SoulCalibur II

"Namco does it again!"

Well, here we are yet again...back to the stage of history, the tale of souls and swords. Back in 1999, Namco released what many consider to be the greatest fighting game ever created on the ill-fated Sega Dreamcast. That game was ''Soul Calibur'', the graphics were eye-popping, the gameplay was flawless and it had tons upon tons of replay value. Well, here we are in 2003, and it's sequel is now in our grasp, on all three of the major consoles. Each with it's own exclusive character, but we'll focus more on that later....now on with the review for ''Soul Calibur II''.

STORY: 5\10

Basically the same as the first, these warriors set out on a quest to get a hold of the infamous ''Soul Edge'' sword. A sword of much power and evil, playing through a mode called ''Weapon Master Mode'' delves into the story much deeper than playing through arcade does. It's simple, but the game's heart is the fighting of course.

GAMEPLAY: 9\10

The game sports some pretty awesome play, the moves are downright insane and the throws are just as amazing. The AI is merciless and will pound the crap out of you going more and more into ''Weapon Master Mode''. Because the further you venture into it, the difficulty increases, although playing through arcade is a breeze if put on easy. The game also features a practice mode, you can begin honing your skills if you are un-experienced there, rather than button-mash to victory and miss out on some incredible moves. Also, playing through ''Weapon Master Mode'' unlocks some secret characters and outfits, you are also able to purchase more weapons for your characters there as well. These are purchased by receiving gold throughout your fighting adventures in the mode, win you get more gold, lose you get around 100 coins still. And your ''Experience'' level still grows but slowly, so the game can be considered forgiving. I just wish the environments were more interactive, like ''Dead Or Alive 3'' or ''Virtua Fighter 4''. With throws so large and powerful, seeing you being smashed into a wall and have it crumble
from one of them would be sweet...in my opinion.

GRAPHICS: 10\10

Wow...just wow, this game sports beautiful graphics and this truly enhances the overall experience of the game. The environments are fantastic and so are the character models. The lighting effects are amazing too, when weapons clash or hit the result is graphic bliss. But like I said prior, this game is now on three consoles, I'm basing this off the X-Box version. I have seen the other two but they slightly don't compare to this one. The PS2 is the most inferior out of the three, the Gamecube version is just second to the big X. Also, fire effects are great they look realistic enough to burn you and the opening CGI is excellent and features some kick ass action sequences.

CONTROLS: 10\10

Using the controller-S on this works like a charm, it feels just like the old Dreamcast one, sheer perfection. I'm not sure about the now dubbed ''Fatty'' controller on this, I assume it wouldn't be as good. But with the controller-S, you're going to town with simplicity on this baby, very easy to pick up and play.

REPLAY VALUE: 7\10

Sure it's a fun game and you'll be hooked for some time, but the feeling won't last forever. You could easily get through ''Weapon Master Mode'' and unlock the characters soon after you make the purchase. And the endings are told in written words with about one or two pictures, so you don't really look forward to them. You can continue to purchase more costumes and weapons but it still isn't really enough to keep you coming back. After you complete everything, just inviting some friends over and having a go with them will help to enhance the replay value.

OVERALL: 10\10

A solid title with much fun to offer, I say go out and purchase this game...it's a great fighter. Also, before I mentioned the consoles receiving their own exclusive characters. Well for X-Box we get the popular comic book anti-hero, ''Spawn''. He kicks a lot of ass and looks really cool doing so, for Gamecube you got ''Link'', from the ''Legend Of Zelda'' series. And PS2 steals ''Heihachi'' out of ''Tekken'' and puts his skills up against some different fighters. So, choose which version best suites you and enjoy.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/01/03