SoulCalibur V

 PlayStation 3
User Score
6.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 206 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 90 out of 206
  2. Mixed: 83 out of 206
  3. Negative: 33 out of 206
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  1. TheAwesomer
    Mar 9, 2012
    6
    Pros - Beautiful graphics, fun game mechanics, and fun character creation.

    Cons - Story mode is terrible, the new characters feel super weak, and compared to every other soul caliber this game is the weakest when it comes down to features.
  2. Kurty
    Mar 11, 2012
    6
    I've been a Soul Calibur fan for years, ever since the first game on Dreamcast (I never got a chance to play Soul Edge/Soul Blade on Playstation). It was a game series that would make me buy consoles (Dreamcast for SC1, Playstation 2 for SC3). In the past (up to Soul Calibur 3), you always had a lot of single player content, with special "quest" modes and things like that. In Soul CaliburI've been a Soul Calibur fan for years, ever since the first game on Dreamcast (I never got a chance to play Soul Edge/Soul Blade on Playstation). It was a game series that would make me buy consoles (Dreamcast for SC1, Playstation 2 for SC3). In the past (up to Soul Calibur 3), you always had a lot of single player content, with special "quest" modes and things like that. In Soul Calibur 4, they added an online mode and kinda forgot about single player modes (except for a tower mode that wasn't very interesting). All Soul Calibur fans were waiting for this 5th episode, hoping that the mistake would be corrected... Well, it wasn't.

    Let's make things clear immediately : there's no single player content. You have a story mode that lasts less than 2 hours, and a Quick Battle mode which just makes you fight 240 characters controlled by an Artificial Intelligence at different levels. Namco once again focused on the online mode for this new episode, causing the rage of millions of Soul Calibur players all over the world.

    That being said, Soul Calibur 5 is still a Soul Calibur, and not a bad one. The old SC gameplay is still here, and it still works very well. They removed a few things and added a new special gauge. It goes up when you attack or take damage, and it allows you to perform special actions, such as Critical Edges (a kind of "fury"), Brave Edges (improved versions of other attacks) or Guard Impacts. I'm not a big fan of that system (I especially dislike the Critical Edge thing) but it's all right.

    So, you won't be lost with the gameplay if you played a SC game before. However, you may not recognize the characters... That's because they got rid of most of the old regular characters and replaced them with new guys, with similar move sets. No more Taki, here comes Natsu. No more Kilik (kinda), here comes the ridiculous Xiba, etc. Some old guys are still here (Mitsurugi, Maxi, Ivy or Cervantes) but many are gone, including my favorite character (Sophitia). There are also 2 "new faces" (with new fighting styles). Viola, a magician girl fighting with a floating ball, and ZWEI a guy with a kind of wolf fighting with him, appearing out of thin air. Oh, and I almost forgot the guest star, Ezio Auditore from Assassins Creed!
    You can also create your own characters in the Creation mode, with many different outfits, but you'll be limited to the existing fighting styles (+Devil Jin's style from Tekken). No special fighting styles that don't belong to a regular character like in Soul Calibur 3.

    Technically speaking, the game looks very good and the animations are smooth. I'm not sure the improvements since SC4 are big, though.

    I said earlier that Namco focused on the online mode for this game, and didn't bother adding any worthwhile solo content. So let's talk about the online modes! You can play in ranked matches, player matches (no ranking), or join the Global Colosseum to chat with people, defy them or enter a tournament. Nothing really original there, just normal stuff. However, I didn't have much fun online because it takes too damn long to find an opponent most of the times. In a 1 vs 1 game, finding an opponent should not take more than 10 seconds, more than that and it becomes really annoying. It's the case here, it always took too long for me to find an opponent to play against, which ruined my online experience.

    As you probably have guess by now, I've been very disappointed by this 5th episode of the Soul Calibur series (6th if you count Soul Edge). It had the potential to be a great game, the game system is as pleasant as before, but the shameful lack of single player content and the poor online experience ruined everything. That's too bad...

