Contemporary fighting games aligned with arcade culture are strange beasts. In the demanding world of the hardcore beat-'em-up, a blinkered fascination with intricacy and control can, for the inexperienced, feel rather sterile. Soul Calibur V is different. Despite beginning life in the arcades, today it is very much positioned for consoles, where spectacle is king. It is a beat-'em-up of enormous variety and is as graphically ambitious as it is aurally rich.
It does lack some of the gameplay purity of the arcade stalwarts that devoted fighting fans revel in mastering, but for most modern gamers, Soul Calibur V will be immensely thrilling. A game that favours the experience itself over subtlety of control, this is perfect for those who warm to the fighter template, but find the minutiae of arcade controls unwelcoming. It doesn't better the likes of Street Fighter, but it might be more suited to many living rooms.
