Game Room: February Roundup

SoulCalibur V arrives at a real watershed time for fighting games. Last year's Mortal Kombat reboot set the bar for what gamers should expect from modern fighters, while Super Street Fighter IV and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 continue to captivate fans of the genre. SC V, actually the sixth game in the series, continues the series semi-3D fighting legacy with a deep bench of fighters and the modes you'd expect, but with few genuine surprises. The game's story mode is laughably thin, telling the absurd story through voiced-over still drawings, and does little to teach beginners about the various move sets. Learning the intricacies of the game at all is a challenge because of the peculiar move scheme outlined in the instruction book, but button mashers will do fine for a while. The online mode works quickly and simply, though be prepared to get consistently pummeled many, many times: the online crowd is nothing if not dedicated. SC V doesn't blaze any new fighting ground, but fans of the series will probably enjoy the journey.

Score: 8 out of 10