    Oh, last thing, for trophy collectors... This game has one really dumb trophy. It requires you to walk 87.6 km. After getting all the other trophies, I had walked about 16 kilometers... Great, only 70km to go!    … Expand
  3. kendylmau5
    Feb 14, 2013
    7
    It's not that Soulcalibur V is a bad game. In fact, it's not a bad game at all. It's actually relatively fun for the first hour or so it's on. The graphics in the game are beautifully detailed and crisp, making even the simplest character and stage designs visually compelling. The sound is typical SC, which means you'll hear a lot of HD sound quality swords clashing over a melodramaticIt's not that Soulcalibur V is a bad game. In fact, it's not a bad game at all. It's actually relatively fun for the first hour or so it's on. The graphics in the game are beautifully detailed and crisp, making even the simplest character and stage designs visually compelling. The sound is typical SC, which means you'll hear a lot of HD sound quality swords clashing over a melodramatic symphonic soundtrack. The gameplay, for the most part, is interesting as well; "Critical Edge" is overall a massive improvement over the MK knock-off "Critical Finishers". However, SCV's weakest points are some of its most significant: single player mode is beyond limited, offering no innovative new features gameplay wise and having little to none when it comes to modes other than story and arcade. That's another cons, its story mode and new characters are bogus. Story mode can be beaten within an hour and the cast of characters you're forced to learn about are underwritten and particularly uninteresting. The most enjoyable aspect of SCV is its online mode, which in comparison with popular multiplayer franchises such as Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and Marvel vs Capcom, remains uninteresting. SCV wasn't worth its $60 price tag and should have been retailed under $40 at least. For longtime players of this franchise, SCV will be a disappointment. But now that it's price tag is finally in budget, maybe players can feel a little less heartbroken (unless, of course, you bought the damn game at full price). For newcomers, the game should be at least moderately entertaining, because as I've said before, the game isn't bad at all. For the first few hours, it's actually quite fun. It has a ton of potential and maybe the creators will absorb that whenever SCVI comes around.… Expand
  4. Consortium
    Mar 19, 2013
    7
    A very solid fighter with a rich cast of diverse characters. But here is the catch- no story. Let me repeat myself- there is little to no story in this installment which is very disappointing. Project Soul has also taken the liberty of "killing" off more than 3 characters and replacing them with clones that supposedly come out of nowhere, and the story more doesn't explain it. I am veryA very solid fighter with a rich cast of diverse characters. But here is the catch- no story. Let me repeat myself- there is little to no story in this installment which is very disappointing. Project Soul has also taken the liberty of "killing" off more than 3 characters and replacing them with clones that supposedly come out of nowhere, and the story more doesn't explain it. I am very disappointed that the story was almost non existent, because you have this world where swords don't kill in one hit, (supposedly blunt swords? What?) and characters that have a very rich history with themselves and each other character in the game. It's almost like a Lord of the Rings gold mine. But alas, they fail to capitalize on it- giving us a lackluster and unlikable main character, and a cheesy story line with what could possibly be an incest ending (Sorry Project Soul.)

    Now the multiplayer. It is very solid and up to date like the previous mechanics, save for a little more tweaks and differences from the previous iterations. The inclusion of a "meter" made famous by popular 2D fighters, allows you to pull of various moves called Brave Edges or a super attack. It is well executed, however is not completely balanced for all characters. Some characters have good Brave Edges, while most don't. Soul Calibur 5 is great in that it is not too complicated to learn, but also very technical when it comes to pro-gaming. The netcode is a definite step-up than the previous Soul Calibur, allowing for more smooth matches. Overall, the package is solid, but there are many areas it lacks in. Global Colosseum is fresh and so is CaS, but the lack of sotrymode can be a turnoff for some. If your an Offline gamer, stay away. This game is all about the multiplayer and customization it seems.    … Expand
  5. kbl1983
    Apr 16, 2013
    7
    Enhanced character creation..... Can use Jin(from tekken) fighting style with your character. Can have the AI fight eachother like from SC3. But the flaws are alot of the characters from the other Soul Calibur were taken out and some replaced. Crap of a story mode. Not enough game modes. Took out a favorite mask that was in SC3 and 4. But its a pretty good game
  6. EverydayLegend
    Feb 5, 2012
    5
    The Soul series of fighting games have always been a breed apart - where other fighting game franchises have focused on fast and frenzied action, high-count combos and twitch reactions, Soul was different in the sense that it required elements of patience. You never had to worry about your guard breaking, because you were meant to constantly shift your position or quickly intercept anThe Soul series of fighting games have always been a breed apart - where other fighting game franchises have focused on fast and frenzied action, high-count combos and twitch reactions, Soul was different in the sense that it required elements of patience. You never had to worry about your guard breaking, because you were meant to constantly shift your position or quickly intercept an attack with a well-timed block. You never had to worry about one mistake costing you the match (in most cases) because juggles and combos, while present, took a backseat to a more deliberate style of fighting. It wasn't a scrap, it was a duel, and you had to do less outplaying of opponents than you would OUTHINK them, and this was a refreshing change of pace in an era where the Marvels and Guilty Gears of the world were focused on finding ways to use one more gauge. Soul Edge/Blade brought a new idea, SoulCalibur perfected it, and SoulCalibur II immortalized it. SoulCalibur III was released on the PlayStation 2 without an arcade playtest preceding it (for a Japanese fighting game, that's never a good thing) and as such had massive issues that plagued it, and SoulCalibur IV felt like it had an identity crisis - it didn't know exactly what game it wanted to be, and could never find a comfortable place in between trying to remain relevant to the changing tastes of the genre and maintaining its own unique sense of class.

    With that said, SoulCalibur V is a descent into full-blown manic schizophrenia, and is easily the most unnecessarily contrived attempt at revitalizing the franchise. Somewhere along the line, I imagine someone at Namco Bandai had to have said "I wonder if we'd do the franchise and its fans justice if we only took the system back it its roots," but I'm sure that genius was ignored or fired for speaking not only a great idea, but the truth. Whoever came up with the conceptual gameplay ideas for this title needs psychological evaluation. Probably rehab from whatever rocks they were smoking, too.

