The next few months are going to be fantastic for fans of fighting games, and with the upcoming console release of Street Fighter four and the newly released SoulCalibur IV, there is a tough decision to be made.

          When SoulCalibur is first booted up, you are given the standard  options for a fighting game such as single player, versus mode, as well as some new options like Xbox live, Character creation, and museum.

          In single player mode you are given four options which consist of Story, Tower of Lost Souls, Arcade, and Training. Being a fighting game, there is only a very thin story that is portrayed through cut-scenes. These scenes, while graphically beautiful, do not make up for the short story. The voice acting is also lackluster and overly dramatic, but still succeeds at giving you some reason to continue through the battles, and they are definitely worth watching. Each character’s story finishes quickly, but it provides a nice introduction to the controls before you dive into the meat of the game.

          The Tower of Lost Souls is where you will spend most of your time. Here, you go from floor to floor, fighting whatever the game throws at you. The new character creation mode is rather in depth, allowing you to create a fighter specifically for your fighting style and is fairly fun to play around with.

          Versus mode is loads of fun with friends in the room, but taking these fights online can cause a lot of frustration. In a game that requires split-second reactions lag becomes quite infuriating.

          The Graphics are, simply put, beautiful. Detailed player models and great background art complete an already solid game. Animations are smooth, fluid and pleasing to watch.

          This game is a must buy for SoulCalibur fans, but those of you that enjoy more in depth control schemes should shy away, as this is most definitely a button masher. While there is potential to pull off some awesome combos, they become difficult to complete against friends due to the style of fighting.  After playing for hours you could easily be beaten by even the most inexperienced player. The characters are balanced for the most part, but there are some exceptions. The Star Wars characters included are the main problems. The Apprentice and Yoda are very strong, and due to his small stature  he’s almost impossible to hit with any high attacks.

          I would say this game is at least worth a rent. It’s a solid title that is more than substantial in tiding you over until the release of Street Fighter 4.