Soul Calibur IV not only makes its single player duller and lazier than past iterations but the changes to combat make the game itself worse. The guard break system punishes you for being good at playing defensively, throws have become too easy to tech, tech crouches are weaker, and movement options such as backdashing and stepping are nerfed to be almost worthless. As a result, the game feels sluggish as hell made worse by wonky hitboxes and a lot of dumb ring out combos.