SoulCalibur

"Namco is a God! First Tekken 3, now THIS!"

Let me tell ya something- I've got an awesome arcade that's not too far from my house. They've got all the latest games, a PC gaming area, and much more. Above all, they've got Soul Calibur playing on an 8-foot projector screen, and it looks amazing. You can imagine that there's a lot of people around it, as this game racks in more quarters than a bunch of other games combined. And what do you know, it's been brought to Dreamcast! Thank you so much, Namco.

Soul Calibur is the highly-anticipated sequel of the PSX/Arcade game Soul Blade/Edge. SB had stunning graphics for the time it was released (Early PSX era), and was one of the first games that showed what you can really do with FMV. The opening video itself was amazing, and had beautiful graphics and smooth gameplay for the back-up. Fortunately, Calibur goes no lower, and actually cranks up the intensity about 10 notches.

Graphics-[10+]: It doesn't get any better than this. Some of the most clean animation I've ever seen in my life, along with beautiful color. If this is what the Dreamcast can do to start out, I can't wait to see the later years. Welcome to the Golden Age of Graphics, my friends.

Sound-[10]: Perfect background music, blended in with the right usage of sound effects. The first game didn't have a lot of cool BGM, but this game has plenty of themes that you will enjoy listening to. The character's voices are sometimes a little corny, but who cares? This game's not gonna get bashed by me just because some people speak japanese in their victory stances.

Gameplay-[10]: The crisp animation only adds to the incredibly smooth control in SC. Response is accurate down to the nano-second, and the special moves are easy to pull off. It feels like Tekken 3's Kid Sister, only with weapons.

Replay Value-[20]: No typo there, this game has infinite replay value in my perspective. I still play Tekken 3, and I've had that game for 1 1/2 years. SC has already kept me glued non-stop, so don't even argue with me here.

Fighting Elements-[10]: SC has one of the more harder systems out there to make a game with- Weapons. Some games have completely unbalanced characters when making a game with weapons, and everything just crumbles. SC has completely balanced characters, each weapon having distinct advantages and disadvantages like length, strength, durability or weight. Fighting games are also popular for having some sort of distinct mode, and Soul Calibur provides us with common and new modes alike. Thanks again, Namco.

Overall-[50/50,10]: (Replay value over-exaggeration not counted in overall score) This is THE fighting game of the century. I knew that it would take a lot for Tekken 2 to beat 3, and T3 didn't disappoint in any category. And here we are again, Deja Vu. Soul Calibur needed a perfect run, and what did we get? Over-perfect. DC owners, get this game, or I will personally hunt you down. (Kyros Enterprises will not be reponsible for any deaths of Dreamcast Owners)

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/22/99, Updated 12/22/99