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Name: Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny

Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny is the latest title to be ported over to the PlayStation Portable from its bigger console brothers, and is based on the latest game for those machines, Soulcalibur IV. The aim of this new version is to try and bring new players to the franchise who may not have experienced the previous titles.

Packed into this handheld version you can find a roster of 28 characters, the line up is basically the same as found on Soulcalibur IV with all the old favourites returning, Kilik, Mitsurugi, Seoung Mina, Siegfied and Taki to name but a few and all are accessible from the start of the game with no need to unlock any. The Star Wars characters, found in Soulcalibur IV have been replaced with a new character to the series, Dampierre, whose a bit like Voldo to play with, and Krato, from the God of War series of games who brings with him his own weapons and memorable moves. You've also got the option of creating a custom character also, this is a character you create from scratch based on one of the existing characters move sets, it's a pretty neat function again carried over from Soulcalibur IV and while the option on the PSP version is not as powerful, it certainly gives you more than enough options, in addition this version has a more detailed option for creating a picture to represent your creation when you're selecting him or her to fight. More clothes and equipment can be unlocked for your characters as you progress through the single player mode, you can create upto 16 custom characters so you've plenty to choose from.

The Soulcalibur fighting formula is a tried and tested one, no doubt if you've played the previous versions of this game you're going to be able to pretty much pick up and play, its controls haven't changed that much in the whole series since the first PlayStation version Soul Blade (or Soul Edge if you're one of the many who imported the Japanese version early) and that in itself is a testament to the game. For those of you not familiar with the game, then it's a weapons based affair, each of the 28 characters has there own fighting style, although some are similar. Getting to grips with the moves is pretty simple, each of the buttons represent a way of moving, a horizontal attack, a vertical attack, a kick and a block button. All of the buttons can be used individually or in conjunction with another to pull off special moves or throws, it's simple to get to grips with compared to other fighters and even people having the first go will soon be linking together the buttons to pull off some impressive looking moves.

There are several single player game modes to choose from when playing, the first option is the one you're likely to use most, and is known as Quick Match. This is the basics of the game, a straight fight between you and an AI controlled combatant, it's setup in a similar way the online mode is from Soulcalibur IV with a persons name displayed and how many wins or losses they've had in there matches, just pick one and start fighting. The characters you fight in this mode are all ones that you can create in the character creation mode and gives you an idea of what you can come up with given enough imagination. Next up is "The Gauntlet", this is more or less a tutorial mode for the game, sometimes giving you a limited amount of health or time (or both) in order to defeat your opponent, you'll be tasked with different ways to defeat the enemy which won't necessarily mean you have to hit back, sometimes you just have to guard until the time runs out. Once you've reached Grade A on these you can progress to the next Gauntlet challenge. The next mode is called Trials and is probably the best out of the lot, there is three sections to this, Trial of Attack, Trial of Defence and Endless Trials. In the Trial of Attack you are rewarded more on how well you attack, in the Trial of Defence the opposite is true and you are rewarded for defending yourself either by blocking or by using the guard impact system, a technique which deflects your attackers attack and leaves him vulnerable to attack. Finally, the Endless Trials is a combination of the first two and plays out more like a survival mode. There is also a training mode for those who like to practice there combo skills, the normal options are available in this, you can have a docile character to fight against, or one that puts up a little resistance.

In multiplayer there is a Versus mode should you have a friend with a PSP to play against, unfortunately this is via Ad-Hoc connection so you can't play online with people from around the globe, just the ones in your immediate vicinity.

Graphically the game is stunning, the Soulcalibur series has always been known for it's lush scenery in the backgrounds and this is no exception, again borrowing it's locations from it's big brother, the backgrounds are gorgeous and recognisable, some of the locations have less detail such as the animals or centurions standing guard but this is easily forgivable when you bear in mind that the PSP must be being pushed to it's limits already. The characters are all recognisable and are well rendered, again less detail but still enough for you to be impressed. All the moves are there and act out beautifully, the game never loses pace, never slowing down and feels just like a Soulcalibur game should.

Again the sound is excellent; the epic scores you've come to expect are all in play here and work brilliantly with the grunts and weapon classes coming from the fight. The characters all have their own voices, however, some of them don't quite sound as they should from the previous titles, I'm not really sure why this would be but it distracted sometimes from feeling like you were in control of the characters you know and love.

The game is without doubt a show case of what can be achieved on Sony's handheld system and a true credit to Namco for taking one of their biggest titles and transferring it onto a smaller scale, it's a brilliant addition to the PSP range of games.

The only things I have to say negatively about the game is that there is no proper Arcade mode and no attempt to flesh out a story, even with the little bits of story you are offered in The Gauntlet mode, you are warned these are Soulcalibur fables and not to be taken seriously. It's understandable that they haven't included a proper arcade mode given the nature of the PSP, most won't want to commit to a session that they might not be able to finish but, something I thought was missing all the same. My other niggle was the lack of true online gaming, it's fine to be able to play against someone locally but it would have been great to have been able to fight online with this title, especially since I get so much fun out of playing Soulcalibur IV against players from around the world.

If you're looking for a decent fighting game to take out your frustration on the bus or train ride home then you can do no better than this game, it's a great and fun game to play and one I keep reaching out to pick up and play whenever I get the chance.