A good fighting game that's getting a bad rep because reviewers are too sensitive about series changes.
Gameplay: A good way to explain the basic fighting mechanics is a combination of Soul Calibur and Super Smash Brothers, as odd as that may sound. It's free-roaming, but no a mostly flat stage, with only basic, easily linked attacks, making the game about strategy, not button memorizing. It may sound odd, but it works quite well except for the occasional camera misalignment. If one character is towards the front and the other the back, for instance, the latter becomes completely blocked off from sight making it difficult for either to target and attack the other. This can get in the way but isn't a terribly huge issue.
The characters are fairly balanced, but some definitely have the advantage or disadvantage. Golem, for instance, is difficult to play with, his slow speed and moves being nearly impossible to land against an experienced player, compared to Simon who can unleash a flurry of attacks without ever letting the opponent get a move in. Overall though, it isn't too bad and if you avoid unbalanced match-ups you'll be fine.
Graphics: The graphics are quite good, at least on par with the soul calibur series, and use good lighting, bump-mapping and basically all of the minimal shader effects the wii can perform. Nothing too spectacular, but quite good considering how bad some wii games look.
Audio: The taunts can get annoying, but the music is good and the sound effects work (Except for the random bubbly sound Alyard's unblockable attack makes)
Longevity: With story, versus, online, and a castle venturing mode, the game will last you quite a while, especially if you have friends to play with.
All in all, this is an overly criticized game and is much better than gamespot or anyone else claims it to be. They need to get the stick out of their rears and judge the game based on its gameplay, not its series.