Soul Calibur IV has received a July release date. The HD hack-’em-up is the latest in Namco Bandai’s franchise and, like previous releases, console owners will get special extra characters - Star Wars’ Yoda and Darth Vader will be playable characters in the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions respectively.

The release date follows the recent announcement that Vader will be a playable character in the highly anticipated game ‘The Force Unleashed’, due to drop later in the year.