The soul gauge modifications manage to prevent players from over-blocking, but this is mostly because they're afraid of having their equipment destroyed--not because they fear any elite finishing moves; the critical finish attacks have to be performed a half-second or so after the opponent's gauge flashes red, and because there's a lot of action on-screen it's difficult to pay attention to both the guy that's beating your brains out as well as his gauge.

Soul Calibur IV offers up a sufficient variety of the standard modes included in nearly all of its competitors, highlighted by a disjointed, loosely named five stage story mode, a training session convenient for those new to the series, an eight stage arcade mode, and the tower of lost souls, which is a survival mode that rewards you with new equipment for completing secret objectives as you clear floors; this is a significantly less boring and time-consuming procedure than the "adventure" mode of previous games in the series, however you cannot adjust the tower's difficulty level. A versus mode is included for local multiplayer and features either a standard or special setting to determine whether skills and weapon effects are active, but sadly is limited to two players, as is online play via the PlayStation Network. What's upsetting is that you're often stuck in a room watching matches before you're able to take the winner, though the fights are usually quick and you always have the option of creating your own room and inviting a friend to eliminate the wait.

The character creation feature is extremely impressive, enabling you to modify any character's template and save up to 48 different versions of each character. You're also given the option to design your own character from scratch, modifying everything from equipment color and model physique to voice, skill set, eye color, and fighting style. When you're satisfied with your unique creation you can take it through the story mode, where it'll perform in cutscenes, or hop online to show off your creativity to the community. Though the character creation system is highly robust, unfortunately your gear options determine your character's stats and your ability to set decent skills. This gets especially frustrating when you're trying to churn out a ferocious Solid Snake or Harry Potter because characters designed with the "best" equipment will therefore have the best stats and a great battle advantage, however you can play with weaker characters in standard versus or online mode, where skills and weapon effects are inactive.

Soul Calibur IV's presentation is nothing short of stunning, with gorgeous, highly detailed environments featuring some interactivity in the form of breakable stuff; the visuals are absolutely breath-taking, with most stages featuring moving objects (space ships, animals, etc) in the background and appropriate ambient noises that change depending on the stage. The striking characters move fluidly and are detailed down to the fine texture of their clothing and every strand of hair that blows in the wind--Soul Calibur IV easily ranks as one of the most visually impressive games in its genre.

Given the game's convenient 2.6GB install option that significantly shortens loading times and unbelievable amount of unlockables it's a shame to see Namco limiting customization in other aspects of the game. For example, you can set your own stage music as an audio alternative, but only if your music consists of Soul Calibur themes purchased from the PlayStation Store, which is infuriating. You're also currently stuck with the two bonus Star Wars characters given (Vader and his apprentice), but expect to download the 360 version's bonus characters in a "fresh" and overly priced variety pack--the opportunity for Namco to make money on this feature is simply too good for them to pass up. Don't be surprised if Namco also releases downloadable equipment, stages, or other characters and bonus content.

Soul Calibur IV's only real flaw is that its modes are a tad shallow due its lack of 4-player play both online and locally, but its character creation system and even standard online play more than make up for it. The game should rank very highly on the list of anyone who enjoys a good, heavily customizable fighter--even casual players.