Soul Calibur 5: hands-on with Ezio Auditore

There are certain universal truths in videogames, conventions and traditions of long-cherished stature. Red things will always blow up (except for health packs). Every Halo game will have a Flood level, and every physics system, no matter how advanced, will eventually break to hilarious/annoying effect.

World leaders will be placed in jeopardy, online modes will lag, action releases will promise a "visceral experience". And Assassin's Creed combat will always, sure as eggs is eggs, suck harder than an all-day Dyson convention.

Where the series' stealth and exploration mechanics have come on in quite literal leaps and bounds, Ubisoft has spent years honing its wonky melee system to no avail, folding in gadget after neat but superfluous gadget, frame on frame of exquisitely motion-captured, pointless animation. At their best, the results are aggressively easy, especially now that you can chain counter-kills into execution streaks. At their worst, you'll grind the same combos and stun moves till everybody disintegrates and you're granted the blessed, blessed relief of a cut scene.

The contrast with Soul Calibur 5's Ubi-sanctioned version of Ezio Auditore couldn't be greater. It's an apples to oranges comparison, of course - if "apples to oranges" really does justice to the gap between open world and arcade fighting - but one I hope Ubisoft will keep in mind nonetheless. Under Namco's practised hand, the impossible happens: Ezio's huge range of abilities and gadgets becomes digestible, something that flows without you having to think about it.

The inspiration, for the Soul Calibur team, is probably Soul Calibur 2's Gamecube-exclusive gizmo-heavy character Link, and the best single example from the move set is Ezio's crossbow. You can riddle a target with bolts at range, obviously, firing at ankle height to skewer downed opponents or interrupt somebody's charge, but the bow actually gets more use up close, wielded like a club.

One of Ezio's nastier answers to turtle tactics is a low back-sweep, hooking the target's legs out. Another mid-level swipe ends with the bow held out horizontally, and can be extended into a cheap short-range shot. Thanks to a shortage of warning signs, the latter combo is great for cutting comebacks short.

Elsewhere, weapons are more closely tied to styles. Ezio's sword is best used for uppercuts and lateral swipes, mirroring Hwang and Mitsurugi, while his stiletto generally shows up during flashier finishers and throws. The hidden blade is good for quick attacks, like a three-hit rapid stab prised from Taki's ninja fingers. And the hidden gun? It's Ezio's unblockable special, and while it's easy to step around, that's compensated by a shorter charge window.

Everything comes together, marvellously, in the Master Assassin's top-level Critical Edge move (the Critical Edge bar charges as you take damage, and can be unleashed all at once or used incrementally to power up standard moves). Heralded by an eagle cry, the attack chains sword and dagger blows, crossbow bolts and some chin-rattling fisticuffs in a cloud of pistol smoke.

That eagle cry is just one of the nods to Assassin's Creed's presentation. Ezio's voice actor Roger Craig Smith has thrown Namco a few lines - hardly surprising, given Ubisoft's preciousness over the character and the fact that Craig Smith also voices Soul Calibur frontman Siegfried. Saying "requiescat in pace" to a beat-up Ivy certainly sticks in the memory.