SOULCALIBUR III

Most of us here at GamesRadar regard publisher/developer Sega's masterful Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution as the finest 3D fighting game yet created. However, there are times in this life when bludgeoning an opponent unconscious with one's bare hands isn't quite enough. After all, our opposable thumbs are one of the things that set man apart from the animals - so we sometimes prefer that our game characters use them to grip various death-dealing implements. That's where  SOULCALIBUR III steps in and bloodies the dance floor.

We expected the game's lavish looks, its wide assortment of shiny killing tools, and an accessible-yet-deep fighting system that hooks everyone from button mashers to the most severe fighting game hardcore. We could even have anticipated new official characters, one of whom is crazy sexy even with day-glo hair.

But what really impresses is an added create-a-character mode, tons of pre-made custom characters, a brand new story mode, and even a real-time strategy mini-game. There's so much here, we wouldn't have been too shocked if one of the new characters' weapon was the kitchen sink. It's not - we checked - but we're just saying, this is one packed-to-the-eyeballs disc. Plus, in case you haven't figured it out, it looks and plays like a dream.