The Soul Still Burns in Soulcalibur V

At the end of this month, Soulcalibur V will finally be upon us, bring fighting fans back into the stage of history. Information on the second Soulcalibur game to be released on modern consoles has been coming out steadily, revealing the game's new set of characters, returning familiar favorites, and new features and gameplay elements to keep things fresh. Now that we're nearing the homestretch, I've been given some extended hands-on time to see what Soulcalibur V has to offer fans of the series and newcomers alike, and have been pleased with what I've seen.

Viola vs. Leixia

At first, Soulcalibur V feels very similar to IV. The franchise's brand of fast, fluid weapon-based combat is present and accounted for, but there have been some changes that can have vast effects on huge fans of the series, including sidesteps that let you perform a quick dodge by double-tapping in a direction, the removal of Parries, and some changes to the Guard Impact system. Now, the Guard Impact system can repel unblockable attacks, regardless of height, but at a cost of some of your Critical Meter, the new gauge that replaces the Soul Gauge. Another new guard system, called "Just Guard", adds another layer to the game's blocking mechanics, offering a dynamic timing-based structure for guards and counterattacks. By timing it just right, you'll notice a much shorter wait before being able to counterattack. Depending on how you play Soulcalibur, you'll find some big changes to the overall mechanics.

However, the biggest change to the formula is the new Brave Edge and Critical Edge attacks. These special moves seem influenced by Hyper Combos and Ultra Combos from Marvel vs. Capcom and Street Fighter IV, respectively and result in big damage if pulled off correctly. They'll eat up portions of your Critical Meter, and have specific almost cutscene-like animations when you perform them. Critical Edge attacks are the most damaging, and add the biggest change to the Soulcalibur series.

As revealed a few months ago, Ezio Auditore of Assassin's Creed fame is the guest character in Soulcalibur V and represents one of the biggest new additions. After spending a bit more time with the character, it's pretty clear that the Ezio is a bit more of an advanced character and pretty tough to pick up at first. He has a great many attacks that take advantage of all of his tools of the trade, including swords, wrist blades, and even guns. However, Ezio isn't very fast, and while his moves definitely have a rhythm to them, they don't quite pack the same wallop that other characters do. Ezio definitely takes practice to get used to, and many of his attacks will leave you right open if dodged.

Ezio and Voldo Square Off

The character creation mode from previous Soulcalibur games has returned, albeit with a lot more depth. Nearly every element in the customization side has seen some upgrades; you're able to adjust your character's height as well as facial effects, fighting style, outfits, and even weapon coloring and special effects.

My time with the near final build was filled with some great moments, and while the new mechanics offer some distinct changes to the Soulcalibur formula, they do seem to add something instead of feeling gimmicky. While we haven't seen what the game's story mode holds in store or the Legendary Sword mode, I'm still excited about my time with Soulcalibur V and look forward to seeing all that it has to offer when it launches later this month.


Steven Hopper is the Executive Editor for IGN's Xbox channels. Check him out on MyIGN and Twitter.

• More Xbox 360 Previews
• Latest Xbox 360 News, Reviews, and Videos