    First of all, let's talk gauges. SoulCalibur didn't have a "guard crush" anti-turtle mechanic until SC4, and they connected that to a one-hit-kill system that was almost impossible to initiate because it took forever to whittle down someone's guard. So, they thought up a better idea than half-heartedly stealing a Guilty Gear gameplay trope was to steal a Street Fighter one: enter the new gauge at the side of the health bar, which powers Brave Edge moves (think EX specials), Critical Edge moves (think Ultra Combos in SF4), and Guard Impact. The first two on this list are lame additions to try to add a false sense of complexity, but the last one kills not only me, but I'd be willing to wager 80% of the existing, longstanding fanbase.

    Guard Impact is to SoulCalibur as a series what breathing and blinking is to human life. They decided to change the way it's worked for the past 13 years for some reason, whatever reason that may be, it wasn't good enough. In its place is "Just Guard," where you need to block at the exact frame (or nearabouts) to cause a window of counterattack. This has taken a system that caused tense parry wars and impossibly exciting action between friends and foes alike and successfully reduced it to trying to tap guard at just the right moment of any incoming attack. So, they took yet another great 2D mechanic and plastered it into a game where it really didn't belong (you have Garou: Mark Of The Wolves to thank for Just Defense). Again, they have taken the rich complexity of chess at a hundred moves a minute, and reduced it to Connect Four on a PixyStix sugar rush.

    Every step isn't backwards, however. The music is fantastic, classic tracks and new alike. The visual fidelity is stunning, backgrounds pop and come to life, characters have ornate clothes, lip-sync is very well done for speaking animations. The online netcode is beyond solid and functions like a dream (X360). The character creation mode, a SC staple since SCIII, is easily the greatest part of the whole game. This is what every character creator should be, and Namco Bandai should carry that proudly. It's just a shame that the game that uses all of these sublimely fantastic elements should perform so underwhelmingly, and I'm not going to even go into the abysmal story mode and complete lack of single-player content, again, something the Soul series is not only known for, but carries high praise and accolades for those very features in past games. Let's do the math: major characters missing, balance issues out the wahzoo, a fighting system that doesn't deserve the name SoulCalibur, a complete and utter lack of meaningful single-player anything, fantastic presentation in which everything shines but the gameplay itself, atrocious storyline...it all equals a five, and it really should be a four, but the rest of it shows such high workmanship that I can't bear to not give credit where it's due.    … Expand
  7. Bountak
    Feb 15, 2012
    7
    Great characters customization, great fighting game, great characters, bad story mode, average online mode, not that many features other then that less characters then previous games and many new ones are just the same old ones with different names and 2 moves changed.
  8. XRAIN
    Jun 19, 2012
    6
    The games have always been great in this franchise, but this a disappointment for me. While the gameplay is improved with good changes and it's still masterpiece, the game seriously lacks in content compared to previous games.

    Remember Soul Calibur 2? Remember its ridicolous amounts of game modes? Remember the amount of weapons you could unlock and actually were more than just looks?    The games have always been great in this franchise, but this a disappointment for me. While the gameplay is improved with good changes and it's still masterpiece, the game seriously lacks in content compared to previous games.

    Remember Soul Calibur 2? Remember its ridicolous amounts of game modes? Remember the amount of weapons you could unlock and actually were more than just looks? Yeah, it's all gone. Weapon Master still doesn't do a comeback. Instead, we got Story mode, which takes only 1-2 hours to beat. The story is boring and while it's nice to see drawn pictures, it doesn't look so good, that I would like it. You can only use specific characters too, which is stupid (Even though there is very good reasons to why play as them). There are no team battles. No survival. No special modes where your selected weapon would affect the gameplay. Nothing except for tutorial and arcade mode. And a new game mode called Quick Battle, but in there you just select an AI to fight againts. Nothing else.

    The new characters feel like just younger versions of previous characters. There also is too many characters, who use weapons of random characters. That's just boring and waste of character space.

    The online multiplayer still doesn't work the best way. Host still gets quite a large advange.

    Is there anything improved? I'm so so with the character creation. While it does have some nice improvements (The clothes don't change your stats), the game forces you to level up in order to unlock new gear, which is stupid.

