With a month that included Civilization, one of EA’s powerhouses in NCAA, and even a standout PSN title like Siren, Soul Calibur IV had a fair bit of competition on the way to winning Game of the Month honors. Nevertheless, Namco Bandai has unarguably delivered the goods this month with the release one of the finest 3D fighters in years. Though numerous fans of the series had shown concern over some of the decisions made during Soul Calibur IV's development (such as the inclusion of Star Wars characters), Namco has crafted a lasting fighter than finally uproots Virtua Fighter 5 as the best fighting game available on the PlayStation 3.

Soul Calibur IV not only continued to offer fans the weapon-based combat they've come to know and love, but also implemented online play for the first time in the franchise’s history. One of the shining revelations of SCIV owners was the realization that the character creation feature could recreate characters from franchises such as Final Fantasy, Zelda, Metal Gear Solid and more, who could then proceed to battle it out online against other human opponents.

Now let’s what some of our forum members have to say about the title.

“I rushed out of work tonight and made it to my local GameStop five minutes before they closed and was able to pick up a copy. I’m glad I did, this game is unbelievably sweet. My only other experience with Soul Calibur is on the Dreamcast and even though I’ve only played for an hour or so i think this new one blows it away by far.” – Antoine08

“Yeah, it's a good change of pace game from the usual shooter or action game. I had rented Virtua Fighter and I absolutely hated it. Just something about the swords and weapons that does it for me. And if you're a Star Wars fan it's pretty awesome to play with Vader and the Apprentice (which is a pain to beat in the arcade mode with Vader cause he's so quick and counters everything you throw at him).” – Lemon Diggler

“I must say this is the best fighting game ever, absolutely AMAZING depth, graphics, you name it. The only thing is the network bugs, fix PLEASE!!!! I was able to play a few with minimal lag, all I couldn’t do was guard impact. That will be ironed out though. Without a doubt: 9.5 / 10 (Only due to current network issues)” – Tenacious_B

With people rushing out to the store after work and a couple others considering it one of the best fighting games ever, it seems no gamer can go wrong with Soul Calibur IV if they’re looking for either a change of pace or their next fighting fix.