Soul Calibur V

Fans of the series and newcomers will like it, but the fight pace has been quickened, so it can be a bit chaotic.

The single player is very shallow and disappointing, particularly compared to what the single player modes have been like in Soul Calibur in the past. Soul Calibur always used to have good, unique modes, especially for a game of the fighting genre.

Buy expect to hone your skills and have a decent amount of fun in single player, but if that's your only motive for buying, best give it a miss until you get an internet connection or some mates.

Nevertheless, what it does, it does well.

If you want a gorgeous online multiplayer game look no further. The combat system has improved greatly. If you want a single player experience where you fight and only fight this is good too.
However if you are looking for that same great stat tweaking rpg element present in Soul Calibur IV then forget it, gone are the stats, weapons and equipment are purely aesthetic now. That is not to say that the character creation is a complete bust. You can customize your characters to great depth sadly however it doesn't affect the gameplay (with the exception of the 3 custom fighting styles that can only be used by creating a character)
Also the story mode is a step backward – 20 fights with no real challenge like the previous 2 installments along with a rather poor story, lead characters and dialogue.

Great game. Has its up and down, but the ups far exceed the downs. Definitely worth buying.

This game is fricken sweet! If you liked SCIV you will love this! There are heaps of new characters and the character creation has about 50× more options than SC4. You can level up your profile and unlock items and titles for online/offline play. You dont have to acquire gold to buy unlocked items either. The graphics are great! But still similar to SC4. The levels are gorgeous and the music is awesome. If you had even slightly contemplated it, buy it. You will love it.

If you are a long time fan of the series you will likely reach the conclusion that it is an improvement over SC4 but not quite as good as SC3.

There are nowhere near as many new characters as they promised, but that is far from a bad thing. A large number of customization options and characters are unlocked by a default (always a plus). However quite a few of the aforementioned options are simply lifted from SC4.

Overall compared to the rest of the series, the fights go faster, the AI is more friendly to players new to the genre (I'm not a very good player myself) and the story is a massive step forward.

If you like the series, I'd give it a go without hesitation. New to the series, I'd say it's worth looking into (videos etc).