    In overrall, the game is worse than previous games in content. If you can play the game split-screen with your friends, grab Soul Calibur 2 instead. It also has a lot more content instead.    … Expand
  9. darkwraith
    Mar 29, 2012
    5
    Soul calibur v turned out to be a great dissapointment great graphics great character models good online play mainly lag free. But thats about it no real campaign there is one but its very poor. no cgi story cut-scenes just sketches in black and white. all the old modes have gone no survival mode no gallery no edge-master learning levels that were fun . its as if they've stripped everySoul calibur v turned out to be a great dissapointment great graphics great character models good online play mainly lag free. But thats about it no real campaign there is one but its very poor. no cgi story cut-scenes just sketches in black and white. all the old modes have gone no survival mode no gallery no edge-master learning levels that were fun . its as if they've stripped every good bit of this game out. and really all that remains is the online mode. customisation is great but with so little content i cant recommend soul calibur at all. As a long time fan of the series i traded it in 2 days after purchase . After completing around 20 matches, of story mode? and playing online a bit. this edition of SC- 5 is the worst yet. another annoying feature is that the fighters seem to end up facing backwards to the opponent quite a bit ive never seen this in a fighting game, And it feels looks like a bad bug glitch?. If its a new mechanic its still annoying and looks wrong.… Expand
  10. Metascoreman
    Mar 23, 2012
    7
    Ever since the original Soul Blade on PS, this franchise has been sliding into mediocrity. Sadly the latest offering is worse than it's predecessors.
    I remember the game having the coolest and the most versatile characters of any video game in it's genre and how excited I was after seeing the next one. They were different in their body shapes and fighting styles and graphics were different    Ever since the original Soul Blade on PS, this franchise has been sliding into mediocrity. Sadly the latest offering is worse than it's predecessors.
    I remember the game having the coolest and the most versatile characters of any video game in it's genre and how excited I was after seeing the next one. They were different in their body shapes and fighting styles and graphics were different and interesting. To me, all the characters now look bland and story mode was just horrible. I also remember the intro movie in the original Soul blade blowing my mind at the time. This one looks like they slapped it together as cheap as they could with silly dialogue and using mediocre, cheap sketches to tell the story. Special moves do not feel nowhere near as exciting as they did before. I wish they put more effort as it was a great franchise.    … Expand
  11. LiquidGamer
    Apr 3, 2012
    6
    It was great to see a new SoulCalibur get released this year. Based off of 'special guests' I was concerned who would be added to the mix. Etzio fit into the genre and setting but it didn't work out as much as I wanted it to. The story was awesome but was able to beat very quickly. If you love IV then V is the same thing with a few variations on characters. http://liquidgamer.podbean.com/
  12. Ritechappy
    Jan 31, 2012
    7
    I am a big Soul Calibur fan. Always has been. That said, I have to say that this game is just not doing it for me. Most of the characters are dumb down and the roster itself is unfortunate. It almost feels like the series went backwards. The graphics are nice and it's still fun to play, but ends as a big disappointment. I really dislike the critical edge moves. The game did NOT need it.I am a big Soul Calibur fan. Always has been. That said, I have to say that this game is just not doing it for me. Most of the characters are dumb down and the roster itself is unfortunate. It almost feels like the series went backwards. The graphics are nice and it's still fun to play, but ends as a big disappointment. I really dislike the critical edge moves. The game did NOT need it. Also, the single player portion of the game is probably the worst in the series as well. I'm still going to play it, hoping that it will grow on me, but man... it could have been so much better. Oh and if you're going to advance the story 17 years and get rid of some of the series regulars... you have to make sure that the story is worth it. It's not. I really hope this game grows on me. See you guys on-line!!… Expand
  13. Eliut
    Feb 2, 2012
    6
    I do not like this version... is the same in XB360, I do not understand because they give favoritism to this, at least to me, the control here is terrible.
  14. MrWhiggy
    Feb 4, 2012
    6
    Soul Calibur V does nothing new for the series or for the genre of fighting games. The graphics are look good, but the story does fall short. While the online capabilities work well, you'll be playing characters that are near overpowered in order to keep up because the characters are not balanced. Ezio makes a nice addition to the series, but the roster is slightly disappointing. If thisSoul Calibur V does nothing new for the series or for the genre of fighting games. The graphics are look good, but the story does fall short. While the online capabilities work well, you'll be playing characters that are near overpowered in order to keep up because the characters are not balanced. Ezio makes a nice addition to the series, but the roster is slightly disappointing. If this is your first Soul Calibur, have a great time. But if you're a veteran to the series, just keep playing IV until V goes on sale.… Expand
  15. Kimomarudotcom
    Feb 19, 2012
    5
    As a series, Soul Calibur has seen better days. The best games in the series have been Soul Calibur, Soul Calibur II, and arguably Soul Calibur IV (and, to be fair, I only ding Soul Calibur IV because of its mind-boggling inclusion of the Star Wars universe - a cross-over that never worked well). Soul Calibur V was Project Soul's earnest attempt at updating the seminal series to competeAs a series, Soul Calibur has seen better days. The best games in the series have been Soul Calibur, Soul Calibur II, and arguably Soul Calibur IV (and, to be fair, I only ding Soul Calibur IV because of its mind-boggling inclusion of the Star Wars universe - a cross-over that never worked well). Soul Calibur V was Project Soul's earnest attempt at updating the seminal series to compete with the modern fighting game, and it starts off fairly well but stumbles clumsily with the modification of the parrying mechanic that worked so well in previous games. The cost-benefit of parrying in previous titles was, unfortunately, inadvertent since the split-second timing required to pull off a parry could rarely be achieved in online matches. In Soul Calibur V, this has been fixed (amazingly!) but then broken again by associating a cost in just ATTEMPTING to parry by the use of a meter that fills up and depletes. This one small change, sadly, breaks the game and will have you reaching for Super Street Fighter IV or Mortal Kombat. It's a very unfortunate design miscalculation. The rest of the game takes some bold steps with the inclusion of some new characters as well as the omission of some classic ones, bold graphics and excellent sound and score. Too bad it does not stand up well, overall, compared with other fighters. If you buy it, you will quickly forget it. If you must have Soul Calibur V for your collection, wait until September and pick it up for 15 dollars on Ebay - not worth full price. Avoid.… Expand
  16. RocheCoach
    Jul 6, 2016
    6
    SCV is alright, but I think every single previous game is better than this one. The storyline just reminds me of Zelda, where they just reboot the same story over and over again, but with slightly different elements, and slightly different incarnations of the same character living the same life. Except in this one, there are two new characters and... I don't really have anything to saySCV is alright, but I think every single previous game is better than this one. The storyline just reminds me of Zelda, where they just reboot the same story over and over again, but with slightly different elements, and slightly different incarnations of the same character living the same life. Except in this one, there are two new characters and... I don't really have anything to say about them. It's not like SoulCalibur has any characters with depth. It might as well just be a new kind of weapon. The storyline is not good, the game play is slower and clunkier than it's predecessors, there's less to unlock. But - the music is good, the landscapes and stages are good, and the graphics just get better and better. If only I could say the same for the gameplay.… Expand
  17. ranianleo
    Jan 4, 2016
    5
    baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad
  18. drewezbreezee
    Jun 11, 2012
    7
