SoulCalibur II

"If it Ain't Broke..."

I can understand where my old nemesis daveinjapan is coming from, but seriously, Soul Calibur for the Dreamcast was the only example I've ever seen of a Perfect Fighting Game. Graphics, Gameplay, Control, Sound, Characters, Story (well maybe not story) Extras, etc. etc...

Frankly, if Namco had messed around with that winning formula, I would have been more than a little pissed.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, here we go:

Graphics: 9 - Make no mistake, Soul Calibur 2 looks great. The characters are crisp and clean, and animate beautifully. However, Dead or Alive 3, and even the clunkers Kakuto Chojin and Tao Feng, did things with character models and lighting that I don't think Namco has even a clue about. Still, Spawn looks Incredible. Spawn is so cool he almost makes up for the absence of Rock, almost.

Control: 10 - Soul Calibur 2 features the absolutely dead-on solid controls that I've loved from Namco since the original Tekken. The button response time is lightning quick.

GamePlay: 10 - I know it's the popular thing around here to bash Tekken and tout the suppose purity of Virtua Fighter and/or Street Fighter, but I have to disagree. Soul Calibur 2 (unlike those other two) combines pick-up-and-play button mashing fun with all the combos and special moves a hardcore gamer deserves.

Modes: All of the modes you've come to expect are included: Arcade, Vs, Team Vs, Survival, and Weapons Master Mode. Weapons Master is where you unlock all of the extra weapons, characters, endings, costumes, and even additional modes. Namco has also added an interesting twist where you earn Experience Points and Gold for each encounter, and use that Gold to actually purchase those new items.

Story: N/A - First of I'm reviewing the Japanese version of the game, so I won't even pretend to evaluate the story. However, even it the story were in English, I'm pretty sure I'd be fast-forwarding through the text screens to get back to the action anyway. I don't even play RPGs, so I'm certainly not going to sit patiently in front of my TV just to find-out what Spawn's motivation is to kick Nightmares Ass!

Overall: 9.5 - If I could actually play as Lizard Man, Rock/Beserker, and Assassin/Hwang, I might have given the game a 10, but as it is Soul Calibur 2 loses half a
point for not having as many playable characters (or the variety of costumes) as the Perfect Original.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/09/03, Updated 04/09/03