It can be widely accepted that Namco had something special when the successor of the 1996 PlayStation classic Soul Edge entered the scene. Soul Calibur first hit the arcades in 1998, and as a weapon-based fighter it brought forth gameplay that was at the time extraordinary and extremely addictive. The joy was multiplied even more when the Dreamcast version in 1999 moved consoles and sold copies into the millions and became obvious that this game had major appeal for hardcore and casual players alike with solid, yet accessible gameplay and presentation. Subsequent sequels continued the trend of epic-style based on foundations that made the previous title great. Over the years it’s occurred to me that with each addition to the series my interest has waned considerably, perhaps the freshness was fading or overemphasized mainstream gaming hype was to blame; whatever the case the magic had progressively disappeared. Now we have Namco Bandai’s Soul Caliber IV and the only question that remains is - will my soul still burn for the franchise?

First things first, if you’ve played any other Soul Calibur entry then you’ll be quite comfortable knowing this game play exactly like its predecessor notable gameplay tweaks here and there, from new/revised characters to fighting tactics you should have that genuine familiar feeling while playing. Of course accessibility and variety is still rather high with plenty of depth involved if you learn how to make use of it, but that’s not to say that some major changes haven’t took place. A more prominent feature gameplay-wise is the Soul Gauge System, which can slowly wear defensive players down and encourages offensive skills, it can effectively render someone defenseless in a “soul crush” state if they’ve been blocking excessively and taken out with a one-hit kill critical finish move. Even armor is important as continual strikes against certain body areas can remove pieces and become more vulnerable to attacks. It tries to provide balance into the mix and discourages cheaper tactics from play, but it doesn’t seem to add anything crucial or polished since effects such as these hardly come into play all that much - unless you count the scads of partial nudity that's more plentiful than ever.

Content has always been a strong point of our Calibur and this one is no different with arcade, versus, training, and a unusually short story mode accounted for, it’s somewhat disappointing this time around but definitely more oriented towards the gameplay aspect. The Tower of Lost Souls is where much of your time will be spent in the single-player modes, with you ascending and later descending one floor at a time defeating single opponents or taking on groups of challengers, all with limited amounts of health. Challenges remain varied throughout from battling opponents that require certain approaches to be defeated to optional tasks such as performing a number of counter attacks, completing ring-outs; its of little surprise that the difficulty can add up quickly depending on the situation.

Character customization has gradually improved since SCIII, from building a unique character's look and style, to finding the best combination of abilities to suit your needs. Creating a character actually has a profound amount of depth when it comes to body physique or skin color, and one could lose themselves in whatever body types can be modified to an extreme degree. Purchasing accessories, skill, and armor isn’t limited to visual appeal either as each scrap of wear you add does have a effect of some kind to give you that inch of advantage or disadvantage when on the battlefield, of course specializing your tailored fighter does cost you a bit in “gold”, but if you want benefits its worth the time and gold spent.

All of this is good and all, but which version should you get Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3? For the most part besides the ability to install cache data within the PS3’s hard drive the sights, sounds, and controls are practically identical. Compared to previous entries (and this is the first next-gen release for the franchise) there’s noticeably improved graphics and animations overall, but in all honesty the game still looks and feels like a pumped-up Soul Calibur 3 than an entirely new game. Everything looks great and genuinely authentic with beautifully detailed arenas and character designs, yet somehow lack that spark of originality and brilliance of earlier games and at worse, come off just a little lackluster. The music is also worth noting as something truly uninspired, frankly that blend of epic synergy that the first Soul Calibur (and even Soul Edge) had is once again nowhere to be found, only to be replaced with a soundtrack that feels overly triumphant in thought, but bland in execution.

Who can forget about Star Wars characters Yoda (360) and Darth Vader (PS3), ultimately they’re both admittedly somewhat decent, if not out-of place. Vader is probably a more fitting entry into roster as Yoda along with his stature and jumping tactics doesn’t provide a necessarily equal or sensible playing field. Only The Apprentice (from the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed) can claim the title of most overpowered, with lighting attacks and devastating combos being a basic part of his repertoire.

A more critical difference of the consoles has to be the first-ever inclusion of online play for the series. I’ll just simply state that unless you have a pretty good network correction and a bit of patience waiting in the lobby for your PS3, it would be better if you do your online fighting on Xbox Live which is thankfully more streamlined and less prone to randomly disconnecting. All isn’t lost with the PlayStation Network though, because when the service does work (which is admittedly most of time in my sessions) the experience is smooth and more user-friendly when you’re searching for that certain matchup.

After coming from playing both versions of the game, experiencing the Star Wars-exclusive characters, and playing both versions online and must know which version is better, or if you’re like me and wondering if Soul Calibur IV worth playing if you’ve been progressively disappointed with sequel after sequel? Surprisingly enough, the answer is yes, and there is still merit to the franchise. Undoubtedly the casual gamers will find much to love here despite obvious flaws in the slightly revised gameplay, but for those who’re still clinging desperately to the original, the fact is the online play does provide that potential replay value that has always been a trademark feature. For those who know better it’s definitely not the “Greatest Fighting Ever Made”, but as long as you keep those lofty expectations in check (and realize that for all its worth, this isn't the original) is still worth playing at least once.