    soul calibur v is a very hard game to review. on the one hand is it beautiful and filled with grace. yes. on the other hand did i see all of this in soul calibur 4. yes. if you liked kilik think of xiba as his goofy little brother. so on and so forth with many characters having only been replaced by a different look and name but same move set. after i realized this i customized mysoul calibur v is a very hard game to review. on the one hand is it beautiful and filled with grace. yes. on the other hand did i see all of this in soul calibur 4. yes. if you liked kilik think of xiba as his goofy little brother. so on and so forth with many characters having only been replaced by a different look and name but same move set. after i realized this i customized my controller on scv to the way it had been set on sc IV and with a little tweaking there i was all over again. stella got his groove back. i put upwards on 200 hrs on the entire sc series since the original and about all i can say is if you played sc IV think of sc V as sc IV with trophy support. but minus the cool spooky voice overs, minus the originality of weapon hunting, minus the extras, minus the great orchestra music. it does have all of these things but its no longer original. so yeah its sc IV: the lame version. plus trophies… Expand
  19. vahn
    May 14, 2012
    6
    As a fan from the very first "Soul Calibur" game (which was Soul Blade on the ps1), I always followed this series and bought each game at day 1, and played everything out of them (except versus...pals liked tekken instead). This was the only game of the series which I waited for a discount, and I can't say I'm sad about it. First things first: this game is a "SMALL" improvement over theAs a fan from the very first "Soul Calibur" game (which was Soul Blade on the ps1), I always followed this series and bought each game at day 1, and played everything out of them (except versus...pals liked tekken instead). This was the only game of the series which I waited for a discount, and I can't say I'm sad about it. First things first: this game is a "SMALL" improvement over the previous game: the single player mode has a BIT more stuff to do, like quick battle (very weak, if I have to say.), a (badly told) story mode with 20 chapters, which is a good time killing but it gets nowhere near to SC3 story mode (which was at least fun to play, even if it wasn't flawless), and a (extremely) poor Arcade mode with absolutely no background on it, which is probably the worst idea in this case because, and not sure if luckily or unfortunely, they added new characters (which are basically "reskins" of some previous characters due to the time passed between the games). So, in other words, these new characters are totally unknown, we don't know who they are, and there's no way to know either. Too bad, I'd love to know who they are in detail. Instead, the character creator is a HUGE upgrade and the possibilities to customize your characters are amplied (can even color your weapons: neet!). And yes... the omnipresent online feature is back (I'm sorry, I'm against online gaming on beat'em ups: it's more fun to beat the hell out of your friends). Anyway, the online feature got improved, a lot, and I'm mostly talking about the colosseum mode: this is actually a great idea, and it's basically a lobby system and you can talk AND fight anyone. Not bad, I wish the same effort was put into the single player too though, but still I can't deny the improvements on this part...but It's not enough, at all, and this game remains still a lot below soulcalibur 3, which was and still remain a master piece in both content and gameplay. However...it's an ok game, can check it out if you find it on discount or for less, or otherwise you can easily look elsewhere.… Expand
  20. Pepsi_Biofusion
    Mar 5, 2012
    6
    I am not a strong fighting game fan by any means but I went ahead and purchased SoulCalibur V in its limted edition box based on my fond memories of SoulCalibur II and general interest of the fighting genre. I wish that i could keep my found memories but alas SCV is just a bit of a lazy effort that actually, isn't as good as its 8 year old counterpart. First things first, story, not aI am not a strong fighting game fan by any means but I went ahead and purchased SoulCalibur V in its limted edition box based on my fond memories of SoulCalibur II and general interest of the fighting genre. I wish that i could keep my found memories but alas SCV is just a bit of a lazy effort that actually, isn't as good as its 8 year old counterpart. First things first, story, not a staple in fighting games yes but thats NO excuse, its absolutely disgraceful, an hour long (2 at best) and flicking between two boring uninspired characters in a drol story thats an absolute cake walk, oh and most of the cutscenes are done in sketches that make a reciept look like a work of art. Also why did that advance it 15 years? just to cut out all the good characters, wheres Talim etc? and that could've been fine if it wernt for the tedious new charcters that arn't worth the pixels that form there name, the developers reasoning also not exactly favourable, they axed a female charcter 'cause she was too old to fight, what mid 30's... when you have elderly guys, somethings tells me she just wouldn't have been "pretty" enough for the odd pervert they were trying to cater to. Then theres an ever bigger issue, content, seriously Namco, where is it? In SCII we got an art gallery, could have matches without time constraints, could move the hud display and resize it to our liking, chance the display area, read character bios, have substantial single player content and purchase weapons of our choosing, none of which is avaliable in SCV. So what does SCV have, well its has great music, a decent customisation system, a solid fighting engine and some pretty graphics. Well actually much of that is subjective, yes the game looks pretty but there are A LOT of graphical blemishes, mostly through clipping of clothing and hair, bland enviroments and just generally a weak art style, some arenas notably are prettier than others too. the customisation is good, in that you can create a cool character easily however I find although theres plenty of clothing to choose from, theres a lack of different faces, hair styles, body shapes and sizes to choose from so you'll find most of you're characters looking quite similar. you also can't create you're own fighting style and have to pick a hieght based on fighting style, so if you like Lexia's style (a lot like Talim from SCII) you're big hulking brute will have to be converted to a fat stubby bloke just to go into fights without the dissadvantage. Speaking of dissadvantages, the fighting engine is somewhat inblanced at best, I recall far too many people selecting siegfried online aswell as nightmare to an extent as they are way overpowered or advantaged. In all fairness though the fighting is fun despite a lack of single player content to really get used to it, although those new attacks, whatever there called, have proven more redundant both online and off than an Atari Jaguar, needless to say you won't see players (who are trying to win) pull them off very often. The online conection, at least here in Scotland with my terrible broadband, is actually very good, I didn't notice any slowdown or lag whatsoever in my 110 online matches, however to play non-competitavely you have to spend 90% of the time waiting for other players to finish fighting, which I know is a staple in many fighting games, but seriously thats no excuse, I payed for this game and I expect to actually be able to, you know, play it. This game does have a few saving graces other than online and customisation though, theres a lot of statistics kept for you to compete with you're friends from the major contests (total wins, win ratio) to the utterly useless (total distance traveled)... but its allways good to be able to beat them at something right? The arcade mode has numerous paths and difficulty settings and is fairly enjoyable, theres a mock online mode with is decent but ultimately the AI is VERY exploitable and theres a real sense of comunity online, regardless of how little Namco may have actually contributed to that. So yes its a decent game, just one that lacks that level of polish you would expect this generation, indeed when i have my SoulCalibur itch, just know I'll be popping SCII into my Gamecube rather than delving into this fighter again.… Expand
  21. skyminster
    Jan 6, 2016
    7
    Soulcalibur V plays really well. It’s fast-paced, dynamic and slickly designed. However, there are many flaws in what seems like a fantastic Soulcalibur game at first. There is a big missing list of old favourite characters – including Yun-seong – and the characters are definitely less balanced than they have been. The most glaring flaw, though, is the game’s lack of back bone, with itsSoulcalibur V plays really well. It’s fast-paced, dynamic and slickly designed. However, there are many flaws in what seems like a fantastic Soulcalibur game at first. There is a big missing list of old favourite characters – including Yun-seong – and the characters are definitely less balanced than they have been. The most glaring flaw, though, is the game’s lack of back bone, with its modes seeming tacked on and lazy – especially the rubbish story mode.

