SoulCalibur II

"Soul Calibur II is A Great Game"

Soul Calibur II is the long awaited sequel to the smash Dreamcast hit, Soul Calibur. As a launch game for the US Sega Dreamcast, the original Soul Calibur had unparalleled graphics for its time. The gameplay was also fresh; refining concepts such as weapon based fighting and full 3d movement (as opposed to merely sidestepping). Soul Calibur II had a lot to live up to, and now that I have gotten my hands on the Japanese import of the Xbox version, I can say that the game is still certainly one of the best fighting games ever made, but it fails to achieve the same level of greatness of attained by the Dreamcast original.

The gameply in Soul Calibur II is very similar to the original Soul Calibur. Sadly, this means that while Soul Calibur II is an excellent fighting game, no truly innovative fighting game mechanics were added. The developer, Namco, did add walled arenas, and thankfully, they did a decent job (unlike they did with their other fighting game, Tekken 4). Unfortunately, the walls and the stage environments don’t really make a huge impact on the gameplay. Knocking an enemy into the wall simply bounces the opponent to side, making ground based wall-specific combos literally impossible. In fact, it seems that the only way to use the walls effective in a combo is to hit the opponent with a powerful launcher and pins them to the wall, albeit a bit off the ground. While it was disappointing to see that walls don’t weave as seamlessly into the gameplay as they do in say the other big Xbox fighter, Tecmo’s Dead or Alive 3, Soul Calibur II’s wall mechanics certainly don’t detract from the game in any way. The engine is as deep as ever, and learning the intricacies of each character should keep fighting game fans happy for a long time. The character balance seems to be well done, with none of the characters seemingly too powerful to too weak.

As this was a Japanese import, and I don’t speak Japanese, I can’t really comment on the story. Fortunately, most of the game’s menus are in English, and only the game’s quest-like Weapon Master mode has lots of Japanese text. Still, the game is very import friendly for the gamers who have the means to play Japanese Xbox games.

Soul Calibur is a great looking game. The textures are very well done, and the game supports 480p and 720p progressive scan as well as 16:9 widescreen viewing. My HDTV loves this game. While it’s no surprise that the Xbox version is the best looking of the 3 console versions, I was hoping that the level of graphics would at least equal or surpass the graphical benchmark of Dead or Alive 3 on the Xbox. After all, one of the reasons that the Dreamcast version was so well received was that it had unparalleled graphics for its time. Sadly, Namco was not able to match the graphical bench mark that Tecmo set with Dead or Alive 3 back in 2001. While Soul Calibur II looks great on its own merits, given that Dead or Alive 3 was released back in 2001, one would think Namco could have at least been able to match the sheer graphical brilliance of Dead or Alive 3. So while Soul Calibur II has great graphics, Xbox owners are not likely to be blown away by them. Also of note is that certain, particle effect heavy moves do cause slowdown in the game. There are certain characters, such as Voldo, Spawn and Ivy who have a few moves that almost always cause slowdown when performed. Thankfully, this typically does not affect gameplay (the move is usually some kind of throw or other animation where the players couldn’t react anyway). Still, given that Soul Calibur II doesn’t even look as good as Dead or Alive 3, the slowdown seems unacceptable.

The sound department for Soul Calibur II is truly on the next level. I used to believe that fighting games could not make good use of the Xbox’s Dolby Digitl 5.1 capabilities, but Soul Calibur II has proven me wrong. Indoor levels have echoes, you can hear streams of water flowing around you if the level has water - and the list goes on and on. Definitely the best sounding fighting game I’ve ever heard. Background music is pretty decent, but custom soundtrack support would have been a welcome addition.

Soul Caliber has a plethora of gameplay modes. Besides the requisite arcade, parctice and versus modes (and variations on them), Soul Caliber II also has a weapon master mode that lets the player got through a variety of quests. There are several stages, 5 extra characters, and 11 weapons for each character to unlock. There are also many extra game modes and character art and even the original arcade into. Still, while the game has a great FMV introduction (something the US Dead or Alive 3 lacked), the character endings are merely drawings and Japanese text. This was somewhat disappointing. Still, there is far more to unlock in this game than say Dead or Alive 3. I will note that while I unlocked everything in Dead or Alive 3 the same day I got it, it took me about 4 days to do the same in Soul Calibur II, and unless all gamers play it feverishly like I have, it will take most players longer than that. And, of course, once you have everything, there is still the underlying deep fighting game to keep you happy for months.

In the end, Soul Calibur II comes highly recommended. The gameplay is fun, deep and balanced. While not the best looking fighting game ever, the graphics are certainly a strong point. Solid sounds, dead on controls, and tons to unlock, fighting game fans will really enjoy Soul Calibur II, and it definitely deserves a spot in any fighting game fan’s library.

Gameplay Score: 9/10
(Highly refined weapons based 3d fighting – could be a bit more innovative though. More interactive stages ala Dead or Alive 3 or Xbox Live support live Capcom vs. SNK 3 EO would have helped here)

Graphics Score: 9/10
(Great looking game. Instances of slowdown take the score down a notch. Textures seem washed out when compared to Dear or Alive 3.)

Sound Score: 10/10
(Best sounding fighting game ever).

Replayability: 10/10
(Tons to unlock, deep engine. Gamers can stick with this one for a long time)

Overall: 9/10
(If you are fighting game fan, this is a no brainer.)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/05/03, Updated 04/05/03