo for a Playstation and got my grubby student hands on a copy of Soul Blade, i've been hooked to the stylish sword fighting series. Over the years countless hours have been spent locked in duels with friends, trading parry after parry until a hole is found and my nun-chuk swings one last whisper to victory. 
With Soul Calibur IV actually being the fifth in the series there's been plenty of tweaking, yet much still remains the same – two fighters trade weapon blows in an arena until one is defeated. The series defining 8-way run is still present and plenty of the arenas still retain their trademark wall-less edges, allowing for swift, tactical (or lucky) victories with a boot off the edge.
Plenty of new features can be found too such as the Critical Finish which allows for a devastating finishing move when armour is destroyed, yet thankfully requires such precise timing it doesn't break the game.
While not quite on a par with Virtua Fighter 5's demanding combos or Street Fighter III's tournament status, Soul Calibur IV is still an extremely well built fighter with nary a glitch or imbalanced character (barring Ivy's recently discovered infinite combo) and as always is an absolute blast to play for beginner or pro.
Arcade and story modes are brief affairs, with the real single player meat found in the Tower of Souls, a series of gruelling challenges to test your mettle and custom characters.
Unlocking new armour as you progress through the tower, the emphasis on this mode is character creation where you can design your own fighter, picking the right combination of stat heavy clothes in an RPG-esque strategic first for the genre.
The real draw for character creation though is taking the fruits of your imagination online and battling other self-made heros – beating someone with your gyrating pink pirate is an all new kind of humiliation.
While much has been made of the character creation and online play, most people will have their attention caught by guest characters Yoda and Darth Vader, which alongside the stunning visuals and the fluid, accessible and addictive gameplay, makes for an eye catching brand of fighter indeed.
9/10