    … But the gameplay does remain very good.

    70/100.    … Expand
  22. rangio
    Feb 22, 2012
    6
    I clearly remember how I was enthusiastic when I first saw sc1that I still have a positive prejudice about the series. I've played scV a while online and I can tell it's probably the best part of the game. story mode is the cheapest, these new characters are awful, their wicked version will make you sad. not everything is bad though, I've noticed some characters have grown better,I clearly remember how I was enthusiastic when I first saw sc1that I still have a positive prejudice about the series. I've played scV a while online and I can tell it's probably the best part of the game. story mode is the cheapest, these new characters are awful, their wicked version will make you sad. not everything is bad though, I've noticed some characters have grown better, hilde,the lizardman and especially tira.
    you also get the wonderful chara-editor, most of the people use this editor as a cosplay-editor making great characters as morrigan or xena, I've spotted many others but can't remember. anyway a nice game, flawed in some way. playability is getting worse on every sc. that's the main issue.    … Expand
  23. Madarauchiha97
    Mar 17, 2013
    6
    Soulcalibur V is one of the best in the series in terms of combat. However, the story is really, really short. Like there is no character development. And, many of old characters like Talim, Taki, etc. is forgotten. I'm rather disappointed with this game but the battle and online battle was awesome.
  24. thepatient613
    Feb 16, 2016
    6
    Why play the latest instalment when I can be Darth Vader in SCIV? It just defeats the purpose. The 5th game feels like a rehash and I don't care much for the Assasin's Creed franchise. If you're that huge of a fan of Soul Calibur, then you may find some redeeming qualities in it but for me I feel like SCIV is the game to play out of the two.
  25. SliverPatriarch
    Nov 21, 2013
    6
    Fans of the "Soul" series have enjoyed many of the aspects that make the series what it is, including a well constructed story plot, and unique game play. This game throws it out the window. It takes place 17 years after the events of the previous title, and tells the player nothing about the events that transpired through that time. There are many returning characters as well as new one.Fans of the "Soul" series have enjoyed many of the aspects that make the series what it is, including a well constructed story plot, and unique game play. This game throws it out the window. It takes place 17 years after the events of the previous title, and tells the player nothing about the events that transpired through that time. There are many returning characters as well as new one. Though the games doesn't tell you what has happened in their life, who are they related to, or anything at all. All they give you is an odd "story" mode, that takes you through a boring uninteresting story plot, with bland and uninteresting characters. It features the son and daughter of Sophitia, though the story never directly tells you this. In order to find this out you have to recognize the being that is taking Sophitia's form or go back to the Soul Calibur IV character bios. This mode only features less than half the characters and makes no attempt to tell you about the characters in the story. The son is the daughter is annoying and is always crying, that's all we learn about this mode besides some small unimportant things. The character roster itself is okay. Featuring characters new and old, giving the game contrast between the generations. But there are indeed three "Charade" characters. Soul Calibur 2 fans may remember the character Charade. He was a being that knew all the fighting styles of the other fighters, and used a different one each round. These three characters are Kilik (yes Kilik), Edge Master, and Elysium. Kilik uses all male styles whilst Elysium uses all female styles. This game could've been great, but it's obvious the developers spent more time on the inclusion of "Critical Edges" than anything. It seems rushed, and they leave us hanging with story content. In past Soul Caliburs they featured character bios, that let the player know the characters purpose, and reason for fighting. Now you have to look up character bios for this game, and those can be inaccurate. I hope the developers learn from their mistakes if they realized them and create a better sequel.… Expand
  26. ZeroBorne
    Jan 12, 2017
    7
    GOD DAMMIT NAMCO BANDAI WHAT THE HELL YOU NUKED MY FAVWITE FWANCHISE!!!!

