SoulCalibur II

"Soul Calibur 2 - The soul still burns"

Soul Calibur 2 has finally been released for home systems, just about 100% intact from the arcade version.

Graphics (10)

The graphics in Soul Calibur 2 are some of the best on the Xbox so far. While they are not a huge step up from the arcade version, they still hold up very well to all recent fighting games. To Fully appreciate the richness of the graphics, try to use component input for the display. it will make things look much better.

Gameplay/Control (9)

The control in SC2 is near flawless. Every character is responsive to the controls, and there arent any instances where a particular move will ''just not come out''.

As far as gameplay goes, the familiar SC feel is there, but with a lot of improvements. In addition to the new characters, some new strategic elements have been implemented into the SC formula. Soul Charging adds a completely new strategy to the mix, as different degrees of charges will make some moves guard crush or even become unblockable. Proper command of these types of strategies will seperate the casual player to the experts.

The Arcade mode AI on normal will not do much to hinder your game playing, but on later levels, it will get downright nasty, and will pretty much guard impact every other attack you bring to it. It is one of the first home fighting games where the AI actuallt gave me trouble.

Sound Effects/Music (9)

The sound effects in SC2 are appropriate for that type of game. Each character has plenty of voice samples, and the weapon sound effects sound just as accurate as real weapons clashing with each other would sound.

The orchestrated music is also very well done. You will get to appreciate the music much more in the home version, because there isnt anything else going on in the backgrounds, as is such the case in the arcades.

There is one minor gripe in the home conversion, and that is the SE/BGM balance. On default settings, the SE are set much too high, and on the menus, which use a ''clang'' sound for moving, it will have any player reaching tot urn the speakers down. Fortunately, you can adjust th SE/BGM ratio in the options to fix this problem.

Storyline (8)

The Storyline in SC2 is simply a continuation of the last game. Nightmare is looking for the remaining pieces of the Soul Edge, which each characters have a fragment of. Each character's story gets more in depth, but that is the general premise behind SC2.

Extras (10)

There is much to unlock in SC2. The Weapon Master mode is a great throwback to the first game in the Series, Soul Edge/Blade, where you cn take a character in various missions (which all have their own requirements and quirks) and earn experience points and gold to purchase different weapons for the characters. Each weapon will have different properties, such as immense power, but at the expense of one's own life, or even invisible weapons. One wise move by namco is the ability to select a normal or extra vs mode, so you can control whether the extra weapons are used or not in a vs battle.

Time Attack and Survivor modes also have their uses, as some of the stages and weapons can only be obtained by successfully completing these modes. There are also multiple time attack modes (standard, alternate, and extreme) which greatly add to the replay value of the game.

Overall (9)

While it is not a huge leap from SC1 in terms of basic gameplay elements and graphics (the DC version running vga looks just as good as SC2) the added gameplay tweaks, and the sheer amount of home extras, amke this a worthwhile title to pick up. The Japanese version is mainly english (all menus and options, game/weapon master/ending text is japanese) making it a fairly easy title to import.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/08/03, Updated 04/08/03