Soul Calibur II HD

"A tale of swords and souls," says the opening voiceover for Soul Calibur II. It's a good indication of what to expect: pompous dialogue and generous slicing. We know it's the 10th anniversary, but why release a HD version now, when you can buy the superior sequels (IV and V) for a song? Soul Calibur is a classic beat-'em-up franchise – a simple, duel-based and weapon-centred, three-dimensional game (you can side-step, unlike in Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat). The combatants include demonic warriors, martial artists and women with whips and outrageous dimensions. The fights are fast-paced, sometimes slapstick but rarely chaotic, and the controls are easy to learn. You can play online or local multiplayer. There are some issues – it's not the best in the franchise, and the onscreen instructions are sometimes inaccurate. But it's a cheap, unpretentious brawler. And throwing opponents out of the ring is always fun.