January 31, 2012 - Good - If online play holds your interest, there's no shortage of options for finding people to play with. While this iteration on SC doesn't reach the heights of the original, it's every bit as fun and rewarding to play.

February 2, 2012 - Good - Soul Calibur V is the best entry in the series in years, but it's also important to point out that Capcom and other developers have improved their games as well; that leaves Namco's latest effort as worthy to stand alongside tournament-quality games like Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Street Fighter IV 2012 Edition, but it doesn't exactly stand above them.

January 31, 2012 - Good - More than anything else, it puts up a great fight. More immediate than its predecessors and certainly easier to get to grips with, SCV still retains the special flavour of the series - the weapons make its fights fast and deadly, the kind of battle where one slip ends everything. The mix of tension and frantic violence is more potent than ever.

January 31, 2012 - Good - SoulCalibur has always excelled at offering an accessible style of combat with a level of single-player content that other fighting games have only recently begun to match. These qualities haven't changed - and now, after what seemed like an uncertain return, the historical fighter is staging its best performance since that fateful Christmas of 1999.

February 2, 2012 - Good - Long time SoulCalibur fans can enjoy the fact that at the end of the day, it's definitely SoulCalibur; all new additions to the game do little to change the overall "SoulCalibur feel" of things. And, for a series as consistent as this one, that's a good thing.

January 31, 2012 - Good - Soulcalibur V is the next-gen Soulcalibur that I've been wanting as a fan for years. At the same time, it's nothing if not more Soulcalibur. Now if Namco Bandai would release a DLC pack with the full Soul Calibur II roster, I could finally retire that disc.

February 7, 2012 - Good - Soul Calibur V is a great title that will be sure to win back fans of the series. It features a solid mixture of new and old mechanics, as well as an incredibly fun and rewarding online playground.

February 29, 2012 - Good - Soulcalibur V will be a main game at Evolution 2012, the largest tournament in the United States, and gameplay-wise it is worthy of the spot. The developers focuses on the elements that matter the most, but casual fans who want the features of the past will feel left out.

February 2, 2012 - Good - Fans of the series will undoubtedly get a lot of mileage out of the game and it remains fun, fast, and accessible, but it's hard not to be disappointed that Project Soul didn't meet the expectations set by other recent fighting game sequels in terms of offering more extensive options, more expansive content, and new ways to play.

January 31, 2012 - Good - Fans looking to relive the experience of SoulCalibur's early entries may be irked by this game's new additions. But once the steep learning curve is surmounted, you will find a fresh-yet-familiar fighting system that's fun to explore.

January 31, 2012 - Good - On a straight fighting level, SoulCalibur has never been better and although it might be a little anorexic for lone warriors, the multiplayer side offers more than any Soul title since the original Calibur made the Dreamcast a must-have. Which, in and of itself, provides irrefutable proof that Namco Bandai has given SoulCalibur a clearly defined genre once more.

January 31, 2012 - Good - Soul Calibur V enjoys its triumphs, most notably the strong online element, as well as its shortfalls, such as the flat story and relative dearth of extra content. In spite of its mostly positive gameplay tweaks, though, it's in no real danger of reinventing the wheel. That's OK with us.

January 31, 2012 - Good - Soulcalibur V is at its absolute best with friends, when it's testing your skill, reaction times and trash talking ability. The combat is still great and the graphics are still beautiful. Outside of that, it's a slight disappointment, as this is the weakest single player experience in the series yet.

January 31, 2012 - Good - Soul Calibur V is a game worth your time and effort, mastering its systems and dispatching opponents in a blaze of high-tempo violence is immensely satisfying. Newcomers may find the going a little tough, but the well-balanced cast means you'll not be left biting the dust for too long.

January 31, 2012 - Good - I'll never have the kind of relationship with SoulCalibur 5 that I did with SC2, but I still plan on the two of us spending as much time as possible together. I love this game, I'm just not in love with it.

January 30, 2012 - Good - As slick and satisfying as it has ever been. New mechanics switch up the gameplay, but this is more about what has come before it. Familiar it may certainly be, but Soul Calibur 5 is still the pinnacle of a classic series.

February 9, 2012 - Good - SoulCalibur V is still a lot of fun with some mates around, or when you best an online opponent. Just don't get your hopes up if you've enjoyed the single player modes in the past.

January 31, 2012 - Good - SoulCalibur V feels new without feeling reinvented. It's not genre-defining and it's not the complete overhaul probably needed to make SoulCalibur important in tournament-fighting circles, but it's still flashy enough to keep fans interested and technical enough to convert some series holdouts.

January 31, 2012 - Good - "Critically injured, but the soul still burns." That legendary announcer quote is a good fit for the series itself. Where the second through fourth games were exceedingly well-padded, the fifth is SoulCalibur hacked to a sliver, with very little between you and that fiery core.

March 8, 2012 - Good - The graphical updates and refinements to control and gameplay options are more than enough to satisfy series fans and new initiates looking for a change of pace. Soul Calibur will always be Soul Calibur and right now, Soul Calibur V represents the pinnacle of what the series can offer.

January 31, 2012 - Good - Issues with the presentation of the story and the general amount of single player content on offer are slight dings against the experience especially considering SoulCalibur's history of blending RPG elements into its single player campaigns - but even then this is the best reason to return to SoulCalibur's stage of history since the days of the Dreamcast.

January 31, 2012 - Good - SoulCalibur V is definitely a step in the right direction for the maligned series. Despite plenty of changes and improvements, however, the game is still too complex to be casual and too flawed to be taken seriously. SoulCalibur V might have forged its own soul, but it's not burning brightly just yet.