    Okay not really. Soulcalibur has been with me since I was little, starting with the second game in the series, this game... kinda hurt me. I want to love this game, I really do but I just... can't. The biggest flaw? They got rid of too many characters that were fun and put in either uninteresting characters or    GOD DAMMIT NAMCO BANDAI WHAT THE HELL YOU NUKED MY FAVWITE FWANCHISE!!!!

    Okay not really.
    Soulcalibur has been with me since I was little, starting with the second game in the series, this game... kinda hurt me. I want to love this game, I really do but I just... can't.

    The biggest flaw?
    They got rid of too many characters that were fun and put in either uninteresting characters or oh I dunno... three charades.
    For those of you unaware, a "Charade" is a character from Soulcalibur 2, whom of which could basically use any fighting style in the game, he was kind of like a stylized random button. incarnations of this style have persisted since him, with III's Olcadan, and IV's... uh... oh. So in retaliation for IV not having a charade they put not one, not two, but three of them. Sword Master, Elysium, and Kilik... freakin Kilik?! Why? He had an established style!

    These three might not seem like a problem but here's who we lost as a result of these three nerds:
    Talim
    Zaslemel
    Kilik
    Yun Seong
    Necrid (Hey a guy can hope.)
    Song Mina
    Cassandra
    Abyss
    Inferno
    Sophitia

    Okay, "it's for the story" and I'll stop you right there.
    This game's story is bad. It has no right to exist, it really doesn't. It follows Sophitia's kids and well... Pyrah is cool, Patrokolos is just Luke Skywalker, and Elysium can die in a fire.
    I want Talim and Zaslemel back, besides the latter was immortal! "Ten years in the future" shut up that guy saw the end of HUMANITY! We want our overpowered scythe guy!! Not three Charades! Bring the original back, at least he had some character to him.

    The fighting feels too fast and obnoxious this time around, with fights devolving into slapping matches rather than strategic fights since every fight is force locked at 60 seconds, and can be over in 20.
    They made characters like Astroth a joke while Nightmare kills everything in sight.

