Soul
Calibur launched as the descendant of Soul
Blade on the DreamCast to much admiration. A follow-up was ensured, but the
discontinuation of DreamCast hardware and subsiding of the Arcade market, Namco’s
brutal battler had to find a new home. With three power-hungry beasts on the market, Namco
chose to deliver three individual titles under the same name. Soul Calibur II represented a different take on the
title on each format, extensively highlighted by the individual characters – GameCube
fans have Link, while Xbox players battle with Spawn and PlayStation2 players have the
weapon-less Heihachi from the Tekken series.
As far as fighting games go,
Soul Calibur II’s story is actually quite
good. As short-lived as it maybe, it is still one
of the best stories recent fighting games have offered, on par with even the Dead Or Alive series. Each individual character
has their own ambitions for claiming the Soul Edge (the blade which the game revolves
around), and there is nothing complicated about that. Not to mention that there are small
personal stories that are interlocked between characters, which adds a lot more depth to
what would almost be a plain arcade fighter. In the case of the Fighter genre, stories
can't be complicated, because it takes away from the action. In the case of Soul Calibur II, a literate vignette explains a
sort of background to each character as you enter their respective stages. There is
nothing better than actually hearing why you are fighting your opponent, rather than just
going head-to-head, mano-a-mano, for no reason what so ever.
The graphics featured in the
GameCube release are still astounding. Crisp, clear backdrops shimmering with detail,
astonishing real-time lighting and some of the best character animation seen on this
generation. The loading times are practically non-existent and the variety of characters
and arenas is often bewildering.
 The title moves closer to Nintendo’s own
current approach, running on the theory that the game can actually be picked up and have
the basics learnt within the first five minutes by anyone who decides to play it. There is
always one key thing that developers have to do in order to please all audiences and that
is make the game playable for all people, including the casual gamer. The GameCube control
setup is far simpler and extensively easier to use than most current titles, not to
mention they are also very responsive. The GC controls are so well placed, that it’s
so easy to pull off any combo in the command list.
There are so many modes of
play, just like in the other Soul titles; there
is plenty of replayability to this game. There are 10 weapons for each character to
unlock, and lots of costumes. There are also several modes to unlock in the extras menu,
where you can unlock other delicious goodies like extra stages. There is so much to unlock
in this game, it could take you weeks of straight playing to unlock them all. A Weapon
Master mode that allows you to track down new weapons by earning gold and experience adds
flavour to the title, and a myriad of new and interesting game modes that allow for the
unlocking of hidden stages and other treasures.
This game is the perfect
depiction of what a fighting game should be. Nintendo and Namco got it right this time,
and we now have a game that towers over all  other fighting games to date. The fact that
there is so much to this game, and that it is so in depth, not to mention a hell of a lot
of fun to play, this game will go to the top of anyone’s list of fighting game, even
if they only have the slightest interest in fighters. You really need to pick this game
up, you won't be disappointed.
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