SoulCalibur II

"Nice game but not as good as its younger predasesor"

A long while ago, Namco made a fighting game for the PSX called soul Blade. It was good but not great.In 1999, Namco released a game for the Dreamcast that was also in the arcade at the time. It was easily the best fighting game by all means. When the sequal came out in the arcade, it was extremely popular. Now that they have ported it, a lot of people are anticipating the hype. As was I. So with that, I'll continue on with this review.

Story: 10/10
The story revolves around the evil sword known as the Soul Edge. Many seek to destroy it while most seek it out for it's power. It has almost unlimited power for the person using it. So when a young warrior called Siegfried possesses the sword, he is then engulfed by evil. But not long after he possessed the Soul Edge, the demon huntress comes and destroys it. But one piece broke away and now controls its first host. Can they stop the sword evil, or will it's power conquer over all? Its up to you to decide.

Character: 10/10
Many interesting character are in this game. The design for them is stunning. Many are likable while many will fill you with spite for them. But the weapons they are given are all unique. No one has the same weapon.

Gameplay: 10/10
This is a fun game. You can play the regular arcade mode or play a new feature where you do a buch of different missions. Your character grows after every fight you go trough. Its an awesome feature that makes it almost measure up to Soul Calibur 1. The controls are a bit hrader to use with the larger controllers. But to make it easier, all you need is a smaller controller.

Graphics: 10/10
When I first played Soul Calibur, I thought they couldn't find ways to make the graphics better. But they did! The graphics are done just about flawlessly. They are smooth and just make you say wow. The characters are all redone and the environments are some of the best ever seen in a fighting game. The XBOX graphics are the best out of all three ports.

Replay: 9/10
This is your typical fighting game. Beat it a couple of times and unlock characters. But with the characters, you unlock different places to play in. I liked this idea. They also dded in exclusive characters for each system!

Rent or buy?
BUY! This is one must have fighting game that everyone should play sooner or later. I had mine pre-ordered for weeks before it came out.

As you can see, this is one awesome fighting game. It also mad an excelent port to the XBOX as well as the PS2 and GCN. I hope Namco will surprise us again with another game. So enjoy this game! I know you will.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/28/03