Soulcalibur IV

Soulcalibur IV continues the tradition of weapon-based combat, this time set in an era when the world is falling apart under the influence of the sword Soul Edge. Alongside the established roster - Mitsurugi, Ivy, Nightmare, and others - the game added flavor with guest fighters from entirely different worlds, the first move of this scale for the series. Guest characters also received their own introductory sequence explaining how they ended up in the world of Soulcalibur at all. The combat system itself was refined compared to the previous entry mainly in terms of defense - it added visibly distinct unblockable attacks and flashy Critical Finish finishers, which let you shatter an opponent's weapon or armor at the right moment.

On PlayStation 3, this guest character is Kratos from the God of War series, who brings his own weapons into Soulcalibur - the chained Blades of Chaos - as well as special abilities drawing on the kind of magic players know from his own series, including ranged attacks that bring an otherwise unusual mid-range fighting style to Soulcalibur's combat system. This is exclusive content unavailable on the other platform - Xbox 360 players instead got a differently assembled selection of guest fighters from the Star Wars universe, meaning the choice of console directly determined which guest hero a player ultimately got to play as.

Including Kratos also made marketing sense, since he was one of Sony's flagship characters, and his portrayal in Soulcalibur sticks to the style players know from his own series - heavy, powerful attacks emphasizing crushing force and flashy finishing animations that clearly reference his home series without straying from the rules of Soulcalibur's combat system.

Why play: The PlayStation 3 version is the clear choice for fans of Kratos and the God of War series - it's the only platform where you can play as the god of war in one-on-one duels against fighters from the world of Soulcalibur.