Up to a point, the trailers for Project Soul's latest game had been the usual continuation of the old Soulcalibur soap opera. Words like vengeance, honour, salvation and desire were being banded about as an excuse for some very big men, and some very inappropriately dressed and proportioned women, to get involved in another weapons-based dust up over ownership of the Soul Edge and Soul Calibur swords. That point, however, came at the Consumer Electronics Show 2008 when, approximately one minute into the premier of the title's latest preview, the screen went black, the music went silent and the mechanical wheezing of the universe's most famous nuisance phone caller could be heard - and Darth Vader filled the screen.

The announcement that Vader would be a exclusive playable character for the PS3 version of the game, whilst Yoda would fulfil the same role on the Xbox 360, instantly sparked owners of each console into arguments with the kind of cut and thrust normally reserved for the game's one-on-one bouts. It also took the special guest fighter idea begun in Soulcalibur II (when Link, Tekken's Heihachi and Spawn featured in the Gamecube, PS2 and Xbox versions respectively) on to the next level. While all this may be little more than clever marketing, something more blatantly highlighted by the subsequent revelation that the main character from the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed game, Darth Vader's apprentice, would also appear in all versions, it does raise some questions. Yes, the Star Wars characters all naturally carry weapons and they fit in with the light versus dark theme, but how comfortably the crossover sits with the rest of the game is almost certain to be a hot topic for debate.

With that said, it's likely that the better the game plays, the less it will matter and, in this regard, things are looking promising. In a positive move to encourage offensive play, Project Soul has included the new Soul Gauge for each character, which sits at the top of the screen along with their health bar. Blocking a move from your opponent causes the level of the meter to drop slightly, which isn't a problem if you subsequently pull off a move of your own, which makes the meter rise again. If you find yourself defending so much that the meter drops to empty, however, you leave yourself open to your opponent cutting through your guard and destroying part of your armour. When this is gone you're left vulnerable for the rest of the fight, both to standard attacks and, much more worryingly, to a critical finisher move, which will put you down for the count no matter how much energy you have at the point it's unleashed.

Soulcalibur's premier on next gen consoles also marks the introduction of online play to the series and this is even more appealing given that you will be able to take your own created characters into these tussles, thanks to the return of the options first introduced in Soulcalibur III. As well as online play, Soulcalibur IV will also feature the standard Arcade and Story mode, as well as the new Tower of Lost Souls option, which brings further customisation choices and rewards into play.

As is always the case with Soulcalibur games, the various environments where fights take place are highly detailed, as are the huge character models whose figures, just like each of their egos, dominate the screen. There are over thirty characters already confirmed, including old favourites such as Nightmare and Cassandra, as well as four bonus fighters, each of which has been specially created by a different guest Japanese mangaka artist. If Project Soul can repeat the talent they have shown in previous games for nailing the timing mechanics and providing stunning move sets for each character, then they are almost certain to have a major hit on their hands once again.

Previewed by James Hamblin for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).