3rd November 2003, 8:03 PM
In an earlier review of mine, I said there was no such thing as a perfect fighting game. I now stand corrected. Soul Calibur II comes as close to a perfect fighter as you can get, as close as you'll see for quite I while, I believe.
Soul Calibur II actually has a story behind it to explain why all these people are wailing on each other. An evil sword known as Soul Edge, which can devour mens souls, threatens to enshroud the world in darkness. All of the fighters either want this unimaginable power for themselves, or want to destroy the evil sword for good.
Featuring a roster of 23 characters, there is something for everyone. Whether you prefer the lightning-quick Raphael, the powerful Astaroth, the freaky Voldo, or the bizarre Yoshimitsu, with enough practice, you'll become a feared fighter. If you're smart enough to own the GameCube version, you'll be able to kick ass with Link from the Legend of Zelda. But if you prefer less cool characters (:D), you can get Tekkens Heihachi on the PS2 version, and comic book character Spawn on the X-Box.
Soul Calibur II is all about control. At all times you can run in any direction you choose, be it away, towards, or around your opponent. While running around, you have a big selection of moves which can all be fairly easily accessed to unleash upon your opponent. Beware, because if you think simply pummelling your opponents with button mashing attacks will get you to Soul Calibur zen, you are sorely mistaken.
While your opponent is trying to attack you, they can do any number of things to throw your strategy into disarray. Guard impacts cause characters to stumble over their weapons, attempting to get them back to fighting position, during which time, they can easily get in a hard hit. If you're blocking, every characters has Guard Breaks and Unblockables. Guard breaks will, obviously, break your guard and leave you reeling and unable to defend or attack for a second. Unblockables are just as they sound. Unleash one, and blocking won't save your enemies.
Every fighting game requires practice to become formidible, and SCII is no exception. While some moves can be executed by simple button presses and combonations, the big attacks and unblockables usually take a little more practice to master. The shining attribute of this game is that no matter what attack is used, the other fighter has a perfectly accessible way to escape or counter it. Press a button just after you're grabbed, and you'll break free. If vertical attacks are keeping you at bay, step around them. super-fast attacks whittling you down? Block them, or guard impact them and smash them right back. Not only must you choose your attacks wisely, so as not to expose yourself to Guard Impacts, but you must also watch what your opponent is doing. Strategy is almost more important to this game than the fighting itself.
So you've mastered your moves and become skilled with a certain character. Now it's time to show your stuff. You can go through Arcade, where you fight through 6 battles, a destined battle, then a battle with Inferno, the keeper of Soul Edge. Survival, Time Attack, and Team Battle pretty much speak for themselves. Weapon Master is the real meat of the Single Player game, though. Pick a character, and lead them through a quest across a continent to destroy Soul Edge. Not only that, but each character has 9 weapons that can be bought from stores and won, each with their own attributes. You'll soon have favorite weapons you'll never want to go into battle without. Also you can unlock cinemas, weapon demonstrations, characters, arenas, art galleries and much more cool stuff just waiting to be discovered.
It's a fighting game, so fighting against a friend is great. However, if you're fighting a game against a person whos lower than you in skill, they will not have fun, and vice-versa. It's best if you both start and learn it at the same time. If you have an opponent who can fight as well as you, you'll spend HOURS fighting the night away.
I love this game, and if there was one thing I would have changed about it would have been adding a VS Mode like Melee. Pick your character, pick an opponent, and fight. All things considered though, this game is an incredible accomplishment, and no gamer should be without it. Go buy it. Now.
Soul Calibur II actually has a story behind it to explain why all these people are wailing on each other. An evil sword known as Soul Edge, which can devour mens souls, threatens to enshroud the world in darkness. All of the fighters either want this unimaginable power for themselves, or want to destroy the evil sword for good.
Featuring a roster of 23 characters, there is something for everyone. Whether you prefer the lightning-quick Raphael, the powerful Astaroth, the freaky Voldo, or the bizarre Yoshimitsu, with enough practice, you'll become a feared fighter. If you're smart enough to own the GameCube version, you'll be able to kick ass with Link from the Legend of Zelda. But if you prefer less cool characters (:D), you can get Tekkens Heihachi on the PS2 version, and comic book character Spawn on the X-Box.
Soul Calibur II is all about control. At all times you can run in any direction you choose, be it away, towards, or around your opponent. While running around, you have a big selection of moves which can all be fairly easily accessed to unleash upon your opponent. Beware, because if you think simply pummelling your opponents with button mashing attacks will get you to Soul Calibur zen, you are sorely mistaken.
While your opponent is trying to attack you, they can do any number of things to throw your strategy into disarray. Guard impacts cause characters to stumble over their weapons, attempting to get them back to fighting position, during which time, they can easily get in a hard hit. If you're blocking, every characters has Guard Breaks and Unblockables. Guard breaks will, obviously, break your guard and leave you reeling and unable to defend or attack for a second. Unblockables are just as they sound. Unleash one, and blocking won't save your enemies.
Every fighting game requires practice to become formidible, and SCII is no exception. While some moves can be executed by simple button presses and combonations, the big attacks and unblockables usually take a little more practice to master. The shining attribute of this game is that no matter what attack is used, the other fighter has a perfectly accessible way to escape or counter it. Press a button just after you're grabbed, and you'll break free. If vertical attacks are keeping you at bay, step around them. super-fast attacks whittling you down? Block them, or guard impact them and smash them right back. Not only must you choose your attacks wisely, so as not to expose yourself to Guard Impacts, but you must also watch what your opponent is doing. Strategy is almost more important to this game than the fighting itself.
So you've mastered your moves and become skilled with a certain character. Now it's time to show your stuff. You can go through Arcade, where you fight through 6 battles, a destined battle, then a battle with Inferno, the keeper of Soul Edge. Survival, Time Attack, and Team Battle pretty much speak for themselves. Weapon Master is the real meat of the Single Player game, though. Pick a character, and lead them through a quest across a continent to destroy Soul Edge. Not only that, but each character has 9 weapons that can be bought from stores and won, each with their own attributes. You'll soon have favorite weapons you'll never want to go into battle without. Also you can unlock cinemas, weapon demonstrations, characters, arenas, art galleries and much more cool stuff just waiting to be discovered.
It's a fighting game, so fighting against a friend is great. However, if you're fighting a game against a person whos lower than you in skill, they will not have fun, and vice-versa. It's best if you both start and learn it at the same time. If you have an opponent who can fight as well as you, you'll spend HOURS fighting the night away.
I love this game, and if there was one thing I would have changed about it would have been adding a VS Mode like Melee. Pick your character, pick an opponent, and fight. All things considered though, this game is an incredible accomplishment, and no gamer should be without it. Go buy it. Now.