SoulCalibur

"Best thing i've played since..... soul blade"

Before i pre-ordered my dreamcast and soul calibur ( which is basically why i got the DC for ) i was worried that SC would be a game i'ld play for a while and toss aside after awhile... simply because i played the arcade version extensively. But since it's one of my fave games... i decided to give it a shot... and am i glad i did.

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Graphics:

The game is score BIG points for the "WOW" factor. If you think that the pictures are nothing spectacular, i don't blame you one bit... because those pics do NOT do justice to the game at all... my eyes literally popped out when i saw it in motion for the first time... and then some more when i saw lizardman.... i've NEVER ( since VF3 ) seen such detail put into characters before... in fact i think SC surpasses VF3 for details in characters as the characters TALK! no... not just painted on or anything... they have jaws and if you look closely you can even see their teeth!! Talk abt detail!!

However... i got to say i was a wee bit ( just a little ) dissapointed in a few backgrounds... namely misurugi's and ivy's the former having too much 2D... and the latter's was a little too blocky and kinda reminded me of sophitia's stage in soul blade. but other was nothing short of spectacular...you just GOT check out what they did to "the city of water" and " water vien" to know what i'm talking abt.

Score:10/10

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Sound:

Namco made a great move and decided to keep the character voices instead of dubbing it in english... ( they did that to sophitia in soul blade and made a mockery outta her )... you can hear each word uttured out of the characters mouths with such clearity that you'ld probably pick up japanese just by playing this game.

The music was pretty standard stuff though... not in a bad way but its what you've come to expect from the game, really dramatic and over the top... it takes some getting use to so give it a chance and not turn it way down the first time you hear it... it'll grow on you.

Score: 9/10

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Gameplay:

This is the best part of the game... namco has pretty much perfected this section by implimenting the 8 way run ( with allows you to walk around yr opponent ) and a whole lot more like counters... parries... unblockables.

It may seem overwelming for beginners but they'll soon realise this is one game that is easy to pick up yet almost impossible to master. The list of moves for each character is so long that you'll find yrself trying to master each move and incooperate them into the game.

However as in any fighting game... there's nothing better than having a real opponent to fight... thats when the gameplay truly shines. With the vast amount of characters, its almost impossible to put the controller down.

Score:10/10

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Replayability:

With the huge amount of secret characters and other codes to unlock ... this game scores pretty well in this category but its not perfect. Somehow Namco didn't include as many mini games as they're known to. The Mission mode is fun for a while but its way too easy to complete. The usual stuff like team battle, time attack and practice mode can only do so much, so you'll be sticking to arcade mode most of the time if you're a lone gamer.

If you have someone to play with though... this game can pretty much last for many months... maybe years to come.

Score: 8/10

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Overall:

Despite a few flaws... its still a definate "MUST HAVE" if you get the dreamcast... even if you're not into fighting games, this could be the turning point....Trust me, i've been enough games in my lifetime to know that this is the best reason to get a dreamcast.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 06/08/03