Could have been the greatest in the series but feels rushed
Presentation- The menus are polished and it easy to access the various game modes. Story Mode has some very well-made cut scenes that unfortunately are very rare. The updates to the game's pace in conjuction with the impressive graphics and the top notch effects and animation make the game visually outstanding
Graphics-Hands down the best graphics I've ever seen in a fighting game. Everything from character models to the arenas to the battle effects look god damn impressive
Sound- In comparison with older Soul Calibur games the game doesn't have a particularly strong soundtrack but it still delivers. The character voices in Story Mode are ok despite some of them sounding weird at times
Gameplay- Looks like Soul Calibur and Street Fighter had a baby...The gameplay feels much faster this time around and the inclusion of enhanced version of moves and "ultimate" moves nod to Street Fighter, not a bad thing since it makes the gameplay more strategical and interesting. A lot of character movesets have been greatly reduced (like Mitsurugi's) removing even whole battle stances. The problem with SCV lies in it's abysmal single player content, there are no endings in arcade mode, the story mode is short and disappointing and the new Legendary Souls mode looks like an excuse of a challenge mode, the only mode that's worth playing is Quick Battle which again gets old quick. The character roster despite being good sized has a lot of seriers veterans (Zasalamel, Yun Seong) missing and the new characters that "replace" some of the missing fan favorites are boring and uninspired. Character creation has improved a lot since SCIV, but Namco once again locked away a lot of creation parts only to be bought later as "DLC" which is unacceptable
Online- The online consists of the typical fighting game essential mode plus the Global Colisseum in which you can fight other users and participate in online tournaments around the world
Lasting appeal- If you're not an online player like me the game will last less than 20 hours since the only replay value lies in Quick Battle and Character Creation
The Verdict
+Amazing graphics
+Improved Character Creation
+Interesting new fighting mechanics
-Small Roster with a lot of series veterans missing
-Non existent single player content
-Dissapointing Story Mode