    The music is bland, I personally liked the other games for that aspect.

    The graphics are beautiful and the character creator is fun, but otherwise I feel burned by this game. I really do,    … Expand
  27. nikdudeuk78
    Feb 16, 2017
    5
    Soulcalibur 5......sigh......

    Well i have played No.2 ,somehow missed NO. 3 and of course i played NO .4 This series is (was) amazing, and at times would go back to No.2 with friends, jsut because it was fanatastic. No. 4 gavce us customixzation and new charactors, new control or activations of moves, and again was amazing. No. 3 is har dto get hold of, and i am saddened i misse    Soulcalibur 5......sigh......

    Well i have played No.2 ,somehow missed NO. 3 and of course i played NO .4

    This series is (was) amazing, and at times would go back to No.2 with friends, jsut because it was fanatastic.
    No. 4 gavce us customixzation and new charactors, new control or activations of moves, and again was amazing. No. 3 is har dto get hold of, and i am saddened i misse dout as well, due to single player, vs survival and many othe rmodes.

    Then Soul cal 5 turned up, and everything just went down down down.
    Single player story is just boring as hell. New charactors that have no soul, to pun, to them at all.
    Short combat modes with changed main char's that seem even worse.
    its like they decided to take our faves and mess them up more.

    online is ok, but again its always let down by slow down and lag of other players, that it seems impossible to connect or deflect attacks.

    Compareed to the past incarnations of the game, it does look great, it does play great but is let down by a poor single player experience, story or world exploration is just dour.    … Expand
  28. raccoondaddy
    Sep 8, 2017
    6
    Soul Calibur V brings in the old and gets rid of the new in literally every way. Many of the older characters in the roster have been phased out and made for newer ones. Online gameplay is made a primary focus and the single player content is striped down to story mode and a pseudo-ghost mode.

    On the up side, the game plays the best it ever has and fights are exciting and still retain    Soul Calibur V brings in the old and gets rid of the new in literally every way. Many of the older characters in the roster have been phased out and made for newer ones. Online gameplay is made a primary focus and the single player content is striped down to story mode and a pseudo-ghost mode.

    On the up side, the game plays the best it ever has and fights are exciting and still retain that great weapon combat that Soul Calibur is known for.

    Also, the character customization is some of the most detailed and will keep CAC (create a character) fans busy FOREVER! It really does have one of the best character creation system on the PS3.    … Expand
  29. lesiuML
    Jun 3, 2023
    5
    The gameplay is shockingly easy and not complex at all which is kinda sad because there isn't much combos to learn, although it's quite satisfying game. Graphic is beautiful as well as character and location design. Story mode is some kind of a bad joke... Is short and is told by some ugly comic like pages.
  30. hector_bcn98
    Nov 10, 2022
    7
    Por algún motivo, tanto SoulCalibur IV como sobretodo V, venían cortos de contenido offline.
  31. TooLateLouis
    Feb 5, 2022
    7
    Fourteen years after the release of the original Soul Calibur this fifth entry in the series reinvigorates the action by mostly retiring the main cast and fast forwarding to the future. While the entry can be praised for continued refinement of the ‘critical finish’ and ‘brave edge’ mechanics it ultimately suffers from the loss of some mainstays in the franchise. Overall fight speed hasFourteen years after the release of the original Soul Calibur this fifth entry in the series reinvigorates the action by mostly retiring the main cast and fast forwarding to the future. While the entry can be praised for continued refinement of the ‘critical finish’ and ‘brave edge’ mechanics it ultimately suffers from the loss of some mainstays in the franchise. Overall fight speed has increased and other innovations keep bouts fresh; however, a lack of story mode with arcade endings leads to a lack of ability to connect with series newcomers. As always, female characters are disrespectfully clothed so avert your virgin eyeballs if swords and low cut tops are not your bag.… Expand
  32. Yojimbo2015
    Jan 10, 2023
    7
    Yet another iteration of a franchise that 's content to merely bolt on more embellishments and largely needless bells and whistles rather than do anything different or new with the idea. It's undeniably a great looking and enjoyable fighting game but if you own any of the others since the second instalment, it's not really worth adding this to your collection too.

Awards & Rankings

42
#42 Best PS3 Game of 2012
31
#31 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2012
56
#56 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 53 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 47 out of 53
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 53
  3. Negative: 0 out of 53
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Mar 22, 2012
    70
    A good genre piece brings fans hundreds of hours of entertainment. Japanese poetics with schoolgirls wearing katanas and thin knights with iron swords are worth seeing. [March 2012]
  2. Thunderbolt
    Feb 19, 2012
    70
    The combat mechanics are easy to pick up, but the advanced techniques ought to be more than enough to keep things interesting. Regardless of its shortcomings, Soulcalibur V is still a fun and engaging game. That's all what really matters.
    Read full review
  3. Games Master UK
    Feb 15, 2012
    86
    A gorgeous and playable fighter that offers a strong alternative to Street Fighter and Tekken. [March 2012, p.86]
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