"Transcending history and the world, a tale of swords and souls, eternally retold."

This November, Namco Bandai Games unleashes Soul Calibur Legends for the Nintendo Wii. This brand new entry in the series abandons the beloved one--on--one fighting format in favor of an adventure-themed game, similar to how Death by Degrees diverted from the Tekken series. Unlike that disappointing spin-off, however, Legends will serve a greater purpose.

Throughout the game, players primarily control Siegfried, a familiar character in the Soul Calibur series. Wielding a mighty sword, this hero sets out to save an empire from being vanquished by the forces of evil, no doubt driven by the power of the Soul Blade. The legendary weapon transforms whoever wields it into a monster, something Siegfried learned with his transformation into Nightmare. (Namco didn't confirm whether this would be addressed in Legends.) Other characters from the Soul Calibur universe join the quest as well, including Mitsurugi (with his samurai sword) and the voluptuous Ivy (with her chain blades). Original creations also make their debut, including all new boss characters ready to pound Siegfried and his compadres into oblivion.

Although Namco Bandai didn't provide any hands--on time with the game (more like eyes--on), it still gave enough of an impression to see how it works. Players fight their way through a series of rooms, lavishly designed in the Soul Calibur fashion. Each room contains its fair share of enemies that must be defeated, along with the occasional puzzle in order to open up a door. It sounds like a routine action game, but it has two huge things in its favor -- presentation and gameplay.

Presentation should be on par with previous Soul Calibur games. Legends moves at a zippy 60 frames per second, even during the frantic moments. One particular boss encounter, against a floating tomb-like enemy, looks rather satisfying. Players must strike the tomb while subduing several soldiers and avoiding a laser that's swaying back and forth across the room. The lighting looks superb during this scenario, between the warm glow of the laser and the ambience within the room itself. Other small effects, such as torch light, water and even the coloring on the walls, make admirable use of the Wii processor. The camera operation could use a little more work, but Namco Bandai still has months to correct that issue. The audio wasn't complete, but the sound effects and music seem on par with previous entries in the Soul Calibur series.